Madeleine King

The Honourable
Madeleine King
MP
King in 2022
Minister for Resources
Incumbent
Assumed office
1 June 2022
Prime MinisterAnthony Albanese
Preceded byKeith Pitt
Minister for Northern Australia
Incumbent
Assumed office
1 June 2022
Prime MinisterAnthony Albanese
Preceded byDavid Littleproud
Member of the Australian Parliament
for Brand
Incumbent
Assumed office
2 July 2016
Preceded by Gary Gray
Personal details
Born
Madeleine Mary Harvie Morris

(1973-03-31) 31 March 1973 (age 51)
Calista, Western Australia, Australia
CitizenshipAustralian
Political partyAustralian Labor Party
SpouseJamie King
RelationsJohn Morris (brother)
Alma materUniversity of Western Australia[1]
ProfessionLawyer
Websitewww.madeleineking.com.au

Madeleine Mary Harvie King (née Morris; born 31 March 1973) is an Australian politician. She is a member of the Australian Labor Party (ALP) and has been Minister for Resources and Minister for Northern Australia in the Albanese government since June 2022. She has represented the Western Australian seat of Brand in the House of Representatives since 2016. She worked as a lawyer and political adviser before entering politics.

Early life

King was born on 31 March 1973 in Calista, Western Australia.[2][3] She is the youngest of five children born to Diana Eve Pizer and John Harvie Morris. Her father was born in England and served in the Royal Navy, moving to Australia to work at the Kwinana Oil Refinery. Her mother owned a drapery shop in Rockingham.[4]

King grew up in the suburb of Shoalwater, attending Safety Bay Primary School, Rockingham Beach Primary School, and Safety Bay Senior High School.[4] She started an arts degree at the University of Western Australia (UWA), but subsequently moved to Melbourne to study aerospace engineering at RMIT University. She returned to Perth after a year and completed a Bachelor of Laws at UWA.[5]

King worked as a commercial lawyer in private practice from 1997 to 2005,[3] working in England for a period following her marriage.[5] She then joined UWA's legal department as a research contracts lawyer (2005–2008), later working as chief of staff to the vice-chancellor Alan Robson (2008–2011) and principal advisor of strategic projects (2012–2013). She oversaw the university's centenary celebrations in 2013. Immediately prior to entering parliament she was the chief operating officer of the Perth USAsia Centre, a think tank based at UWA.[3]

Politics

King was a ministerial adviser to federal Labor MP Gary Gray from 2011 to 2012,[3] and also advised WA federal government ministers Stephen Smith and Chris Evans during the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting 2011 in Perth.[6]

In March 2016, King won ALP preselection unopposed for the Division of Brand, following Gray's retirement.[7] She retained the seat for the ALP at the 2016 federal election, increasing the swing to Labor from a nominal 3.7 points to 7.7 points, making Brand one of Labor's safest federal seats in Western Australia.[8] She is a member of the Labor Right faction.[9][10]

In June 2018, King was selected to fill a vacant place on the opposition frontbench, replacing Tim Hammond.[11] She was given the consumer affairs portfolio and also made an assistant minister in the small business and resources portfolios. After the 2019 election she was appointed Shadow Minister for Trade and Shadow Minister for Resources.[3] In March 2021, King stated that the ALP would oppose a moratorium on new coal mines and that "so long as international markets want to buy Australian coal, which is high quality, then they will be able to".[12]

Following the ALP's victory at the 2022 election, King was appointed to cabinet as Minister for Resources and Minister for Northern Australia in the Albanese government.[3]

Personal life

King is married to Jamie King. She has represented Western Australia in Masters (older age) hockey. Her brother is actor John Morris who appeared on Home & Away and Neighbours.[4]

References

  1. ^ "Brand – Australia Votes". Election 2016. Australian Broadcasting Corporation. Retrieved 7 July 2016.
  2. ^ "Citizenship Register – 45th Parliament: Madeleine King" (PDF). Parliament of Australia. Retrieved 2 June 2019.
  3. ^ a b c d e f "Ms Madeleine King MP". Senators and Members of the Parliament of Australia. Retrieved 6 November 2021.
  4. ^ a b c "First speech". Hansard. Parliament of Australia. 11 October 2016. Retrieved 19 April 2021.
  5. ^ a b McKnight, Gareth (26 March 2016). "Ex-lawyer is Labor bet for Brand". Sound Telegraph. Retrieved 20 April 2021.
  6. ^ Taylor, Paige (22 February 2016). "Think tank boss the king of the picks to replace Gray in Brand". The Australian. Retrieved 20 April 2021.
  7. ^ Emerson, Daniel (3 March 2016). "Lawyer to represent Labor in Perth". The West Australian. Retrieved 19 April 2021.
  8. ^ "Brand – Australia Votes | Federal Election 2016 (Australian Broadcasting Corporation)". ABC News. Retrieved 10 October 2016.
  9. ^ Bourke, Latika (30 May 2019). "Albanese caps off his first week as leader by making key mistakes". The Sydney Morning Herald. Fairfax Media. Retrieved 30 May 2019.
  10. ^ "Labor's new-look shadow ministry". SBS News. Special Broadcasting Service. Retrieved 31 October 2021.
  11. ^ Richardson, Graham (26 June 2018). "Affirmative action leaves many a good man behind". The Australian. Retrieved 26 June 2018.
  12. ^ Brown, Greg (19 April 2021). "Labor drops hostility to coal". The Australian. Retrieved 19 April 2021.

 

Parliament of Australia
Preceded by Member for Brand
2016–present 		Incumbent