Ged Kearney | |
|---|---|
 Kearney at a rally for refugee rights in 2022 | |
| Assistant Minister for Social Services | |
| Assumed office 13 May 2025 | |
| Prime Minister | Anthony Albanese |
| Preceded by | Justine Elliot |
| Assistant Minister for the Prevention of Family Violence | |
| Assumed office 13 May 2025 | |
| Prime Minister | Anthony Albanese |
| Preceded by | Justine Elliot |
| Assistant Minister for Health and Aged Care | |
| In office 1 June 2022 – 13 May 2025 | |
| Prime Minister | Anthony Albanese |
| Preceded by | David Gillespie(2017) |
| Succeeded by | Rebecca White |
| Member of theAustralian Parliament forCooper | |
| Assumed office 18 May 2019 | |
| Preceded by | Division created |
| Member of theAustralian Parliament forBatman | |
| In office 17 March 2018 – 18 May 2019 | |
| Preceded by | David Feeney |
| Succeeded by | Division abolished |
| 10thPresident of the ACTU | |
| In office 1 July 2010 – 2 February 2018 | |
| Preceded by | Sharan Burrow |
| Succeeded by | Michele O'Neil |
| Personal details | |
| Born | Gerardine Mary Kearney (1963-10-29)29 October 1963 (age 62) East Melbourne,Victoria, Australia |
| Party | Labor |
| Profession | Nurse Trade unionist Politician |
| Website | www |
Gerardine Mary "Ged"Kearney (born 29 October 1963) is an Australian politician andtrade unionist who is a member of theAustralian Parliament for theDivision of Cooper. She is a member of theAustralian Labor Party. Since 2025, Kearney has served asAssistant Minister for Social Services andAssistant Minister for the Prevention of Family Violence in theAlbanese government. Kearney has been a member of theHouse of Representatives since March 2018, formerly representing theDivision of Batman. Prior to entering politics, she served as president of theAustralian Council of Trade Unions (ACTU) from 2010 to 2018.
Gerardine Mary Kearney was born on 29 October 1963 inEast Melbourne,Victoria, Australia; she grew up inRichmond as the second-youngest of nine siblings.[1][2] Her father was a publican.[1][3] Kearney attended secondary school atAcademy of Mary Immaculate inFitzroy[2] and began to study for aBachelor of Economics degree atMonash University but ended her studies to pursue a career in nursing.[4][5] She qualified as a registered nurse in 1985 and participated in a nurses' strike in 1986.[1][3] She gained aBachelor of Education, and worked as a nurse and nurse educator, managing clinical-nurse education atAustin Health.[1]
When Kearney was 21, she became pregnant with twins, leading her to take leave from her nursing training.[6] She returned to her training when her children were seven weeks old.[6]
In 1997, Kearney was elected as an official of theAustralian Nursing Federation; she served as assistant federal secretary, federal president and Victorian-branch president before she was appointed as federal secretary of the Federation in April 2008.[1] On 1 July 2010, following the departure ofSharan Burrow, Kearney was elected president of the ACTU.[1] At the time, the president of theAustralian Workers' UnionPaul Howes criticised the election process as "undemocratic" because of the exclusion of right-wing-aligned unions from the election process.[7] In response, Kearney stated she had received the support of "70% of unions" within the ACTU.[7]
In December 2011, Kearney and other trade unionists were deported from Fiji under the emergency laws put in place following theFijian constitutional crisis of 2009.[8] In July 2012, Kearney announced the ACTU would donate to FijiA$2.6 million to assist in the running of democratic elections.[9]
In April 2012, Kearney announced the ACTU would suspend the membership of theHealth Services Union following theHealth Services Union expenses affair,[10] which she described as "a bad look" for the union movement.[11] In the following month, Kearney addressed a conference of the ACTU and she stated the "misuse of members' money and contempt for the accountability to members [is] unacceptable".[12]
In July 2012, immigration ministerChris Bowen created the Ministerial Advisory Council on Skilled Migration (MACSM) and appointed Kearney as one of its nine members.[13] In 2017, Kearney resigned from the MACSM, stating the body had become "ineffective" and "unbalanced".[14]
In 2015, as ACTU president, Kearney called onPrime Minister of AustraliaTony Abbott to removeDyson Heydon from his leadership of theRoyal Commission into Trade Union Governance and Corruption after Heydon agreed to speak at aLiberal Party fundraising dinner.[15] Kearney also stated the ACTU was considering taking the matter to theHigh Court but this did not occur.[16] Kearney had previously labelled the royal commission "an expensive stunt".[17]
In May 2013, in the lead up to the2013 federal election, Kearney said she was considering nominating herself for Laborpreselection in theDivision of Batman, a seat that was being vacated following the retirement ofMartin Ferguson.[18] Kearney later decided not to contest preselection.[19] In 2017, Kearney was a candidate for Labor preselection in theVictorian seat of Brunswick, a seat that was being vacated byJane Garrett, who had moved to theLegislative Council.[20]Cindy O'Connor was preselected as the Labor candidate over Kearney and was defeated at the2018 state election byGreens candidateTim Read.[21]
In February 2018, aby-election was announced in the seat of Batman following the resignation ofDavid Feeney due to the2017–2018 Australian parliamentary eligibility crisis. Labor preselected Kearney to contest the by-election and on 2 February 2018, she resigned as president of the ACTU to campaign.[22] Kearney's main opponent was Greens candidateAlex Bhathal, who had already run for the seat five times.[23][24] Controversy around the proposedAdani Carmichael coal mine was a significant feature of the by-election campaign,[23] during which Labor leaderBill Shorten stated his "scepticism" of the coal mine; Kearney also criticised of the project but did not commit to blocking it.[25][26] TheAustralian Conservation Foundation distributed material stating only the Greens would "stop Adani's mine from going ahead".[27] Activist groupGetUp! stated they would not assist Labor in campaigning due to Labor's position on the coal mine.[28]
During the by-election campaign, Kearney received the personal endorsement of former Prime MinisterJulia Gillard, who wrote a letter that was distributed to 36,000 houses within the electorate.[29] Kearney was also endorsed byEMILY's List Australia, a Labor-aligned organisation that advocates for representation of women in parliament.[30] Kearney won theby-election on 17 March 2018 with 43.20% of the primary votes and 54.43% of votes after distribution of preferences.[31]
In hermaiden speech as an MP, Gerardine Kearney advocated for a "humane refugee policy" in Australia and called for an end tooffshore detention of asylum seekers.[32] In July 2018, theAustralian Electoral Commission redrew Batman's boundaries and renamed itCooper after Indigenous activistWilliam Cooper.[33][34] Kearney was subsequently elected at the2019 federal election for Cooper, receiving 64.83% of thetwo-candidate preferred vote.[35]
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Following the 2019 federal election,Opposition LeaderAnthony Albanese appointed Kearney intohis shadow ministry as the Shadow Assistant Minister for Skills and the Shadow Assistant Minister for Aged Care.[36] In July 2019, Kearney joined the Parliamentary Committee for Employment, Education and Training.[36] Following ashadow cabinet reshuffle in January 2021, Kearney was appointed as Shadow Assistant Minister for Health and Ageing.[36]
In July 2020, Kearney left the Industrial Left faction for the Labor Left faction.[37][38]
In June 2021, Kearney and two other female Labor MPs wrote to the Prime MinisterScott Morrison, calling for him to dismiss the committee chairAndrew Laming over his behaviour towards women.[39] Following Labor's success in the2022 federal election, Prime Minister Anthony Albanese appointed KearneyAssistant Minister for Health and Aged Care on 1 June 2022.[36][40][41] In December that year, Kearney was also appointed to chair the newly formed National Women's Health Advisory Council, which was established to look at ways of improving health outcomes for women and girls, and tackling "medical misogyny".[42][43] On 1 July 2022, Kearney announced the self-collection of samples forcervical-cancer testing would become available.[44] On 22 November 2023, Kearney announced the National Strategy for the Elimination of Cervical Cancer, along with A$48.2 million for its implementation.[45] The strategy includes measures such as achieving a 90% vaccination rate amongst boys forhuman papillomavirus (HPV).[45]
On 15 November 2023, fake corpses were placed outside the electorate offices of Kearney and other MPs as part of a protest against the government's position on theGaza war.[46]
On 3 December 2023, Kearney attended that year'sUnited Nations Climate Change Conference (COP28) and delivered a speech announcing the Australian National Health and Climate Strategy, whose priorities included "Health system decarbonisation" and "Resilience actions".[47] TheAustralian Healthcare and Hospitals Association and Asthma Australia welcomed the strategy,[48][49] and Dietitians Australia praised it for including a review of "nutrition and sustainability standards" in healthcare.[50]Doctors for the Environment Australia (DEA) stated the strategy was "an important step forward" and the DEA executive director stated the government must "phase out fossil fuels if it's serious about protecting lives".[51]
After the re-election of theAlbanese government in the2025 federal election, Kearney was moved to the role ofAssistant Minister for Social Services andAssistant Minister for the Prevention of Family Violence in thesecond Albanese ministry.[52]
Kearney is a supporter of anIndigenous Voice to Parliament and campaigned in favour of its introduction in the unsuccessful2023 referendum.[53][54] On 4 September 2023 on the Australian political television talk showQ+A, Kearney said:
This [the Voice] was a very generous request made of us by First Nations people, through a very broad process of consultation, and that culminated in the Uluru Statement from the Heart, which asked us to do this ... It was a very generous offer that was made, given 200 years of colonisation.[55]
Kearney is a supporter ofLGBT rights and participated in theSydney WorldPride march in March 2023.[56] Along with Health MinisterMark Butler, Kearney set up and now chairs the federal governmentHIV taskforce.[57] At the national Labor conference in 2023, Kearney and Butler supported a motion that called for the removal of a blanket restriction that prevents gay men, bisexual men andtransgender women from donating blood.[58] Kearney also chairs the LGBTIQA+ Health and Wellbeing 10 Year National Action Plan Expert Advisory Group, which is responsible for developing a national plan forLGBTIQA+ health.[59]
Kearney is a member of the Australian All-Party Parliamentary Group for Tibet.[60]
Kearney has four children.[1] In 2020, Kearney's father-in-law died after contractingCOVID-19 inCanberra; his was the thirtieth death fromCOVID-19 in Australia.[61][62] Kearney owns her home in Brunswick as well as investment property and land in Queensland.[63]
| Parliament of Australia | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by | Member forBatman 2018–2019 | Division abolished |
| New division | Member forCooper 2019–present | Incumbent |
Prime Minister:Anthony Albanese | ||
| Cabinet | .jpg) | |
| Outer Ministry | ||
| Assistant Ministers | ||
| Resigned | ||
Prime Minister:Anthony Albanese | ||
| Cabinet | | |
| Outer Ministry | ||
| Assistant Ministers | ||
