Marielle Smith | |
---|---|
Senator for South Australia | |
Assumed office 1 July 2019 | |
Personal details | |
Born | Marielle Catherine Smith 30 December 1986 Sydney, New South Wales, Australia |
Citizenship |
|
Political party | ALP |
Alma mater |
Australian National University London School of Economics |
Occupation | Politician |
Website |
www |
Marielle Catherine Smith (born 30 December 1986), also known as Marielle Feuerherdt Smith, is an Australian politician. She is a member of the Australian Labor Party (ALP) and has served as a Senator for South Australia since 2019.
Marielle Catherine Smith, [1] also referred to as Marielle Feuerherdt Smith, [2] [3] was born on 30 December 1986 in Sydney. [4] Her mother was born in the United Kingdom and she held British citizenship by descent until renouncing it in 2018 prior to running for parliament. [2]
Smith attended University Senior College in Adelaide, South Australia. [5] [6] She holds the degrees of Bachelor of Arts from the Australian National University and Master of Science from the London School of Economics. [4]
After graduating from ANU she joined the Australian Public Service through the Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet's graduate program. [5]
Smith has undertaken volunteer work with non-government organisations in Ghana and Sierra Leone. [5] She is a former board member of Transit Systems, a bus company co-founded by her father Neil. [7] [8] She can drive articulated buses. [9]
Smith joined the Australian Labor Party (ALP) at a young age. She worked for Labor MP Kate Ellis as a researcher (2005–2008) and ministerial adviser (2010–2012), and later as a senior policy adviser to Prime Minister Julia Gillard. She regards both Ellis and Gillard as mentors. [10]
In 2017, Smith was elected to the ALP state executive and state council. She also served as a delegate to the Australian Labor Party National Conference. [4] In 2018, she was a preselection candidate for the Division of Adelaide. [11]
Smith was elected to the Senate at the 2019 federal election. She is a member of several Senate committees. [4] She has been identified as a member of the Labor Right faction. [11]
In her maiden speech to the Senate, Smith called for Labor to retain its 2019 election policy of funding preschool for three-year-olds "to ensure all children can access world-leading early education and care, regardless of what their parents do, how much they earn or where they live." [12]
Smith is married with two children and three step-children. [13] Her husband Clint Feuerherdt is the managing director of SeaLink Travel Group and former CEO of Transit Systems. [14] [15]
Marielle Smith, a one-time adviser to Ms Ellis and a current adviser to former Prime Minister Julia Gillard has confirmed to the ABC she intends to nominate for the seat when preselection opens.