Karen_Struthers
Karen Struthers
Australian politician
Karen Struthers (born 19 February 1963) is an Australian politician who served in the Legislative Assembly of Queensland from 1998 to 2012.
Karen Struthers | |
|---|---|
| Minister for Community Services of Queensland | |
| In office 26 March 2009 – 26 March 2012 | |
| Premier | Anna Bligh |
| Preceded by | Lindy Nelson-Carr (Communities) |
| Succeeded by | Tracy Davis (Communities) |
| Minister for Housing of Queensland | |
| In office 26 March 2009 – 26 March 2012 | |
| Premier | Anna Bligh |
| Preceded by | Robert Schwarten |
| Succeeded by | Bruce Flegg |
| Minister for Women of Queensland | |
| In office 26 March 2009 – 26 March 2012 | |
| Premier | Anna Bligh |
| Preceded by | Margaret Keech |
| Succeeded by | Tracy Davis (as Minister for Communities) |
| Member of the Queensland Parliament for Algester Archerfield (1998–2001) | |
| In office 13 June 1998 – 24 March 2012 | |
| Preceded by | Len Ardill |
| Succeeded by | Anthony Shorten |
| Personal details | |
| Born | (1963-02-19) 19 February 1963 (age 61) Adelaide, South Australia, Australia |
| Political party | Labor Party |
| Children | 1 |
| Alma mater | University of Queensland, Griffith University |
Before she was elected Struthers was an Assistant Director of the Queensland Council of Social Service.[1]
She first entered Parliament at the 1998 election, winning the seat of Archerfield after the retirement of sitting member Len Ardill.[2]
Archerfield was abolished in a redistribution ahead of the 2001 state election, and Struthers followed most of her constituents into the new seat of Algester,[3] which she held until her defeat in the 2012 election.
Beattie Ministry
She was promoted to the front bench on 12 February 2004 as Parliamentary Secretary to the Premier (Multicultural Affairs) and Minister for Trade. She was appointed Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister for Employment, Training and Industrial Relations on 28 July 2005 and became Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Health on 13 September 2006.
Bligh Ministry
In March 2009, she was promoted to the Cabinet as Minister for Community Services and Housing and Minister for Women.[4]
Struthers was one of several Labor MPs in previously safe seats who were swept out in the massive Liberal National landslide of 2012, losing to LNP challenger Anthony Shorten on a swing of over 18 percent—enough to turn the seat from safe Labor to safe LNP in one stroke. In a measure of the backlash against Labor that year, Struthers had seen off a challenge from Shorten in 2009, taking 59 percent of the two-party vote.
She has one son.
- "FORMER MEMBER DETAILS Struthers, Karen Lee". Queensland Parliamentary Website. Retrieved 24 August 2022.
- Riggert, E (15 June 1998). "New MP can't wait to report for duty". The Courier-Mail. Brisbane, Australia. p. 8.
- Green, Anthony. "Algester". ABC Elections: 2009 Queensland Election. Australian Broadcasting Corporation. Retrieved 8 February 2010.
- Odgers, Rosemary; Lion, Patrick (25 March 2009). "Eight new faces in Cabinet clean-out – Ministers told to get runs on the board". The Courier-Mail. Brisbane, Australia. p. 4.
| Parliament of Queensland | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by | Member for Archerfield 1998–2001 |
Abolished |
| New seat | Member for Algester 2001–2012 |
Succeeded by |
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