Sue Lines
Susan Lines (born 15 December 1953) is an Australian politician who has been a Senator for Western Australia since 2013, representing the Australian Labor Party (ALP). She is the current President of the Australian Senate, having previously been Deputy President of the Senate from 2016. Before entering politics she was the assistant national secretary of United Voice.
Sue Lines
Early life[edit]
Lines was born in Perth on 15 December 1953,[1] the daughter of Nancy McRae and Jim Lines. Her parents later separated and she became close to her stepmother Mary Davies. Her father was born in England and came to Australia at the age of 12 as part of a child migration scheme, initially living at Fairbridge Farm. He served in World War II and later worked as a baker, carpenter and builder.[2] Lines held British citizenship by descent until renouncing it prior to the 2013 election. Her maternal grandparents were Scottish.[3]
Lines attended Gosnells Primary School and Armadale Senior High School.[4][5] She completed a Bachelor of Education at Murdoch University and worked as a teacher from 1984 to 1985.[1] Her mother, who died in 1976, was also a schoolteacher.[2] In 1987, after a few years as a community organiser, Lines began working as a union organiser for what subsequently became United Voice. She became the assistant state secretary of the union in 2001 and assistant national secretary in 2007.[1]