Cheryl Kernot
   HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

Cheryl Zena Kernot (née Paton, formerly Young; born 5 December 1948) is an Australian politician, academic, and political activist. She was a member of the
Australian Senate The Senate is the upper house of the Bicameralism, bicameral Parliament of Australia, the lower house being the Australian House of Representatives, House of Representatives. The powers, role and composition of the Senate are set out in Chap ...
representing
Queensland Queensland ( , commonly abbreviated as Qld) is a States and territories of Australia, state in northeastern Australia, and is the second-largest and third-most populous state in Australia. It is bordered by the Northern Territory, South Austr ...
for the
Australian Democrats The Australian Democrats is a centrist political party in Australia. Founded in 1977 from a merger of the Australia Party and the New Liberal Movement, both of which were descended from Liberal Party splinter groups, it was Australia's lar ...
from 1990 to 1997, and the fifth leader of the Australian Democrats from 1993 to 1997. In 1997, she resigned from the Australian Democrats, joined the
Australian Labor Party The Australian Labor Party (ALP), also known as the Labor Party or simply Labor, is the major Centre-left politics, centre-left List of political parties in Australia, political party in Australia and one of two Major party, major parties in Po ...
, and won the seat of Dickson at the 1998 federal election. She was defeated at the 2001 federal election. Kernot was an unsuccessful
independent Independent or Independents may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Artist groups * Independents (artist group), a group of modernist painters based in Pennsylvania, United States * Independentes (English: Independents), a Portuguese artist ...
candidate to represent
New South Wales New South Wales (commonly abbreviated as NSW) is a States and territories of Australia, state on the Eastern states of Australia, east coast of :Australia. It borders Queensland to the north, Victoria (state), Victoria to the south, and South ...
in the Australian Senate in the 2010 federal election.


Early life

Kernot was born Cheryl Paton in
Maitland, New South Wales Maitland () is a city in the Hunter Valley of New South Wales, Australia and the seat of Maitland City Council, situated on the Hunter River, New South Wales, Hunter River approximately by road north of Sydney and north-west of Newcastle, New S ...
, on 5 December 1948. She grew up working class and her father worked two jobs to provide for the family. Her maternal grandfather was an organiser for the
Australian Labor Party The Australian Labor Party (ALP), also known as the Labor Party or simply Labor, is the major Centre-left politics, centre-left List of political parties in Australia, political party in Australia and one of two Major party, major parties in Po ...
in the Hunter Valley coalfields. She attended East Maitland Primary School and Maitland Girls' High School. Kernot received a Commonwealth scholarship to attend the
University of Sydney The University of Sydney (USYD) is a public university, public research university in Sydney, Australia. Founded in 1850, it is the oldest university in both Australia and Oceania. One of Australia's six sandstone universities, it was one of the ...
, where she studied government. She received a teaching diploma from the University of Newcastle and spent twelve years as a political activist while working as a school teacher in
New South Wales New South Wales (commonly abbreviated as NSW) is a States and territories of Australia, state on the Eastern states of Australia, east coast of :Australia. It borders Queensland to the north, Victoria (state), Victoria to the south, and South ...
and
Queensland Queensland ( , commonly abbreviated as Qld) is a States and territories of Australia, state in northeastern Australia, and is the second-largest and third-most populous state in Australia. It is bordered by the Northern Territory, South Austr ...
. She also worked as an electorate officer and freelance radio producer. In 1984, Kernot was elected Queensland Secretary of the Australian Democrats, and later in the year, Queensland State President, a position she held until 1999. Kernot served as Deputy National President of the party between 1988 until her election to the Senate in 1990.


Political career


Democrats

Kernot was first elected as a
Senator A senate is a deliberative assembly, often the upper house or Legislative chamber, chamber of a bicameral legislature. The name comes from the Ancient Rome, ancient Roman Senate (Latin: ''Senatus''), so-called as an assembly of the senior ...
for Queensland at the 1990 election, taking over from the retiring Democrats Senator Michael Macklin. Kernot surprised party members by immediately contesting the parliamentary deputy leadership, even before taking her place in the Senate on 1 July 1990. In 1991, she controversially acted to discredit and depose the elected leader, Janet Powell, resulting in Powell's replacement by John Coulter. Kernot finally achieved her ambition to become the Democrats' Senate leader after the 1993 election. Meg Lees was elected as her deputy. Inside the party, she spearheaded a drive for central control of the state-based organisations, which resulted in protest resignations of members and the temporary closure of the Western Australian Division. Externally, however, she became a popular media spokesperson, leading the party to one of its best-ever results in the 1996 election and obtaining a primary vote of over 13% for herself.


Labor Party

On 15 October 1997, Kernot abruptly moved to the
Australian Labor Party The Australian Labor Party (ALP), also known as the Labor Party or simply Labor, is the major Centre-left politics, centre-left List of political parties in Australia, political party in Australia and one of two Major party, major parties in Po ...
, resigning her Senate seat and leaving the leadership of the Democrats to her deputy, Meg Lees, in what was described by journalist Monica Attard as a "defection
hat A hat is a Headgear, head covering which is worn for various reasons, including protection against weather conditions, ceremonial reasons such as university graduation, religious reasons, safety, or as a fashion accessory. Hats which incorpor ...
took the country by storm". In her resignation speech, Kernot did not criticise the Democrats, saying her motivation was due to a "growing sense of outrage at the damage being done to Australia by the
Howard Government The Howard government refers to the Government of Australia, federal executive government of Australia led by Prime Minister John Howard between 11 March 1996 and 3 December 2007. It was made up of members of the Liberal Party of Australia, Li ...
" and that her position leading a minor party in the Senate meant she "had a limited capacity to help minimise that damage". She also stated that she was "well aware of the political risks in this course of action". Some derided Kernot because of her ambition; and, according to journalist Julia Baird, she "found herself at odds with the leadership of the Labor Party". Baird went on to say "... ernot..unravelled publicly under the stress, and she was portrayed in print as a has-been, a whinger and a poor performer". Kernot narrowly won the outer metropolitan Brisbane seat of Dickson for Labor at the 1998 election, before losing it at the 2001 election to the
Liberal Party The Liberal Party is any of many political parties around the world. The meaning of ''liberal'' varies around the world, ranging from liberal conservatism on the right to social liberalism on the left. For example, while the political systems ...
candidate Peter Dutton. During her period as Member for Dickson, Kernot served in the Shadow Ministry, and held the roles of Shadow Minister for Regional Development, Infrastructure, Transport and Regional Services from 1998 to 1999, and Shadow Minister for Employment and Training from 1999 to 2001.


Life outside politics

After retiring from politics, Kernot wrote an autobiography called ''Speaking for Myself'', which was published in 2002. This book was focused on her political career, particularly her move from the Democrats to Labor. On 3 July 2002, in his regular weekly column in '' The Bulletin'', political journalist Laurie Oakes criticised Kernot for failing to mention an extramarital affair she had with Gareth Evans while she was leader of the Democrats. Evans was deputy leader of the Labor Party and key advocate of her move to Labor. Oakes claimed that the relationship began several years before Kernot joined Labor, and ended in October 1999. He made the claim based on leaked emails in his possession that proved Kernot had a five-year relationship with Evans. Initially, Kernot and Evans made themselves unavailable for comment; however, Evans subsequently confirmed the nature of their relationship. Kernot worked in the
United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Northwestern Europe, off the coast of European mainland, the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...
as Programme Director at the Skoll Centre for Social Entrepreneurs at the
Said Business School Said can refer to: * Speech, or the act of speaking * Saʽid, a male Arabic given name * Said (honorific), a honorific in Islamic culture * Said, Iran (disambiguation), multiple places in Iran * Port Said, a city in Egypt * Saïd Business Scho ...
at
Oxford University The University of Oxford is a collegiate research university in Oxford, England. There is evidence of teaching as early as 1096, making it the oldest university in the English-speaking world and the second-oldest continuously operating u ...
and as the Director of Learning at the School for Social Entrepreneurs in London. Kernot is currently the Director of Social Business at the Centre for Social Impact, based at the
University of New South Wales The University of New South Wales (UNSW) is a public research university based in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. It was established in 1949. The university comprises seven faculties, through which it offers bachelor's, master's and docto ...
. She has also expressed support for Australia becoming a
republic A republic, based on the Latin phrase ''res publica'' ('public affair' or 'people's affair'), is a State (polity), state in which Power (social and political), political power rests with the public (people), typically through their Representat ...
.


Return to politics

On 30 July 2010, Kernot announced that she would run as a candidate for the Australian Senate representing New South Wales as an independent on a platform of "Change politics". She was not successful.


Other interests

Kernot was one of Australia's first fully qualified female cricket umpires. She was patron of the
Australian women's cricket team The Australian women's national cricket team, formerly known as the Southern Stars, represent Australia in international cricket. Currently captained by Alyssa Healy and coached by Shelley Nitschke, they are the top team in all world rankings ...
from 1994 to 2000. Kernot is on the founding committee of a UK charity which works to provide shelter and education for street children in Kampala, Uganda. In 2014 Kernot became the first patron of the Women in Prison Advocacy Network (WIPAN). WIPAN is a grassroots community charity dedicated to advancing the prospects and wellbeing of women and female youth affected by the criminal justice system. It does so through individual mentoring and advocacy.


References


External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Kernot, Cheryl 1948 births Living people University of Newcastle (Australia) alumni Australian republicans Australian Democrats members of the Parliament of Australia Australian Labor Party members of the Parliament of Australia Members of the Australian Senate for Queensland Women members of the Australian Senate Members of the Australian House of Representatives for Dickson Members of the Australian House of Representatives Women members of the Australian House of Representatives Leaders of the Australian Democrats 21st-century Australian politicians 21st-century Australian women politicians 20th-century Australian women politicians Australian MPs 1998–2001