Jennifer Leslie Ware (born 21 October 1970) is an Australian politician and a member of 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 ...

. She was elected to the

House of Representatives House of Representatives is the name of legislative bodies in many countries and sub-national entities. In many countries, the House of Representatives is the lower house of a bicameral legislature, with the corresponding upper house often ...

in 2022, representing the

Division of Hughes The Division of Hughes is an Divisions of the Australian House of Representatives, Australian electoral division in the States and territories of Australia, state of New South Wales. History The division was created in 1955 and is named for B ...

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 ...

from 2022 until losing the seat in the

2025 Australian federal election The 2025 Australian federal election was held on Saturday, 3 May 2025, to elect members of the 48th Parliament of Australia. All 150 seats in the Australian House of Representatives, House of Representatives were up for election, along with 40 ...

Early life

Ware grew up in

Cronulla, New South Wales Cronulla is a suburb of Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia. Boasting numerous surf beaches and swimming spots, the suburb attracts both tourists and Greater Sydney residents. Cronulla is 26 kilometres south of the Sydney central ...

, and attended South Cronulla Primary School and

St George Girls High School St George Girls' High School (SGGHS) is a government-funded single-sex academically selective secondary day school for girls, located in Kogarah, in the southern suburbs of Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. Established in 1916 and ope ...

, which her mother and grandmother had previously attended. She has one sister.

Legal career

In her legal practice, Ware's focus was planning and environmental law, moving from private law firms to the government sector in 2013, when Ware became legal counsel for Hurstville City Council and later,

Georges River Council Georges River Council is a Local government in Australia, local government area located in the St George (Sydney), St George region of Sydney located south of the Sydney central business district, Sydney CBD, in New South Wales, Australia. The ...

Political career

Ware joined the Liberal Party in 2002 and was a long time member before leaving the party and rejoining in 2021. After the local preselection ballot was cancelled with some controversy, Ware was selected "by a committee comprising Prime Minister Scott Morrison, Premier Dominic Perrottet and former federal Liberal Party president Chris McDiven" and announced on 2 April 2022 as the Liberal candidate for the

2022 Australian federal election The 2022 Australian federal election was held on Saturday, 21 May 2022, to elect members of the 47th Parliament of Australia. The incumbent Morrison government, Liberal–National Coalition government, led by Prime Minister Scott Morrison, soug ...

. She was backed by the

moderate faction Moderate is an ideological category which entails centrist views on a liberal-conservative spectrum. It may also designate a rejection of radical or extreme views, especially in regard to politics and religion. Political position Canada ...

, of which she is a member. Liberal Party members who endorsed her included the former Member for Hughes, Danna Vale, Member for Cronulla

Mark Speakman Mark Raymond Speakman (born 6 November 1959) is an Australian politician. He has been a member of the New South Wales Legislative Assembly since 2011 New South Wales state election, 2011, representing Electoral district of Cronulla, Cronulla ...

and Member for Heathcote, Lee Evans. Ware was inspired to run by Danna Vale's record of advocacy for the people of Hughes, and Ware furthermore described the people of Hughes as Menzies' "Forgotten People". Ware was elected to the

in the 2022 election, gaining the

seat of Hughes from incumbent Craig Kelly of the UAP (former Liberal party member) with a swing of –9.3% against the Liberal party on first preferences and –2.79% on the two-candidate preferred count. Ware has been a member of the House Standing Committee on Health, Aged Care & Sport, House Standing Committee on Social Policy & Legal Affairs and Joint Standing Committee on the National Disability Insurance Scheme since August 2022.

Political views

Ware wrote to the Sydney Morning Herald in 2001, praising

Pauline Hanson Pauline Lee Hanson (''née'' Seccombe, formerly Zagorski; born 27 May 1954) is an Australian politician who is the founder and leader of One Nation, a right-wing populist political party. Hanson has represented Queensland in the Australian S ...

for being in touch with what was "causing Australians the most angst: the BAS (business activity statement), illegal boat people, road funding, competition policy, health, and education", furthermore describing

John Howard John Winston Howard (born 26 July 1939) is an Australian former politician who served as the 25th prime minister of Australia from 1996 to 2007. He held office as leader of the Liberal Party of Australia. His eleven-year tenure as prime min ...

and

Kim Beazley Kim Christian Beazley (born 14 December 1948) is an Australian former politician and diplomat. Since 2022 he has served as chairman of the Australian War Memorial. Previously, he was leader of the Australian Labor Party (ALP) and Leader of the ...

as "out of touch". When approached about these comments in the lead up to the 2022 election, Ware said that they reflected her frustrations at the time, noting that she had joined the Liberal Party and had been advocating for the important issues since. During the 2022 election campaign, Ware stated that she had played softball with and against transgender women, and disagreed with

Katherine Deves Katherine Deves Morgan is an Australian lawyer who ran unsuccessfully as a candidate for the centre-right Liberal Party of Australia at the 2022 Australian federal election. Deves has been described as a " captain's pick" by Prime Minister Scot ...

' statements about transgender women. Ware supports the use of

nuclear power in Australia Nuclear power in Australia has been a topic of practical debate since the mid-20th century. Australia has never had a nuclear power plant, and has only one nuclear reactor (OPAL), the third in a series at Lucas Heights, New South Wales, which ...

. Ware participates in the Parliamentary Friends of Dementia, the Parliamentary Friends of Israel, the Parliamentary Friends of Nuclear Industries, the Parliamentary Friends of Organ Donation and the Parliamentary Friends of Suicide Prevention. Ware hosted a forum on the

Voice to Parliament The Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Voice, also known as the Indigenous Voice to Parliament, the First Nations Voice or simply the Voice, was a proposed Australian federal advisory body to comprise Aboriginal and Torres Strait Island ...

which did not include Indigenous speakers.

Phil Dotti Phil may refer to: * Phil (given name), a shortened version of masculine and feminine names * Phill, a given name also spelled "Phil" * Phil, Kentucky, United States * ''Phil'' (film), a 2019 film * -phil-, a lexical fragment, used as a root ter ...

, the first Aboriginal player for the

Cronulla Sharks The Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks are an Australian professional rugby league club based in the Sutherland Shire of Southern Sydney, New South Wales. Cronulla compete in the National Rugby League (NRL), Australasia's premier rugby league compet ...

, attended the forum, and after listening to the speakers and not being called on to ask a question, he walked to the stage and spoke. The livestream of the event was cut at this point. Ware was a member of the parliamentary committee into online gambling and its impacts on those experiencing gambling harm. Ware has stated that "most Australians gamble responsibly".

Personal life

Ware lives in Gymea Bay with her husband and two sons, and has done volunteer work with the Sylvanvale Foundation (a disability support organisation) and as President of the Gymea Bay P&C. Ware's husband, Mike, is a sales rep. The couple married in 1999. As of 2021, Ware was the part-owner of three properties.

References

External links

Ms Jenny Ware
on

Parliament of Australia The Parliament of Australia (officially the Parliament of the Commonwealth and also known as the Federal Parliament) is the federal legislature of Australia. It consists of three elements: the Monarchy of Australia, monarch of Australia (repr ...

Profile at TheyVoteForYou.org.auOfficial website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Ware, Jenny 1970 births Living people Liberal Party of Australia members of the Parliament of Australia Members of the Australian House of Representatives for Hughes Members of the Australian House of Representatives Women members of the Australian House of Representatives Australian solicitors People from the Sutherland Shire 21st-century Australian women politicians Australian MPs 2022–2025