Jess Walsh
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Jessica Cecille Walsh (born 16 May 1971) is an Australian politician and trade unionist. She is a member of 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 ...
(ALP) and has served 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 Victoria since 2019. Since 2025, she has held the position of Minister for Early Childhood Education and Minister for Youth in the second Albanese ministry. Prior to her election to parliament, she was the state secretary of
United Voice United Voice was an Australian trade union from 1992 to 2019. It merged with the National Union of Workers to form the United Workers Union in 2019. United Voice was part of the Labor Left faction of the Australian Labor Party. The union was ...
.


Early life

Walsh was born in
Melbourne Melbourne ( , ; Boonwurrung language, Boonwurrung/ or ) is the List of Australian capital cities, capital and List of cities in Australia by population, most populous city of the States and territories of Australia, Australian state of Victori ...
on 16 May 1971. She grew up in the suburb of North Balwyn. She holds the degrees of
Bachelor of Arts A Bachelor of Arts (abbreviated B.A., BA, A.B. or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is the holder of a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the liberal arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts deg ...
( Hons.) from the
University of Melbourne The University of Melbourne (colloquially known as Melbourne University) is a public university, public research university located in Melbourne, Australia. Founded in 1853, it is Australia's second oldest university and the oldest in the state ...
,
Master of Arts A Master of Arts ( or ''Artium Magister''; abbreviated MA or AM) is the holder of a master's degree awarded by universities in many countries. The degree is usually contrasted with that of Master of Science. Those admitted to the degree have ...
from the
University of Southern California The University of Southern California (USC, SC, or Southern Cal) is a Private university, private research university in Los Angeles, California, United States. Founded in 1880 by Robert M. Widney, it is the oldest private research university in ...
, and
Doctor of Philosophy A Doctor of Philosophy (PhD, DPhil; or ) is a terminal degree that usually denotes the highest level of academic achievement in a given discipline and is awarded following a course of Postgraduate education, graduate study and original resear ...
in
economic geography Economic geography is the subfield of human geography that studies economic activity and factors affecting it. It can also be considered a subfield or method in economics. Economic geography takes a variety of approaches to many different topi ...
from the University of Melbourne. Her doctoral thesis was titled "Organising the low-wage service sector: labour, community and urban politics in the United States".


Career

From 1998 to 2000 Walsh was a research fellow at two progressive think tanks in the United States, the
Institute for Policy Studies The Institute for Policy Studies (IPS) is an American Progressivism in the United States, progressive think tank, formed in 1963 and based in Washington, D.C. It was directed by John Cavanagh (economist), John Cavanagh from 1998 to 2021. In 202 ...
and the
Economic Policy Institute The Economic Policy Institute (EPI) is a 501(c)(3) organization, 501(c)(3) non-profit think tank based in Washington, D.C., that carries out economic research and analyzes the economic impact of policies and proposals. Affiliated with the Labor un ...
. There she researched "the loss of decent, stable manufacturing jobs and the growth in their place of low-paid and insecure work in service industries". After returning to Australia, Walsh worked as a researcher and organiser for the Victorian branch of
United Voice United Voice was an Australian trade union from 1992 to 2019. It merged with the National Union of Workers to form the United Workers Union in 2019. United Voice was part of the Labor Left faction of the Australian Labor Party. The union was ...
from 2002 to 2006. She then served as assistant state secretary from 2006 to 2007 and as state secretary from 2007 to 2019. Walsh was elected to the Senate at the 2019 federal election. She serves as Chair of the Senate Economics Committee and is a member of the Parliamentary Joint Committee on Intelligence and Security.


Politics

Walsh joined the ALP in 2005. In 2018 she won ALP
preselection Preselection is the process by which a candidate is selected, usually by a political party, to contest an election for political office. It is also referred to as candidate selection. It is a fundamental function of political parties. The presel ...
for the Senate in second position on the party's ticket in Victoria. The party's left faction demoted incumbent senator Gavin Marshall to the third spot after Raff Ciccone and Walsh. Walsh was elected to the Senate at the 2019 federal election, to a six-year term beginning on 1 July 2019. In 2022 she was appointed chair of the Senate's economics legislation committee. Following 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 ...
in which the Labor government was re-elected, she was appointed Minister for Early Childhood Education and Minister for Youth in the second Albanese ministry.


Personal life

Walsh has two residential properties in
Melbourne Melbourne ( , ; Boonwurrung language, Boonwurrung/ or ) is the List of Australian capital cities, capital and List of cities in Australia by population, most populous city of the States and territories of Australia, Australian state of Victori ...
and South Gippsland. She has an investment property in
Byron Bay Byron Bay ( Minjungbal: ''Cavvanbah'') is a beachside town located in the far-northeastern corner of New South Wales, Australia (in Bundjalung Country). It is located north of Sydney and south of Brisbane. Cape Byron, a headland adjac ...
.


References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Walsh, Jess 1971 births Living people Australian trade unionists 21st-century Australian politicians 21st-century Australian women politicians Women members of the Australian Senate Australian Labor Party members of the Parliament of Australia Labor Left politicians Members of the Australian Senate for Victoria University of Melbourne alumni University of Southern California alumni People from Balwyn, Victoria Politicians from Melbourne