Julie Maree Collins (born 3 July 1971) is an Australian politician. 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 represented the Tasmanian seat of

Franklin Franklin may refer to: People and characters * Franklin (given name), including list of people and characters with the name * Franklin (surname), including list of people and characters with the name * Franklin (class), a member of a historic ...

since the 2007 federal election. She held ministerial positions in the Gillard and

Rudd government Rudd Government may refer to the following Australian governments: * Rudd government (2007–10) * Rudd government (2013) {{Dab ...

s, and is Minister for Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry and former Minister for Small Business in the

Albanese ministry Albanese ministry may refer to: *First Albanese ministry (2022–2025), the 73rd ministry of the Government of Australia *Second Albanese ministry The second Albanese ministry is the 74th ministry of the Australian Government, Government of A ...

Early life

Collins was born in

Hobart Hobart ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the island state of Tasmania, Australia. Located in Tasmania's south-east on the estuary of the River Derwent, it is the southernmost capital city in Australia. Despite containing nearly hal ...

on 3 July 1971. Her father died when she was five months old, leaving her mother, Anne Peters, widowed at the age of 19. She spent her early years in her grandparents' housing commission property. Her mother subsequently remarried and she was adopted by her step-father Andrew Collins. Collins attended Cosgrove High School but discontinued her studies at 15 before finishing high school and began a full time role at the local supermarket she worked at since she was 14. She did this as she became aware that she could not financially afford the costs of finishing years 11 and 12. Shortly after the 1987 federal election she began working for the ALP as an administrative assistant. She holds a

certificate IV The Australian Qualifications Framework (AQF) specifies the standards for educational qualifications in Australia. It is administered nationally by the Australian Government's Department of Education, with oversight from the States and Territ ...

in business administration. Collins was one of just 4 members of the

46th Parliament of Australia The 46th Parliament of Australia was a meeting of the legislative branch of the Australian federal government, composed of the Australian Senate and the Australian House of Representatives. The 2019 federal election gave the Coalition of the ...

who did not graduate from high school, the others being

Jacqui Lambie Jacquiline Louise Lambie (born 26 February 1971) is an Australian politician who is the leader and founder of the Jacqui Lambie Network (JLN). She is a Australian Senate, Senator for Tasmania since 2019, and was previously a Senator from 2014 to ...

, Llew O'Brien and Terry Young.

Politics

Prior to entering parliament herself, Collins worked in various administrative positions for Tasmanian Labor MPs and state government departments. She worked for the state health department (1990–1993), state opposition leader Michael Field (1993–1994), Senator John Coates (1995–1996), Senator

Sue Mackay Sue Mary Mackay (born 14 April 1960) is a former Australian politician who served as a Senator for Tasmania from 1996 to 2005, representing the Australian Labor Party (ALP). She was a shadow minister under Kim Beazley (1998–2001) and an oppo ...

(1996–1998),

Hydro Tasmania Hydro Tasmania, formerly the Hydro-Electric Commission (HEC), is a Tasmanian Government business enterprise which is the main electricity generator in Tasmania, Australia. Originally oriented towards hydro-electricity, owing to Tasmania's dr ...

(1998), state premier Jim Bacon (1998–2003), the state Department of Tourism, Parks, Heritage and the Arts (2003–2005), and Senator Carol Brown (2005–2006). Collins was state president of

Young Labor Australian Young Labor (AYL), also known as the Young Labor Movement or simply Young Labor, is the youth wing of the Australian Labor Party (ALP) representing all party members aged between 14 and 26. The organisation operates as a federation ...

in 1996 and a delegate to state and national conference. She served as state secretary of the ALP from 2006 to 2007. Collins is a member of

Labor Left The Labor Left (LL), also known as the Progressive Left, Socialist Left or simply the Left, is one of the two major political factions within the Australian Labor Party (ALP). It is nationally characterised by social progressivism and democra ...

Rudd and Gillard governments (2007–2013)

Collins 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 ...

at the 2007 federal election retaining the

Division of Franklin The Division of Franklin is an Divisions of the Australian House of Representatives, Australian electoral division in Tasmania. The division is the southernmost in Australia, located in southern Tasmania around the state capital, Hobart. It i ...

for the ALP following the retirement of

Harry Quick Harry Vernon Quick (28 June 1941 – 19 October 2024) was an Australian politician. He was a member of the Australian House of Representatives, House of Representatives from 1993 until 2007, representing the electorate of Division of Franklin, ...

and becoming the first woman to represent the electorate. Quick had been expelled from the ALP months prior after failing to pay his membership fees, and appearing with Liberal party representatives

Vanessa Goodwin Vanessa Goodwin (22 April 1969 – 3 March 2018) was an Australian politician. She was the Liberal Party member for the seat of Pembroke in the Tasmanian Legislative Council from the Pembroke by-election on 1 August 2009 until her resignation ...

the candidate for Franklin and minister

Joe Hockey Joseph Benedict Hockey (born 2 August 1965) is an Australian former politician and diplomat. He was the Member of Parliament for Division of North Sydney, North Sydney from 1996 Australian federal election, 1996 until 2015. He was the Treasurer ...

when the preselected ALP candidate for Franklin was Tasmanian union official Kevin Harkins who Quick opposed. Harkins resigned as candidate after more controversy and Collins was preselected as the candidate by the ALP's national executive. Collins had previously unsuccessfully stood for the seat of Denison in the 2006 state election. She successfully held her seat in the 2010 federal election and was sworn in as Parliamentary Secretary for Community Services on 14 September 2010 in the Second Gillard ministry. In 2011, Collins became Minister for Community Services, Minister for Indigenous Employment and Economic Development, and Minister for the Status of Women in a reshuffle. In 2012, Collins voted for

same-sex marriage Same-sex marriage, also known as gay marriage, is the marriage of two people of the same legal Legal sex and gender, sex. marriage between same-sex couples is legally performed and recognized in 38 countries, with a total population of 1.5 ...

when

Labor Labour or labor may refer to: * Childbirth, the delivery of a baby * Labour (human activity), or work ** Manual labour, physical work ** Wage labour, a socioeconomic relationship between a worker and an employer ** Organized labour and the labour ...

politicians were given a conscience vote. In 2013, Collins gained additional responsibilities as the Minister for Housing and Homelessness and was promoted to the

cabinet Cabinet or The Cabinet may refer to: Furniture * Cabinetry, a box-shaped piece of furniture with doors and/or drawers * Display cabinet, a piece of furniture with one or more transparent glass sheets or transparent polycarbonate sheets * Filin ...

in the

Second Rudd ministry The second Rudd ministry (Labor) was the 67th ministry of the Australian government, led by Prime Minister Kevin Rudd. It succeeded the second Gillard ministry after a leadership spill within the Australian Labor Party that took place on 26 Ju ...

. She remained in these positions until the defeat of the

Rudd government Rudd Government may refer to the following Australian governments: * Rudd government (2007–10) * Rudd government (2013) {{Dab ...

in September 2013.

Opposition (2013–2022)

Collins held her seat in the

2013 2013 was the first year since 1987 to contain four unique digits (a span of 26 years). 2013 was designated as: *International Year of Water Cooperation *International Year of Quinoa Events January * January 5 – 2013 Craig, Alask ...

2016 2016 was designated as: * International Year of Pulses by the sixty-eighth session of the United Nations General Assembly. * International Year of Global Understanding (IYGU) by the International Council for Science (ICSU), the Internationa ...

and

2019 This was the year in which the first known human case of COVID-19 was documented, preceding COVID-19 pandemic, the pandemic which was declared by the World Health Organization the following year. Up to that point, 2019 had been described as ...

federal elections. She served in the shadow cabinet in roles including Shadow Minister for Regional Development and Local Government, Shadow Minister for Ageing and Mental Health, Shadow Minister for Women and Shadow Minister for Agriculture.

Albanese government (2022–present)

Following the 2022 federal election, Collins was appointed Minister for Housing, Minister for Homelessness and Minister for Small Business in the

. Collins voted for the Restoring Territory Rights Bill 2022 that removed the block on the ability of the

Australian Capital Territory The Australian Capital Territory (ACT), known as the Federal Capital Territory until 1938, is an internal States and territories of Australia, territory of Australia. Canberra, the capital city of Australia, is situated within the territory, an ...

and

Northern Territory The Northern Territory (abbreviated as NT; known formally as the Northern Territory of Australia and informally as the Territory) is an states and territories of Australia, Australian internal territory in the central and central-northern regi ...

to pass euthanasia laws when

politicians were given a conscience vote. Collins launched the government's Regional First Home Buyer Guarantee. Collins introduced the Housing Australia Future Fund bill into parliament. In the July 2024 reshuffle, she was appointed Minister for Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry and retained Minister for Small Business until 2025. She held her seat in the

2025 So far, the year has seen the continuation of major armed conflicts, including the Russian invasion of Ukraine, the Sudanese civil war (2023–present), Sudanese civil war, and the Gaza war. Internal crises in Bangladesh post-resignation v ...

federal election.

Personal life

Collins has three children with her husband Ian Hubbard.

References

External links

* * , - , - , - , - , - , - , - , - {{DEFAULTSORT:Collins, Julie 1971 births Living people Australian Labor Party members of the Parliament of Australia Members of the Australian House of Representatives for Franklin Members of the Australian House of Representatives Women members of the Australian House of Representatives Labor Left politicians 21st-century Australian women politicians Women government ministers of Australia Albanese government Women's ministers of Australia Australian MPs 2007–2010 Australian MPs 2010–2013 Australian MPs 2013–2016 Australian MPs 2016–2019 Australian MPs 2019–2022 Australian MPs 2022–2025