Catherine Esther Doust (born 27 May 1962) is an Australian politician who has been a Labor Party member of the

Legislative Council of Western Australia The Western Australian Legislative Council is the upper house of the Parliament of Western Australia, a state of Australia. It is regarded as a house of review for legislation passed by the Legislative Assembly, the lower house. The two Houses ...

since 2001, representing South Metropolitan Region. She was President of the Legislative Council from 2017 to 2021, the first woman to hold the position.

Early life

Doust was born in

Kalgoorlie Kalgoorlie-Boulder (or just Kalgoorlie) is a city in the Goldfields–Esperance region of Western Australia, located east-northeast of Perth at the end of the Great Eastern Highway. It is referred to as Kalgoorlie–Boulder as the surroundi ...

and attended the

University of Western Australia University of Western Australia (UWA) is a public research university in the Australian state of Western Australia. The university's main campus is in Crawley, Western Australia, Crawley, a suburb in the City of Perth local government area. UW ...

, graduating with a

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 ...

degree. From 1984, she worked as an official with the

Shop, Distributive and Allied Employees Association The Shop, Distributive and Allied Employees' Association (SDA) is a private sector trade union in Australia, representing retail, fast-food and warehousing workers, and has branches in each state and territory. Its membership is predominantly ...

, including as a board member and treasurer for periods. She also served as a vice-president of

UnionsWA UnionsWA is the peak Trades and Labour Council in Western Australia. It represents over 30 affiliated unions, which have over 150,000 members in Western Australia. The organisation is affiliated with the Australian Council of Trade Unions (ACT ...

.Catherine (Kate) Esther Doust
Biographical Register of Members of the Parliament of Western Australia. Retrieved 11 February 2017.

Political career

Doust entered parliament at the 2001 state election, standing in the second position on Labor's ticket in South Metropolitan Region. She was made deputy chairman of committees in the Legislative Council shortly after being elected, and after the 2005 state election was made a parliamentary secretary, holding that position in the ministries of

Geoff Gallop Geoffrey Ian Gallop (born 27 September 1951) is an Australian academic and former politician who served as the 27th premier of Western Australia from 2001 to 2006. He is currently a professor and director of the Graduate School of Government at ...

and

Alan Carpenter Alan John Carpenter (born 4 January 1957) is a former Australian politician who served as the 28th Premier of Western Australia, from 2006 to 2008. From Albany, Carpenter graduated from the University of Western Australia, and worked as a journ ...

. Doust was elected deputy leader of the Labor Party in the Legislative Council after the 2008 state election. She has served in the shadow cabinet under both

Eric Ripper Eric Stephen Ripper (born 13 September 1951) is an Australian former politician. From 2008 to 2012 he was Leader of the Opposition and leader of the Labor Party in Western Australia. He grew up on a wheat/sheep farm near Nyabing. Ripper late ...

and

Mark McGowan Mark McGowan (born 13 July 1967) is an Australian former politician and naval officer who served as the 30th premier of Western Australia from 2017 until his retirement in 2023. He was the leader of the Western Australian branch of the Austr ...

. Doust's husband, Bill Johnston, is also a member of parliament, although they were married years before either of them were elected. Doust was elected President of the Legislative Council on 23 May 2017, in doing so becoming the first female President of the Council in history. Doust was controversially replaced on 24 May 2021 due to long standing disagreements with Premier

particularly regarding a corruption probe into former Liberal MP Phil Edman.

Political views

Doust describes herself as "very pro-life." She opposed a 2023 bill that liberalised Western Australia's abortion laws by removing abortion from the criminal code, removing a requirement for mandatory counselling, removing the need for women to be referred for an abortion by a doctor, and increasing the gestational limit at which additional restrictions apply to abortions from 20 weeks to 23 weeks. Doust was the only Labor member of the Legislative Council to vote against the bill. See also *

Women in the Western Australian Legislative Council There have been 54 women in the Western Australian Legislative Council since its creation in 1832. Women have had the right to vote since 1899 and the right to stand as candidates since 1920. The first successful female candidate for the Legisla ...

Awards and honours

Awarded the inaugural Commonwealth Parliamentary Association (CPA), Parliamentarian of the Year award in 2022. Master of Bioethics (M. Bioethics) from the University of Notre Dame Australia.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Doust, Kate 1962 births Living people Australian Labor Party members of the Parliament of Western Australia Labor Right politicians Trade unionists from Western Australia Members of the Western Australian Legislative Council Presidents of the Western Australian Legislative Council People from Kalgoorlie University of Western Australia alumni 21st-century Australian politicians 21st-century Australian women politicians Women members of the Western Australian Legislative Council