Susan Lines (born 15 December 1953) is an Australian politician who has been 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

Western Australia Western Australia (WA) is the westernmost state of Australia. It is bounded by the Indian Ocean to the north and west, the Southern Ocean to the south, the Northern Territory to the north-east, and South Australia to the south-east. Western Aust ...

since 2013, representing 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). She is the current

President of the Australian Senate The president of the Senate is the presiding officer of the Australian Senate, the upper house of the Parliament of Australia. The counterpart in the lower house is the speaker of the House of Representatives. The office of the presidency of ...

, having previously been Deputy President of the Senate from 2016. Before entering politics she was the assistant national 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

Lines was born in

Perth Perth () is the list of Australian capital cities, capital city of Western Australia. It is the list of cities in Australia by population, fourth-most-populous city in Australia, with a population of over 2.3 million within Greater Perth . The ...

on 15 December 1953, the daughter of Nancy McRae and Jim Lines. Her parents later separated and she became close to her stepmother Mary Davies. Her father was born in England and came to Australia at the age of 12 as part of a child migration scheme, initially living at Fairbridge Farm. He served in World War II and later worked as a baker, carpenter and builder. Lines held British citizenship by descent until renouncing it prior to the 2013 election. Her maternal grandparents were Scottish. Lines attended Gosnells Primary School and Armadale Senior High School. She completed a

Bachelor of Education A Bachelor of Education (B.Ed. or BEd) is an undergraduate academic degree which prepares students for work as a teacher in schools. A Bachelor of Education program typically lasts three to four years and combines both coursework and practical exp ...

Murdoch University Murdoch University is a public university in Perth, Western Australia, with campuses also in Singapore and Dubai. It began operations as the state's second university on 25 July 1973, and accepted its first undergraduate students in 1975. Its ...

and worked as a teacher from 1984 to 1985. Her mother, who died in 1976, was also a schoolteacher. In 1987, after a few years as a community organiser, Lines began working as a union organiser for what subsequently became

. She became the assistant state secretary of the union in 2001 and assistant national secretary in 2007.

Politics

Lines was elected to the state executive of the ALP in Western Australia in 1990 and the national executive in 2002. She was a delegate to national conference and a delegate to state conference in both Western Australia and New South Wales at various points. She served on the ALP's national policy committee from 2007 to 2009.

Senate

In 2013, Lines was nominated by the ALP to fill a

casual vacancy ''The Casual Vacancy'' is a novel written by British author J. K. Rowling, published worldwide by the Little, Brown Book Group on 27 September 2012. It was Rowling's first publication since the ''Harry Potter'' series, her first novel apart fr ...

caused by the resignation of Senator Chris Evans, another former United Voice official. At the time of her endorsement she was living in Sydney. She was formally appointed to the Senate on 15 May 2013 and elected to a six-year term in her own right at the 2016 federal election. Lines has served on a number of Senate committees. She was elected Deputy President of the Senate in September 2016 in succession to Gavin Marshall. She is the third woman to hold the position, after Margaret Reid and Sue West. In 2018, as chair of the Senate's procedure committee, she led an inquiry into the use of the

Lord's Prayer The Lord's Prayer, also known by its incipit Our Father (, ), is a central Christian prayer attributed to Jesus. It contains petitions to God focused on God’s holiness, will, and kingdom, as well as human needs, with variations across manusc ...

to open parliamentary sittings which recommended that the practice should continue. In July 2022, following the ALP's victory at the 2022 federal election, Lines was elected

President of the Senate President of the Senate is a title often given to the presiding officer of a senate. It corresponds to the Speaker (politics), speaker in some other assemblies. The senate president often ranks high in a jurisdiction's Order of succession, succes ...

in succession to Slade Brockman. She is the second woman elected to the position, after Margaret Reid, and the first woman from the ALP to be elected president.

Political positions

Lines is a member of the

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 ...

faction. Lines opposes the use of mandatory immigration detention. In 2014, she stated that immigration minister

Scott Morrison Scott John Morrison (born 13 May 1968) is an Australian former politician who served as the 30th prime minister of Australia from 2018 to 2022. He held office as leader of the Liberal Party of Australia, leader of the Liberal Party and was ...

had "blood on his hands" following the death of

Reza Barati Reza Barati was a 23-year-old asylum seeker who was killed during an orchestrated attack on inmates at the Manus Island Regional Processing Centre (MIRPC), Papua New Guinea, on 17 February 2014. An Iranian Kurd, he had arrived in Australia on 2 ...

at the

Manus Regional Processing Centre The Manus Regional Processing Centre, or Manus Island Regional Processing Centre (MIRCP), was one of a number of offshore Australian immigration detention facilities. The centre was located on the PNG Navy Base Lombrum (previously a Royal Aus ...

. In the same year she was reportedly reprimanded by opposition leader

Bill Shorten William Richard Shorten (born 12 May 1967) is an Australian former politician and trade unionist. He was the leader of the Australian Labor Party (ALP) and Leader of the Opposition (Australia), Leader of the Opposition from 2013 to 2019. He also ...

after stating that government announcements on

Islamic State The Islamic State (IS), also known as the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL), the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) and Daesh, is a transnational Salafi jihadism, Salafi jihadist organization and unrecognized quasi-state. IS ...

were "a shield to try and deflect from the awful mess they're in with their budget". In 2016 she was one of four Labor MPs to publicly call for all detainees on Manus Island to be settled in Australia, in opposition to existing party policy. In 2019, Lines told the launch of the WA Labor Friends of Palestine that the Israel lobby is "powerful within the party and outside of the party" and was influencing ALP policy on the Israeli–Palestinian conflict. In response, Alexander Ryvchin of the

Executive Council of Australian Jewry The Executive Council of Australian Jewry (ECAJ) is a peak body representing the Australian Jewish community, and the umbrella organisation for over 200 Jewish organisations across Australia. It is the Australian affiliate of the World Jewish C ...

accused her of "play ngto people's fears and prejudices" and making "dog-whistle allusions to supposed Israel lobby influence over Australian politics". Lines supports shifting the date of

Australia Day Australia Day is the official national day of Australia. Observed annually on 26 January, it marks the 1788 landing of the First Fleet and raising of the Flag of Great Britain, Union Flag of Great Britain by Arthur Phillip at Sydney Cove, a ...

from 26 January. In January 2021 she stated that it "celebrates

white supremacy White supremacy is the belief that white people are superior to those of other races. The belief favors the maintenance and defense of any power and privilege held by white people. White supremacy has roots in the now-discredited doctrine ...

and the legacy of colonisation that is directly linked to the various ways we continue to fail First Nations people".

References

External links

Summary of parliamentary voting for Senator Sue Lines on TheyVoteForYou.org.au
{{DEFAULTSORT:Lines, Sue 1953 births Living people Members of the Australian Senate Members of the Australian Senate for Western Australia Presidents of the Australian Senate Women members of the Australian Senate Australian Labor Party members of the Parliament of Australia Trade unionists from Perth, Western Australia Murdoch University alumni Politicians from Perth, Western Australia Labor Left politicians 21st-century Australian politicians 21st-century Australian women politicians Australian people of English descent Australian people of Scottish descent People who lost British citizenship