Susan Margaret Pennicuik ( ; born 17 April 1957) is an

Australian Australian(s) may refer to: Australia * Australia, a country * Australians, citizens of the Commonwealth of Australia ** European Australians ** Anglo-Celtic Australians, Australians descended principally from British colonists ** Aboriginal Aus ...

former politician who served as a Greens member of the

Victorian Legislative Council The Victorian Legislative Council is the upper house of the bicameral Parliament of Victoria, Australia, the lower house being the Victorian Legislative Assembly, Legislative Assembly. Both houses sit at Parliament House, Melbourne, Parliament ...

from 2006 to 2018. From April 2022 to November 2024, Pennicuik served as a councillor on the

City of Glen Eira The City of Glen Eira is a Local government areas of Victoria, local government area in Victoria, Australia. It is located in the south-eastern suburbs of Melbourne. It has an area of and has an estimated population of 153,858 (51.6% female an ...

Early career

Pennicuik studied Arts at

Monash University Monash University () is a public university, public research university based in Melbourne, Victoria (state), Victoria, Australia. Named after World War I general Sir John Monash, it was founded in 1958 and is the second oldest university in the ...

and later Applied Science, majoring in Physical Education, at the former Footscray Institute of Technology. Afterwards, Pennicuik worked as a fitness instructor. She then obtained a Diploma of Education from 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 ...

, afterwards working as a secondary English and Physical Education teacher. She then went on to work as an environment officer for the

Australian Manufacturing Workers Union The Australian Manufacturing Workers Union (AMWU), officially registered as the Automotive, Food, Metals, Engineering, Printing, and Kindred Industries Union, is an Australian trade union. The AMWU represents a broad range of workers in the manu ...

, later obtaining a Masters in Environmental Science from Monash University. She then worked a coordinator for the Occupational Health and Safety Unit of the

ACTU The Australian Council of Trade Unions (ACTU), originally the Australasian Council of Trade Unions, is the largest peak body representing workers in Australia. It is a national trade union centre of 46 affiliated trade union, unions and eight t ...

from 1997 to 2004, which conducted research and produced OHS information for unions. She worked on national OHS standards and led campaigns on a range of issues including stress and bullying at work, safer working hours and banning asbestos. Pennicuik then worked for the Australian Drug Foundation from 2004 to 2006 developing resources on alcohol and work. At the same time, she was party convener of the Victorian Greens.

Politics

Early political career (1997–2006)

Pennicuik was a candidate for the 1998 Australian Constitutional Convention on the Greens' ticket, listed as 'Australian Greens – For A Republic'. Pennicuik stood for the former Ormond Ward on Port Phillip City Council in 2004, gaining 34% of the primary votes.

Member of the Legislative Council (2006–2018)

Pennicuik won a seat for the Greens in the Southern Metropolitan Region of the

in the 2006 state election, elected as the fourth member of the region, polling 15.34% of votes, and was amongst the first Greens elected to the Victorian Legislative Council along with Colleen Hartland and

Greg Barber Gregory John Barber (born 31 August 1966) is a former Australian politician, who was a Greens member of the Victorian Legislative Council between 2006 and 2017. Early career Barber obtained a Masters in Business Administration (MBA) from the ...

. She was re-elected in 2010 and 2014, but defeated in 2018. Sue Pennicuik greyhound

During her time as a Member for the Legislative Council, Pennicuik has campaigned to ban ducking shooting in Victoria; end greyhound racing and jumps racing; supported community campaigns to save live music; and supported marriage equality. Under successive governments, Pennicuik campaigned to abolish puppy mills in Victoria. In 2017, the government passed legislation that limited the number of fertile animals a breeder could own. In August 2017, Pennicuik moved a motion to establish a parliamentary inquiry into the government's plans to sell off multiple public housing estates in Melbourne's inner suburbs, including the Markham Estate in

Ashburton, Victoria Ashburton is a suburb of Melbourne, Victoria (Australia), Victoria, Australia, southeast of Melbourne's Melbourne central business district, Central Business District, located within the City of Boroondara Local government areas of Victoria, lo ...

. The motion was successful and the inquiry is expected to deliver a report in 2018. Pennicuik has served on a number of committees since entering parliament in 2006. These committees have included the Select Committee on Public Land Development (May 2007 – September 2008); Legislative Council Legislation Committee and Legislative Council Standing Orders Committee (May 2007 – November 2010); Environment and Planning Legislation Committee and Environment and Planning References Committee (February 2011 – November 2014); Legislative Council Privileges Committee (May 2007 – November 2010 and June 2011 – November 2014); Dispute Resolution Committee (May 2007 – November 2010 and June 2011 – November 2014); and Public Estimates and Accounts (March 2009 – November 2010, and 2016 to 2018).

Post-Legislative Council (2018–present)

In 2019, Pennicuik was announced as the Greens candidate for the electorate of Goldstein at the

2019 Australian federal election The 2019 Australian federal election was held on Saturday, 18 May 2019, to elect members of the 46th Parliament of Australia. The election had been called following the dissolution of the 45th Parliament as elected at the 2016 double dissol ...

. In 2020, Pennicuik ran in the 2020 local government elections for the

in Rosstown Ward. Following the resignation of councillor Neil Pilling in 2021, Pennicuik was elected to Glen Eira City Council following a countback of votes on 27 April 2022.

References

External links

Sue Pennicuik websiteAnimals.org.auParliament ProfileFacebookTwitter
{{DEFAULTSORT:Pennicuik, Sue Australian Greens members of the Parliament of Victoria Politicians from Melbourne Members of the Victorian Legislative Council 1957 births Living people 21st-century Australian politicians 21st-century Australian women politicians Women members of the Victorian Legislative Council