Katy Gallagher
Encyclopedia
Katy Gallagher an Australia
n politician, is the sixth and current Chief Minister of the Australian Capital Territory
and a member of the Australian Capital Territory Legislative Assembly
since 2001, representing the electorate of Molonglo
for the Australian Labor Party
. She is also Treasurer, Minister for Health
, and Minister for Industrial Relations.
, and attended schooling in Duffy
, at Melrose High School
and at Stirling College, before completing a Bachelor of Arts
in Political Science and Sociology at the Australian National University
in 1990.
She was initially employed as a social worker, assisting with a community life skills project and working with children with disabilities. From 1994 to 1997, she worked as an advocate for People First ACT, a support and advocacy organisation for the intellectually disabled. Around this time, Gallagher became involved in the labour movement, and took on a position with the Community and Public Sector Union
(CPSU), first working as a case manager and then a national organiser. In 1997, Gallagher's fiance, Brett Seaman (also a CPSU organiser), was killed in a cycling accident in Merimbula. At the time, Gallagher was 13 weeks pregnant with her first daughter. An 86-year old female pensioner narrowly escaped a jail term for dangerous and irresponsible driving for the crash. The union movement assisted Gallagher with the funeral and court case that followed the accident.
. At the time, Labor had two incumbent members in the Assembly representing Molonglo. Long-serving independent Michael Moore
retired at the election. The election saw Labor come to power, led by Jon Stanhope
. Despite Gallagher winning just 4.38% of the first preference vote, following distribution of preferences, Gallagher was elected as the fifth member to the seven member seat, behind Humphries
, Tucker
, Corbell
, and Quinlan
.
Gallagher was appointed to the second arrangement of the first Stanhope ministry on 23 December 2002, when she was given the portfolios of education, youth and family services; women; and industrial relations. A minor change on 26 May 2004 saw Gallagher's ministry for education, youth and family services divided into separate responsibilities.
At the 2004 ACT general election
, Gallagher polled strongly, generating 11.59% of the first preference vote and was the first candidate elected to represent Molonglo in the Assembly, ahead of both Labor colleagues, Quinlan and Corbell. Gallager's ministerial responsibilities were unchanged in the first arrangement of the second Stanhope ministry and, on 20 April 2006, following the retirement of Ted Quinlan
, she was promoted to Deputy Chief Minister
with ministerial responsibilities including health, disability and community services, and women. The ministry for children and young people was restored to Gallagher's responsibilities on 17 April 2007.
At the 2008 ACT general election
, Gallagher again polled strongly, generating 15.78% of the first preference vote and was the second candidate elected to represent Molonglo in the Assembly, behind Liberal
leader, Seselja
. In the third Stanhope ministry, Gallagher took on ministerial responsibility for treasury, in addition to retaining both health and women; whilst a subsequent reshuffle on 9 November 2009 saw her resume ministerial responsibility for industrial relations and lose the portfolio of women.
in the preceding 13 months. The Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists called on Gallagher to conduct an external, transparent review of the hospital; and, although initially denying the claims, Gallagher agreed to two external reviews, one to look at workplace issues and the other to investigate patient outcomes. The patient outcome review, when handed down in August 2010, sharply criticised hospital management with regards to workload, but stated that patient care was adequate. A number of months earlier, Gallagher faced pressure from the Catholic Church, following an agreement that the ACT Government would purchase Calvary Hospital (in Bruce
) from the Little Company of Mary Health Care
(LCMHC) - an independent arm of the Church - for $77m. Catholic Archbishop of Sydney
, Cardinal George Pell
claimed that the Government's motives were ideological and driven by anti-Christian elements. Gallagher denied the claims. A dispute subsequently arose between LCMHC and the Government over an accounting concession and the government withdrew from the purchase. The culmination of these matters led the Liberal leader, Zed Seselja, on 17 August 2010, to move a no confidence vote in the Assembly against Gallagher as Minister for Health as follows:
The motion was defeated (five in favour, nine against), with the ACT Greens
supporting the Government.
resigned. On 16 May 2011, Gallagher was elected by the Assembly as the ACT's 6th Chief Minister and 3rd female Chief Minister.
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
n politician, is the sixth and current Chief Minister of the Australian Capital Territory
Chief Minister of the Australian Capital Territory
The Chief Minister of the Australian Capital Territory is the head of government of the Australian Capital Territory. The leader of party with the largest representation of seats in the unicameral Australian Capital Territory Legislative Assembly usually takes on the role...
and a member of the Australian Capital Territory Legislative Assembly
Australian Capital Territory Legislative Assembly
The Australian Capital Territory Legislative Assembly is the unicameral legislature of the Australian Capital Territory...
since 2001, representing the electorate of Molonglo
Molonglo electorate
The Molonglo electorate is one of the three electorates for the unicameral 17-member Australian Capital Territory Legislative Assembly. It has seven seats, and is the largest of the electorates in terms of population.-History:...
for the Australian Labor Party
Australian Labor Party
The Australian Labor Party is an Australian political party. It has been the governing party of the Commonwealth of Australia since the 2007 federal election. Julia Gillard is the party's federal parliamentary leader and Prime Minister of Australia...
. She is also Treasurer, Minister for Health
Minister for Health (Australian Capital Territory)
The Minister for Health is the head of the Australian Capital Territory Department of Health and appointed by the Chief Minister of the Australian Capital Territory.The current Minister for Health is Katy Gallagher....
, and Minister for Industrial Relations.
Early years and background
Gallagher was born and raised in the Weston Creek district of CanberraCanberra
Canberra is the capital city of Australia. With a population of over 345,000, it is Australia's largest inland city and the eighth-largest city overall. The city is located at the northern end of the Australian Capital Territory , south-west of Sydney, and north-east of Melbourne...
, and attended schooling in Duffy
Duffy, Australian Capital Territory
Duffy is a suburb in the Canberra district of Weston Creek. On Census night 2006, Duffy had a population of 2,942 people. Duffy was named in honour of Sir Charles Gavan Duffy, KCMG the 8th Premier of Victoria. Streets in the suburb of Duffy are named after Australian dams and reservoirs...
, at Melrose High School
Melrose High School (Canberra)
Melrose High School is a government school located in the Canberra suburb of Pearce. It serves years 7 through to 10. The school's name is taken from an old property that was located in the Woden area, which in turn was named after the town called Melrose in Scotland...
and at Stirling College, before completing a Bachelor of Arts
Bachelor of Arts
A Bachelor of Arts , from the Latin artium baccalaureus, is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate course or program in either the liberal arts, the sciences, or both...
in Political Science and Sociology at the Australian National University
Australian National University
The Australian National University is a teaching and research university located in the Australian capital, Canberra.As of 2009, the ANU employs 3,945 administrative staff who teach approximately 10,000 undergraduates, and 7,500 postgraduate students...
in 1990.
She was initially employed as a social worker, assisting with a community life skills project and working with children with disabilities. From 1994 to 1997, she worked as an advocate for People First ACT, a support and advocacy organisation for the intellectually disabled. Around this time, Gallagher became involved in the labour movement, and took on a position with the Community and Public Sector Union
Community and Public Sector Union
The Community and Public Sector Union is a national trade union in Australia.- History of The CPSU :...
(CPSU), first working as a case manager and then a national organiser. In 1997, Gallagher's fiance, Brett Seaman (also a CPSU organiser), was killed in a cycling accident in Merimbula. At the time, Gallagher was 13 weeks pregnant with her first daughter. An 86-year old female pensioner narrowly escaped a jail term for dangerous and irresponsible driving for the crash. The union movement assisted Gallagher with the funeral and court case that followed the accident.
Political career
The support provided to Gallagher by the Labor Party and union movement inspired her to run for pre-selection as one of the Labor candidates for the electorate of Molonglo for the 2001 ACT general electionAustralian Capital Territory general election, 2001
Elections to the Australian Capital Territory Legislative Assembly were held on Saturday, 20 October 2001. The incumbent Liberal Party, led by Gary Humphries, was challenged by the Labor Party, led by Jon Stanhope. candidates were elected to fill three multi-member electorates using a single...
. At the time, Labor had two incumbent members in the Assembly representing Molonglo. Long-serving independent Michael Moore
Michael Moore (Australian politician)
Michael John Moore , former Australian politician and socially progressive health academic, was the first independent Member of any Australian Parliament to be appointed as a Minister to a Government Executive; serving as Minister of Health and Community Care from 1998 to 2001 in the Liberal...
retired at the election. The election saw Labor come to power, led by Jon Stanhope
Jon Stanhope
Jonathan Ronald Stanhope is a former Australian politician who was Labor Chief Minister of the Australian Capital Territory from 2001 to 2011. Stanhope represented the Ginninderra electorate in the ACT Legislative Assembly from 1998 until 2011. He resigned as Chief Minister on 12 May 2011 and as...
. Despite Gallagher winning just 4.38% of the first preference vote, following distribution of preferences, Gallagher was elected as the fifth member to the seven member seat, behind Humphries
Gary Humphries
Gary John Joseph Humphries has been a member of the Australian Senate representing the Australian Capital Territory for the Liberal Party of Australia since 2003...
, Tucker
Kerrie Tucker
Kerrie Robyn Tucker , former Australian politician, environmental and human rights activist, was a member of the unicameral Australian Capital Territory Legislative Assembly representing the multi-member electorate of Molonglo for the ACT Greens between 1995 and 2001...
, Corbell
Simon Corbell
Simon Corbell is an Australian politician in the Australian Capital Territory, and is one of the seven members of the Legislative Assembly electorate of Molonglo, representing the Australian Labor Party...
, and Quinlan
Ted Quinlan
Edward Andrew John "Ted" Quinlan is an Australian politician. He was an Australian Labor Party member of the Australian Capital Territory Legislative Assembly from 1998 to 2006, representing the district of Molonglo....
.
Gallagher was appointed to the second arrangement of the first Stanhope ministry on 23 December 2002, when she was given the portfolios of education, youth and family services; women; and industrial relations. A minor change on 26 May 2004 saw Gallagher's ministry for education, youth and family services divided into separate responsibilities.
At the 2004 ACT general election
Australian Capital Territory general election, 2004
Elections to the Australian Capital Territory Legislative Assembly were held on Saturday, 16 October 2004. The incumbent Labor Party, led by Jon Stanhope, was challenged by the Liberal Party, led by Brendan Smyth. Candidates were elected to fill three multi-member electorates using a single...
, Gallagher polled strongly, generating 11.59% of the first preference vote and was the first candidate elected to represent Molonglo in the Assembly, ahead of both Labor colleagues, Quinlan and Corbell. Gallager's ministerial responsibilities were unchanged in the first arrangement of the second Stanhope ministry and, on 20 April 2006, following the retirement of Ted Quinlan
Ted Quinlan
Edward Andrew John "Ted" Quinlan is an Australian politician. He was an Australian Labor Party member of the Australian Capital Territory Legislative Assembly from 1998 to 2006, representing the district of Molonglo....
, she was promoted to Deputy Chief Minister
Deputy Chief Minister of the Australian Capital Territory
The Deputy Chief Minister of the Australian Capital Territory is the second-most senior officer in the Government of the Australian Capital Territory. The Deputy Chief Ministership has been a ministerial portfolio since its establishment in 1989...
with ministerial responsibilities including health, disability and community services, and women. The ministry for children and young people was restored to Gallagher's responsibilities on 17 April 2007.
At the 2008 ACT general election
Australian Capital Territory general election, 2008
Elections to the Australian Capital Territory Legislative Assembly were held on Saturday, 18 October 2008. The incumbent Labor Party, led by Jon Stanhope, was challenged by the Liberal Party, led by Zed Seselja. Candidates were elected to fill three multi-member electorates using a single...
, Gallagher again polled strongly, generating 15.78% of the first preference vote and was the second candidate elected to represent Molonglo in the Assembly, behind Liberal
Liberal Party of Australia
The Liberal Party of Australia is an Australian political party.Founded a year after the 1943 federal election to replace the United Australia Party, the centre-right Liberal Party typically competes with the centre-left Australian Labor Party for political office...
leader, Seselja
Zed Seselja
Zed Seselja is a Liberal Party Australian politician. He has been a member of the Australian Capital Territory Legislative Assembly since 2004. He has been the territory's 12th Opposition Leader since December 2007, when he was appointed to the position following the resignation of Bill Stefaniak...
. In the third Stanhope ministry, Gallagher took on ministerial responsibility for treasury, in addition to retaining both health and women; whilst a subsequent reshuffle on 9 November 2009 saw her resume ministerial responsibility for industrial relations and lose the portfolio of women.
Minister for Health
Amid allegations of bullying, it was reported in early 2010 that nine obstetricians had resigned from Canberra HospitalCanberra Hospital
The Canberra Hospital is a public hospital located in Garran, Canberra. It is a tertiary level centre with 500 beds and caters to a population of about 520,000...
in the preceding 13 months. The Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists called on Gallagher to conduct an external, transparent review of the hospital; and, although initially denying the claims, Gallagher agreed to two external reviews, one to look at workplace issues and the other to investigate patient outcomes. The patient outcome review, when handed down in August 2010, sharply criticised hospital management with regards to workload, but stated that patient care was adequate. A number of months earlier, Gallagher faced pressure from the Catholic Church, following an agreement that the ACT Government would purchase Calvary Hospital (in Bruce
Bruce, Australian Capital Territory
Bruce is a suburb of Canberra, Australian Capital Territory, Australia. Bruce was gazetted as a division on 6 June 1968 in recognition of Viscount Stanley Melbourne Bruce, the first Chancellor of the Australian National University and eighth Prime Minister of Australia. S. M. Bruce served as...
) from the Little Company of Mary Health Care
Sisters of the Little Company of Mary
The Little Company of Mary is a Roman Catholic religious institute of women dedicated to caring for the suffering, the sick and the dying. The order was founded in 1877 England by Venerable Mary Potter....
(LCMHC) - an independent arm of the Church - for $77m. Catholic Archbishop of Sydney
Catholic Bishops and Archbishops of Sydney
Sydney has had a Catholic Archbishop since 1842.-List of incumbents:# John Bede Polding OSB, 1842-1877.# Roger Bede Vaughan O.S.B., 1877-1883.# Patrick Francis Moran, 1884-1911.# Michael Kelly, 1911-1940.# Norman Thomas Gilroy, 1940-1971....
, Cardinal George Pell
George Pell
George Pell AC is an Australian cardinal of the Roman Catholic Church. He is the eighth and current Archbishop of Sydney, serving since 2001. He previously served as auxiliary bishop and archbishop of the Archdiocese of Melbourne...
claimed that the Government's motives were ideological and driven by anti-Christian elements. Gallagher denied the claims. A dispute subsequently arose between LCMHC and the Government over an accounting concession and the government withdrew from the purchase. The culmination of these matters led the Liberal leader, Zed Seselja, on 17 August 2010, to move a no confidence vote in the Assembly against Gallagher as Minister for Health as follows:
- "That this Assembly no longer has confidence in the Minister for Health, Katy Gallagher, for her continued neglect of the Health portfolio, most particularly...... management failure, staff bullying, over working, and poor processes;....complete failure in the Calvary Hospital purchase;....and many instances of attacking those who made complaints, ignoring those who gave advice, and dealing with the problems through denial and neglect;....and the ongoing poor performance of the ACT health system...."
The motion was defeated (five in favour, nine against), with the ACT Greens
ACT Greens
The ACT Greens is a green political party located in the Australian Capital Territory, and a member of the federation of the Australian Greens....
supporting the Government.
Chief Minister
On 12 May 2011, while Gallagher was Deputy Chief Minister, the then Chief Minister Jon StanhopeJon Stanhope
Jonathan Ronald Stanhope is a former Australian politician who was Labor Chief Minister of the Australian Capital Territory from 2001 to 2011. Stanhope represented the Ginninderra electorate in the ACT Legislative Assembly from 1998 until 2011. He resigned as Chief Minister on 12 May 2011 and as...
resigned. On 16 May 2011, Gallagher was elected by the Assembly as the ACT's 6th Chief Minister and 3rd female Chief Minister.