senator Jenny McAllister Contact information

Jennifer Ryll McAllister, an Australian politician and member of the Socialist Left faction of the Labor Party, was born on 21 February 1973 in Murwillumbah, New South Wales. She has been a Senator for New South Wales since 2015 and previously served as the party’s national president from 2011 to 2015. In August 2018, she was appointed Shadow Assistant Minister for Families and Communities.

McAllister completed her Bachelor of Arts degree with First Class Honours in Political Economy, Politics, and Government from the University of Sydney in 1996. Prior to that, she majored in Politics and Government at the University of Queensland from 1992-1995.

McAllister has worked in both the public and private sectors. She served as the Director of Climate Change, Air and Noise Policy within the New South Wales Department of Environment, Climate Change and Water from 2006 to 2010. Later, she worked as a Strategic Advisor for Water and Climate, Technical Director for Infrastructure Advisory, and Managing Director for Water and Urban Development at AECOM Australia Pty Ltd from 2010 to 2015, before joining the Senate.

McAllister has been a member of the Australian Labor Party (ALP) since 1992 and co-founded the Labor Environment Activist Network with Kristina Keneally in 2003. She has been a member of the ALP State Conference (NSW) since 1999, and the ALP Administrative Committee (NSW) since 2000. She has also served on several ALP National Policy Committees. In 2001, she was the Labor candidate for the seat of Richmond in the federal election.

McAllister lives in Redfern with her husband, John Graham, a former assistant general secretary of the NSW branch of the Labor Party and member of the Legislative Council, and their two children.

About Jenny

Jenny McAllister was born in Murwillumbah and grew up on the north coast of NSW. She attended the University of Queensland and the University of Sydney. She has been a member of the Australian Labor Party since 1992. Jenny is married to NSW MLC John Graham and they have two children.

Jenny’s professional career spans both senior roles in the public and private sectors, with a strong focus on infrastructure, environment management and climate change. Before joining the Australian Senate she held various senior roles at AECOM, a global infrastructure firm.

Jenny has served as National President of the ALP and as a member of the ALP National Policy Committee. She has been director of several election campaigns and ran as the Labor candidate for the seat of Richmond in 2001.

Climate change and environmental management remain key areas of interest for Jenny. She was co-founder of the Labor Environmental Activist Network (known as LEAN) with Kristina Keneally, a former Premier of NSW.

Jenny was sworn into the Senate in 2015 to fill a casual vacancy, and was re-elected for the 2016-2022 term at the 2016 federal election.

Jenny is passionate about managing the economy to achieve social justice and social inclusion, and better outcomes for climate and sustainability. Her interests include gender equality, and new opportunities for community participation in politics.

Jenny is the Assistant Minister for Climate Change and Energy in the Albanese Labor Government.