Kristina Keneally

The Hon Kristina Keneally is a Labor Senator for New South Wales in the Australian Parliament.

Born to an Australian mother and an American father, Kristina grew up in the United States, where she completed her secondary and tertiary education. She worked on the floor of a fibreglass factory during her university studies to help pay for her education, and she was a member of the Teamsters Union.

Kristina moved permanently to Australia in 1994. She joined the Australian Labor Party in 2000.

A Member of the Parliament of New South Wales from 2003–12, Kristina is the 42nd Premier of New South Wales (2009–11) and the first woman to hold the office.

An avid basketball player in her youth, Kristina served as the CEO of Basketball Australia from 2012-2014.

In 2014 Kristina joined Sky News Australia, where she co-hosted the daily lunchtime show “To the Point." She was part of the Sky News team that won a Walkley Award for its live coverage of the Australian election in 2016.

In addition to her TV work, Kristina wrote a weekly column for The Guardian, covering politics, religion and feminism.

Kristina also served as an Adjunct Professor at the Macquarie Graduate School of Management, where she directed the Women in the MBA (WiMBA) program.

In 2015 Kristina was appointed by the Prime Minister as a Member of the Referendum Council to advise on the next steps towards a referendum to recognise Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples in the Australian Constitution. The Council’s work culminated in the Uluru Statement from the Heart calling for the establishment of an indigenous body to be a ‘voice’ to the Australian Parliament.

Kristina has served on a range of benevolent boards and charities including her role as the Chairman South Cares, the charitable arm of the South Sydney Rabbitohs. Previously she served as a Board Member of The McKell Institute and as a Board Director of The United States Studies Centre at the University of Sydney. She is an Ambassador of both Opportunity International Australia and The John Berne School. She is the former Patron of Stillbirth Foundation Australia.

In February 2018 Kristina was endorsed by the Australian Labor Party and elected by the NSW Parliament to fill a casual vacancy in the Australian Senate.

In June 2019, Kristina was elected Deputy Labor Leader in the Senate, as well as being appointed Shadow Minister for Home Affairs and Shadow Minister for Immigration and Citizenship.

She holds a BA (Hons) in Political Science and a MA in Religious Studies from the University of Dayton.

Kristina is married to Ben. They are the parents of Daniel, Caroline and Brendan.

Connect with Kristina: 

Email:senator.keneally@aph.gov.au
Phone:(02) 9891 9139
PO Box: PO Box W4, Parramatta Westfield, NSW, 2150
Twitter: KKeneally
Facebook: SenatorKeneally/