| Hon Kate Thwaites | |
| Honorific-Suffix: | MP |
| Member of the Australian Parliament for Jagajaga | |
| Term Start: | 18 May 2019 |
| Predecessor: | Jenny Macklin |
| Birth Date: | 1980 1, df=yes |
| Birth Place: | Melbourne, Victoria, Australia |
| Party: | Labor |
| Occupation: | Politician |
| Alma Mater: | RMIT University |
Kate Lynne Thwaites[1] (born 19 January 1980) is an Australian politician. She is a member of the Australian Labor Party (ALP) and has been a member of the House of Representatives since the 2019 federal election, representing the Division of Jagajaga in Victoria. She was a journalist and public servant before entering parliament.
Thwaites was born in Melbourne on 19 January 1980.[2] Her father was a lawyer and her mother was a schoolteacher.[3]
Thwaites grew up in the suburb of Rosanna.[4] She holds the degrees of Bachelor of Arts and Master of International Development from RMIT University.[2]
In 2002, Thwaites began working at 2CUZ, an Indigenous community radio station in Bourke, New South Wales.[3] She later worked for ABC News until 2008, when she joined Oxfam Australia as a media adviser.[2] She later worked as a senior adviser to Labor MP Jenny Macklin and as communications director at the Victorian Department of Health and Human Services.[5] [6] She also worked with the National Disability Insurance Agency in Geelong.[2]
In July 2018, Thwaites won Labor preselection for the Division of Jagajaga, following Macklin's retirement. According to The Guardian, her victory was "almost a direct result of Josh Burns' win in Macnamara, with the Labor left concerned about its female representation".[7] She retained Jagajaga for the ALP at the 2019 federal election with a small positive swing.[5] Thwaites was returned as the member for Jagajaga at the 2022 Federal Election with an increased margin of over 62% of the two party preferred vote.[8]
In 2021, Thwaites co-authored a book, Enough Is Enough, with her predecessor Jagajaga member, Jenny Macklin.[9]
In April 2023, Thwaites co-signed an open letter to Prime Minister Anthony Albanese calling for an urgent boost to JobSeeker, Youth Allowance, and other support payments.[10] In the same month she joined others advocating for an expansion of the single parenting payment to include more mothers.[11]
In July 2024 she was appointed Assistant Minister for Ageing, for Social Security and for Women.
Thwaites has two young children.[12] She has a residential property in Rosanna in Victoria and in Kingston in ACT.[13] She has an investment property in Collingwood.
She is a member of the Community and Public Sector Union and is a member of Emily's List.