Kate Washington
{{Short description|Australian politician and lawyer}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=November 2019}}
{{Use Australian English|date=March 2015}}
{{Infobox officeholder
| honorific-prefix = The Honourable
| name = Kate Washington
| honorific-suffix = MP
| image = Kate Washington MP.jpg
| caption =
| office2 = Minister for Families and Communities
| term_start2 = {{start date|2023|4|5|df=y}}
| term_end2 =
| premier2 = Chris Minns
| predecessor2 = Natasha Maclaren-Jones
| successor2 =
| office3 = Minister for Disability Inclusion
| term_start3 = {{start date|2023|4|5|df=y}}
| term_end3 =
| premier3 = Chris Minns
| predecessor3 = Natasha Maclaren-Jones (as Minister for Disability Services)
| successor3 =
| constituency_AM4 = Port Stephens
| assembly4 = New South Wales Legislative
| term_start4 = 28 March 2015
| term_end4 =
| predecessor4 = Craig Baumann
| successor4 =
| birth_name =
| birth_date = {{birth year and age|1970}}
| birth_place = Wollongong, New South Wales, Australia
| death_date =
| death_place =
| nationality = Australian
| party = New South Wales Labor Party
| residence = Lemon Tree Passage{{cite web |title=Candidates - The Legislative Assembly District of Port Stephens|url=https://elections.nsw.gov.au/elections/state-government-elections/2023-state-general-election/candidates/port%20stephens |website=elections.nsw.gov.au |publisher=New South Wales Electoral Commission |access-date=27 March 2023}}
| alma_mater = University of Sydney
| occupation =
| profession = Lawyer
| religion =
| signature =
| website = {{URL|https://www.katewashington.com.au/}}
| footnotes =
}}
Kate Rebecca Washington (born 1970) is an Australian politician who has served as Minister for Disability Inclusion and Families and Communities in the Minns Government of New South Wales since 2023. She was elected to the New South Wales Legislative Assembly as the member for Port Stephens for the New South Wales Labor Party at the 2015 New South Wales state election.
Before entering parliament, Washington worked as a health lawyer. She has three children{{Cite news|url=https://www.newcastleherald.com.au/story/4947589/mp-kate-anchors-in-port-stephens/|title=MP Kate anchors in Port Stephens|last=Bevan|first=Scott|date=30 September 2017|work=Newcastle Herald|access-date=2 January 2018}} and lives in Lemon Tree Passage.
Political career
Washington first contested the seat of Port Stephens for the Labor Party at the 2011 election. She was not elected, with Labor losing the seat after a 12.4-point two-candidate swing against the party.{{Cite web|url=http://www.abc.net.au/news/nsw-election-2015/guide/pste/|title=Port Stephens – NSW Election 2015 – New South Wales Votes – NSW Election 2015 (Australian Broadcasting Corporation)|publisher=ABC News|access-date=2 January 2018}} Four years later, she won the seat with a two-candidate swing toward her of 19.5 points. Her electorate office is located in Raymond Terrace. During her first two terms, she served as a member of the Committee on the Health Care Complaints Commission.
In 2016, Jodie Harrison resigned from the Shadow Ministry of Luke Foley.{{cite news |last1=McGowan |first1=Michael |title=Kate Washington promoted to front bench as Jodie Harrison steps aside in Labor reshuffle |url=https://www.newcastleherald.com.au/story/3672956/washington-steps-up/ |access-date=19 November 2023 |work=The Newcastle Herald |publisher=Fairfax Media |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161018200204/http://www.theherald.com.au/story/3672956/washington-steps-up/ |archive-date=18 October 2016}} Washington replaced her as Shadow Minister for Early Childhood Education, the Hunter and the Prevention of Domestic Violence and Sexual Assault on 19 January 2016. In a March 2016 reshuffle that occurred following the resignation of Linda Burney, she was replaced as Shadow Minister for Prevention of Domestic Violence and Sexual Assault by Jenny Aitchison but retained the portfolios of Early Childhood Education and the Hunter until the 2019 New South Wales Labor Party leadership election in which Jodi McKay was elected as Leader of the Opposition.
She held the portfolios of Shadow Minister for Environment and Heritage and Shadow Minister for Rural Health from 2019 to 2021 in the McKay shadow ministry. Washington became the Shadow Minister for Family and Community Services and Shadow Minister for Disability Inclusion, following the 2021 New South Wales Labor Party leadership election.{{Cite NSW Parliament |id=106 |name=Ms Kate Rebecca WASHINGTON, BA, LLB MP |former= |access-date=2 January 2019}}
In the 2023 election, Washington retained her seat for a third term with a 13.3-point swing to the Labor Party in the electorate. Following the election she was appointed Minister for Family & Community Services and the Minister for Disability Inclusion in the Minns Labor Government.
References
{{Reflist}}
{{s-start}}
{{s-off}}
{{s-bef|before=Natasha Maclaren-Jones|rows=2}}
{{s-ttl|title=Minister for Families and Communities|years=2023–present}}
{{s-inc|rows=2}}
{{s-ttl|title=Minister for Disability Inclusion|years=2023–present}}
{{s-par|au-nsw-la}}
{{s-bef|before=Craig Baumann}}
{{s-ttl|title=Member for Port Stephens | years=2015–present}}
{{s-inc}}
{{s-end}}
{{Cabinet of New South Wales}}
{{NSWCurrentMLAs}}
{{Authority control}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Washington, Kate}}
Category:Australian Labor Party members of the Parliament of New South Wales
Category:Members of the New South Wales Legislative Assembly
Category:20th-century Australian lawyers
Category:University of Sydney alumni
Category:Place of birth missing (living people)
Category:21st-century Australian lawyers
Category:21st-century Australian politicians
Category:Women members of the New South Wales Legislative Assembly
Category:21st-century Australian women lawyers
Category:21st-century Australian women politicians