Peta Credlin

Peta Credlin was born to Len and Brenda Credlin in the small Victorian country town of Wycheproof. Her family moved closer to Geelong, and she attended Sacred Heart College, where she was a member of the debating team and elected deputy school captain in her second year.{{cn|date=September 2023}}

She graduated with a Bachelor of Laws from the University of Melbourne with a concentration in constitutional law, politics and history in 1998. At university, Credlin resided at Newman College, won a number of prizes and awards, and was a member and national finalist of the 1995 Philip C. Jessup International Law Moot Court Competition Team. After graduation, she was admitted as a barrister and solicitor in Victoria, and applied for a job as a political staffer with Liberal senator Kay Patterson in 1999.{{cite news |last=Legge |first=Kate |title=Who's the boss? |url=http://www.theaustralian.com.au/news/features/whos-the-boss/story-e6frg8h6-1226182439093 |access-date=10 December 2013 |newspaper=The Australian |date=5 November 2011 |archive-date=12 April 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140412052716/http://www.theaustralian.com.au/news/features/whos-the-boss/story-e6frg8h6-1226182439093 |url-status=live }} ((dead)){{better source|date=September 2023}}

She obtained a Graduate Diploma in Legal Practice with distinction from the Australian National University (ANU) in 2010, where she won the ACT Law Society Prize for the top student of 2009.{{cn|date=September 2023}}

After working for several years on Patterson's staff, Credlin moved to become an adviser to Senator Richard Alston, the Minister for Communications in the Howard government. She then left politics, and worked for three years as public relations manager for Racing Victoria. Tired of the commute between Melbourne and Canberra, where her husband Brian Loughnane was based, Credlin returned to her career as a political staffer, working for senators Robert Hill and Helen Coonan.

When the Howard government was defeated at the 2007 federal election, Credlin moved to Sydney to work at the Jockey Club until she was asked by Brendan Nelson, who had been elected federal Liberal leader and Leader of the Opposition, to join his staff as a senior adviser. When Malcolm Turnbull challenged Nelson for the party leadership, Nelson counselled her to join Turnbull's team, and she was appointed deputy chief of staff in his office. When Turnbull himself was challenged and defeated by Tony Abbott in December 2009, Credlin joined Abbott's staff as chief of staff. She rose to prominence when the Coalition won the 2013 federal election and she became Chief of Staff to the Prime Minister.{{cite web |url=http://www.smh.com.au/federal-politics/political-news/control-freak-peta-credlin--accused-of-pulling-coalition-strings-20131204-2yqte.html |title='Control freak' Peta Credlin accused of pulling Coalition strings |work=The Sydney Morning Herald |date=4 December 2013 |access-date=26 November 2014 |archive-date=22 June 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140622212739/http://www.smh.com.au/federal-politics/political-news/control-freak-peta-credlin--accused-of-pulling-coalition-strings-20131204-2yqte.html |url-status=live }}{{cite web |url=http://www.smh.com.au/federal-politics/political-news/credlin-critics-told-to-back-off-by-mathias-cormann-20131207-2yy5o.html |title=Credlin critics told to 'back off' by Mathias Cormann |work=The Sydney Morning Herald |date=7 December 2013 |access-date=26 November 2014 |archive-date=21 June 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140621153412/http://www.smh.com.au/federal-politics/political-news/credlin-critics-told-to-back-off-by-mathias-cormann-20131207-2yy5o.html |url-status=live }}[https://www.theaustralian.com.au/opinion/columnists/peter-van-onselen/give-peta-credlin-some-credit-and-give-her-a-break/news-story/94c3a7560223e5debdc31523063eaace "Give Peta Credlin some credit, and give her a break"] by Peter van Onselen, The Australian, 6 December 2013{{cite web |url=http://www.theland.com.au/news/metro/national/general/tony-abbott-dismisses-obsessive-slur-on-chief-of-staff-peta-credlin/2680695.aspx |title=Tony Abbott dismisses 'obsessive' slur on chief of staff Peta Credlin |work=The Land|access-date=26 November 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131214063234/http://www.theland.com.au/news/metro/national/general/tony-abbott-dismisses-obsessive-slur-on-chief-of-staff-peta-credlin/2680695.aspx |archive-date=14 December 2013 |url-status=dead }} She continued in that role until the Liberal Party leadership ballot of 14 September 2015, in which Abbott was defeated and replaced as leader by Malcolm Turnbull.

Credlin became a Sky News Australia contributor in May 2016,{{cite web |url=https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2016/mar/31/peta-credlin-joins-sky-news-as-2016-election-campaign-commentator |title=Peta Credlin joins Sky News as 2016 election campaign commentator |first=Amanda |last=Meade |work=The Guardian Australia |date=31 March 2016 |access-date=1 April 2016 |archive-date=1 April 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160401104940/http://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2016/mar/31/peta-credlin-joins-sky-news-as-2016-election-campaign-commentator |url-status=live}}{{cite web |url=http://www.tvtonight.com.au/2016/03/peta-credlin-joins-sky-news.html |title=Peta Credlin joins SKY News |first=David |last=Knox |work=TV Tonight |date=31 March 2016 |access-date=1 April 2016 |archive-date=1 April 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160401105146/http://www.tvtonight.com.au/2016/03/peta-credlin-joins-sky-news.html |url-status=live}} with her first appearance on 7 May 2016 during a special weekend edition of PM Agenda.{{cite web |url=http://www.tvtonight.com.au/2016/05/peta-credlin-in-first-sky-news-appearance.html |title=Peta Credlin in first SKY News appearance |date=6 May 2016 |access-date=6 May 2016 |first=David |last=Knox |work=TV Tonight |archive-date=6 May 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160506074211/http://www.tvtonight.com.au/2016/05/peta-credlin-in-first-sky-news-appearance.html |url-status=live }} She began co-hosting a weekly primetime program Credlin & Keneally from 16 November 2016 until 17 May 2017.{{cite web |work=TV Tonight |first=David |last=Knox |url=http://www.tvtonight.com.au/2016/10/airdate-credlin-keneally.html |title=Airdate: Credlin & Keneally |date=3 October 2016 |access-date=4 October 2016 |archive-date=4 October 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161004031157/http://www.tvtonight.com.au/2016/10/airdate-credlin-keneally.html |url-status=live }} Credlin hosts her own show Credlin each weeknight on Sky News Australia. As a political commentator and self-described journalist, Credlin has been described as a partisan. Crikey{{'s}} Paula Matthews wrote in February 2017 that Credlin's support for Tony Abbott and criticism of then Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull "takes media partisanship to its extreme" and represents "the channelling of a politician directly through a media mouthpiece".{{cite web |last1=Matthewson |first1=Paula |title=Abbott prefect Credlin takes media partisanship to its extreme |url=https://www.crikey.com.au/2017/02/28/abbott-prefect-credlin-takes-media-partisanship-to-its-extreme/ |website=Crikey |access-date=9 January 2021 |date=28 February 2017 |archive-date=9 January 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210109005755/https://www.crikey.com.au/2017/02/28/abbott-prefect-credlin-takes-media-partisanship-to-its-extreme/ |url-status=live }}

Credlin has been an ardent critic of the Victorian government response to the COVID-19 pandemic, and particularly of then-Victorian premier Daniel Andrews. Credlin has been lauded by fellow Sky News hosts for her aggressive questioning of Andrews during his daily press conferences during the pandemic.{{cite web |last1=Meade |first1=Amanda |title='Lethal' weapon: Sky News hosts gush as Peta Credlin promises exposé on Deadly Decisions |url=https://www.theguardian.com/media/commentisfree/2020/oct/23/lethal-weapon-sky-news-hosts-gush-as-peta-credlin-promises-expose-on-deadly-decisions |website=The Guardian|access-date=9 January 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201124191120/https://www.theguardian.com/media/commentisfree/2020/oct/23/lethal-weapon-sky-news-hosts-gush-as-peta-credlin-promises-expose-on-deadly-decisions |archive-date=24 November 2020 |date=23 October 2020}}

In 2020, Credlin was criticised for claiming that South Sudanese Australians were not following government measures intended to stop the spread of COVID-19 due to problems with language proficiency, Credlin also claimed that South Sudanese migrants were "poorly-assimilated" had ignored restrictions in an "end-of-Ramadan feast".{{cite web |last1=Blackston |first1=Hannah |title=Sky News and Peta Credlin apologise for false reporting on COVID-19 outbreak |url=https://mumbrella.com.au/sevens-kurt-burnette-on-big-brothers-renewal-afl-and-eave-632573 |website=Mumbrella|access-date=9 January 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201101100709/https://mumbrella.com.au/sky-news-and-peta-credlin-apologise-for-false-reporting-on-covid-19-outbreak-632589 |archive-date=1 November 2020 |date=29 June 2020}} Credlin's statement was criticised in the media, with SBS News noting that the vast majority of South Sudanese people are actually Christians.{{cite web |last1=Razik |first1=Naveen |title=Peta Credlin apologises for inaccurately blaming South Sudanese for coronavirus outbreak |url=https://www.sbs.com.au/news/peta-credlin-apologises-for-inaccurately-blaming-south-sudanese-for-coronavirus-outbreak |website=SBS News|access-date=9 January 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201114141527/https://www.sbs.com.au/news/peta-credlin-apologises-for-inaccurately-blaming-south-sudanese-for-coronavirus-outbreak |archive-date=14 November 2020 |date=29 June 2020}}

In November 2020, Credlin compared COVID-19 lockdowns to the inquiry into the conduct of Australian SAS forces in Afghanistan.[https://www.couriermail.com.au/news/opinion/peta-credlin-we-must-demand-answers-on-covid-deaths-in-victoria/news-story/7cfd8fdb78f857ffdc38770ec3f4fd3f "One Rule For SAS, Another For Dan Andrews"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230422062158/https://www.couriermail.com.au/news/opinion/peta-credlin-we-must-demand-answers-on-covid-deaths-in-victoria/news-story/7cfd8fdb78f857ffdc38770ec3f4fd3f |date=22 April 2023 }} by Peta Credlin, The Courier-Mail, 28 November 2020

During 2020, former Labor Prime Minister Kevin Rudd started a petition for a Royal Commission into Murdoch owned media. Credlin claimed that the petition was a "data harvesting exercise" of email addresses by Rudd intended for political uses. Later, as part of a confidential settlement regarding defamation, Credlin in February 2021 made an apology to Rudd on Sky News for her comments.{{cite news|last=Meade|first=Amanda|title=Peta Credlin forced to apologise to Kevin Rudd over false data harvesting claims|url=https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2021/feb/01/peta-credlin-forced-to-apologise-to-kevin-rudd-over-false-data-harvesting-claims|work=The Guardian|date=1 February 2021|access-date=9 February 2021|df=dmy-all|archive-date=9 February 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210209045005/https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2021/feb/01/peta-credlin-forced-to-apologise-to-kevin-rudd-over-false-data-harvesting-claims|url-status=live}}

In May 2021 she was accused of inciting violence by suggesting Labor leaders Daniel Andrews and Anthony Albanese be "whacked" with "baseball bats".[https://www.theguardian.com/media/2021/may/28/credlin-comes-out-swinging-as-victoria-plunged-into-lockdown-again "Credlin comes out swinging as Victoria plunged into lockdown again"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210614131720/https://www.theguardian.com/media/2021/may/28/credlin-comes-out-swinging-as-victoria-plunged-into-lockdown-again |date=14 June 2021 }} by Amanda Meade, The Guardian, 28 May 2021 In November 2021, she joined anti-vaccine mandate protests in Melbourne, where members of the crowd carried prop gallows and chanted anti-Andrews slogans.[https://jacobinmag.com/2021/11/australia-neo-nazis-covid-19-protests-uad "Far-Right and Fascist Organizations Are Leading Australia’s Anti-Vax Movement"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211126114023/https://jacobinmag.com/2021/11/australia-neo-nazis-covid-19-protests-uad |date=26 November 2021 }} by Marty Hirst, Jacobine, 17 November 2021

Credlin became a columnist for The Australian newspaper in July 2021. Her arrival at that paper prompted Niki Savva to leave the paper and join The Age and The Sydney Morning Herald.{{cite news|url=https://www.theage.com.au/politics/federal/niki-savva-joins-the-age-and-the-sydney-morning-herald-20210713-p589ar.html|title=Niki Savva joins The Age and The Sydney Morning Herald|author=Zoe Samios|work=The Age|date=13 July 2021|access-date=27 July 2021|archive-date=30 July 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210730090208/https://www.theage.com.au/politics/federal/niki-savva-joins-the-age-and-the-sydney-morning-herald-20210713-p589ar.html|url-status=live}}

Credlin has frequently played a role in internal Liberal Party divisions. In 2024 it was revealed that she provided extensive advice to expelled Liberal Party Member Moira Deeming, in her bid to remain in the Victorian Liberal Party, against the wishes of leader John Pesutto.{{cite web | url=https://www.theage.com.au/politics/victoria/terrify-them-text-trove-reveals-credlin-s-secret-advice-to-deeming-20240913-p5kagx.html | title='Terrify them': Text trove reveals Credlin's secret advice to Deeming | date=13 September 2024 }}

Most notably, Credlin has been an ardent critic of former Liberal Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull, who defeated her former boss Tony Abbott for the liberal Party leadership.{{cite web | url=https://www.abc.net.au/news/2016-05-17/credlin-takes-fresh-swipe-at-turnbull-campaign/7419812 | title=Credlin takes fresh swipe at Turnbull campaign | work=ABC News | date=17 May 2016 }}{{cite web | url=https://www.news.com.au/national/politics/peta-credlin-on-former-boss-malcolm-turnbull-he-has-no-moral-compass/news-story/0ad2d9593cd31e268a356ca2b89939fc?amp | title=Credlin's extraordinary radio interview }}

Credlin is a member of the right faction of the Liberal Party, and a frequent critic of moderates within the party.{{cite web | url=https://www.smh.com.au/politics/federal/how-peta-credlin-has-become-the-liberal-party-s-great-right-hope-20190110-p50qp4.html | title=How Peta Credlin has become the Liberal Party's 'great right hope' | date=11 January 2019 }}

In June 2021, Credlin was appointed an Officer of the Order of Australia in the 2021 Queen's Birthday Honours for "distinguished service to parliament and politics, to policy development, and to the executive function of government".{{cite news |title=Peta Credlin appointed an Officer of the Order of Australia in Queen's birthday honours |url=https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2021/jun/13/peta-credlin-appointed-an-officer-of-the-order-of-australia-in-queens-birthday-honours |access-date=2021-06-14 |work=The Guardian Australia |date=2021-06-14 |archive-date=13 June 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210613203929/https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2021/jun/13/peta-credlin-appointed-an-officer-of-the-order-of-australia-in-queens-birthday-honours |url-status=live }}

Credlin is married to Brian Loughnane, a former federal director of the Liberal Party of Australia, since December 2002. They had worked together in the Victorian office of the Liberal Party during the campaign for the 2001 federal election.{{cite news |url=http://www.thepowerindex.com.au/power-couples/brian-loughnane-and-peta-credlin/20111223890 |work=Crikey: The Power Index: Power Couples |title=Brian Loughnane and Peta Credlin |date=23 December 2011 |access-date=12 November 2013 |author=Knott, Matthew |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131112133455/http://www.thepowerindex.com.au/power-couples/brian-loughnane-and-peta-credlin/20111223890 |archive-date=12 November 2013 |df=dmy-all }}

In 2013, Credlin pleaded guilty to a drink-driving offence, recording a blood alcohol level of 0.075, but did not have a conviction recorded against her.{{cite news |title=Peta Credlin, Tony Abbott's chief of staff, avoids punishment on drink-driving charge |url=http://www.abc.net.au/news/2013-09-10/credlin-avoids-punishment-on-drink-driving-charge/4947944 |access-date=2018-12-19 |work=ABC News |publisher=Australian Broadcasting Corporation |date=2013-09-25 |archive-date=29 May 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140529044034/http://www.abc.net.au/news/2013-09-10/credlin-avoids-punishment-on-drink-driving-charge/4947944 |url-status=live }}{{cite news |last1=Cadzow |first1=Jane |title=Ms Fix-it |url=http://www.smh.com.au/national/ms-fixit-20140331-35shb.html |access-date=2018-12-19 |work=The Sydney Morning Herald |date=2004-04-05 |archive-date=30 May 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140530065039/http://www.smh.com.au/national/ms-fixit-20140331-35shb.html |url-status=live }}

{{Reflist|30em}}

• [https://www.skynews.com.au/page/peta-credlin Peta Credlin – Official Sky News page ]
• {{cite web |url=http://article.wn.com/view/2011/01/18/Time_for_Brian_Loughnane_and_Peta_Credlin_to_move_on_some_Li/# |title=The queen of no |date=24 July 2013 |format=video |work=The Australian Magazine |author1=Legge, Kate |author2=Nestel, Christine|ref=none}}

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Category:1971 births

Category:Living people

Category:Abbott government

Category:Australian political consultants

Category:Chiefs of staff to the prime minister of Australia

Category:Melbourne Law School alumni

Category:Australian National University alumni

Category:Liberal Party of Australia

Category:People from Victoria (state)

Category:Sky News Australia reporters and presenters

Category:The Australian journalists

Category:Australian columnists

Category:Australian women journalists

Category:Australian women columnists

Category:Officers of the Order of Australia