Kate Ellis - Political Career

Political Career

Ellis was elected to the House of Representatives for the Division of Adelaide, South Australia at the 2004 federal election. She defeated Liberal Party incumbent Trish Worth. At the 2007 federal election, Ellis retained her seat with a 48.6% primary vote, and a 58.4% two-party preferred vote.

After the election Kevin Rudd appointed Ellis Minister for Youth and Minister for Sport. This made her the youngest person ever to become an Australian government minister, a record until then held by former Prime Minister Paul Keating. On 6 June 2009, in a ministerial reshuffle due to the resignation of Defence Minister Joel Fitzgibbon and the retirement of Home Affairs Minister Bob Debus, Ellis became Minister for Early Childhood Education, Childcare and Youth. She remained as Minister for Sport.

In April 2010, John O'Neill, the CEO of the Australian Rugby Union, claimed that shortly after the election the government had privately promised funding for a number of rugby projects, but two years later the union was still waiting for financial help while millions had been spent on a bid to host the FIFA World Cup. Ellis responded by saying that "since coming to office we have delivered about $2.04m to the ARU, including $507,000 for the Pacific Nations Cup". Other rugby officials claimed that the grant mentioned was actually compensation for the $650,000 spent on a project backed by Ellis' predecessor, George Brandis, that was cancelled by the new government.

Ellis was re-elected to the seat of Adelaide at the 2010 federal election. Ellis became the Minister for Employment Participation and Early Childhood and Childcare and the Minister for the Status of Women in the Gillard Government on 14 September 2010.

Following a Ministerial reshuffle by Prime Minister Julia Gillard on the 1 March 2012, Kate remained the Minister for Employment Participation and Early Childhood and Childcare.