Kay Christine Lesley Patterson (born 21 November 1944) is a former Australian politician. She was a Liberal member of the Australian Senate from 1987 to 2008, representing the state of Victoria.
Patterson was born in Sydney and was educated at the University of Sydney and Monash University. She studied psychology and education, going on to become a university lecturer, working in several universities in both Australia and in the United States.
In 1985, Patterson was elected as her local party branch delegate to the Liberal Party's State Council. In 1987, when she was pre-selected for a Liberal Senate seat, becoming a senator for the state of Victoria at the 1987 election.
Patterson was promoted to the shadow ministry in 1990 as a parliamentary secretary. Over the next few years, she occupied a number of portfolios in relation to health, aged care and social policy. She was promoted again (Shadow Minister for Senior Citizens and Aged Care and Shadow Minister Assisting the Leader on Women’s Affairs and the Arts) under the leadership of John Hewson, but was demoted to a shadow parliamentary secretary position under Alexander Downer.
The Liberal Party was returned to power at the 1996 election under John Howard. In 1998 Patterson was appointed as Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister for Immigration and Multicultural Affairs In 2000 she was given the additional responsibility of Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister for Foreign Affairs. The following year, Patterson led the Australian delegation to the World Conference Against Racism in Durban, South Africa.
At the 2001 election, the Health and Aged Care Minister Michael Wooldridge retired, and Senator Patterson was appointed as his replacement, with the new portfolio title of Health and Ageing. She was well received by the Australian Medical Association, who had had a strained relationship with her predecessor.
In 2003, in a major reshuffle, she was re-appointed as a Cabinet minister to the portfolio of Family and Community Services and Minister Assisting the Prime Minister for Women's Issues.
On 22 January 2006, Patterson announced her resignation from the ministry, and her commission ceased on 27 January. She also announced that she would retire, and left parliament at the expiration of her term in June 2008.
Patterson was a member of Monash University Council (1978–1998) and in September 2008, she was appointed a Vice Chancellor's Professorial Fellow at the University.
Patterson remains involved with the Girl Guides movement which she joined when she was 10. She was a member of the Victorian State Council (1974–1991, 1993–1999)and State Executive 1974–1995). She was made a Life Member of Girls Guides Victoria in 2002.
She became a Director and Member of the Board of Interplast Australia and New Zealand in 2006 (Vice President 2009) and a Director of the Brockhoff Foundation in 2008. She was appointed an advisor to www.helpinghero.com in 2008.
Patterson was inducted into Monash University Golden Key Society as an Honorary Member in 2009
| Political offices | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by Michael Wooldridge |
Minister for Health and Ageing 2001–2003 |
Succeeded by Tony Abbott |
| Preceded by Amanda Vanstone |
Minister for Family and Community Services 2003–2006 |
Succeeded by Mal Brough |
| Preceded by Amanda Vanstone |
Minister assisting the Prime Minister for the Status of Women/ Minister Assisting the Prime Minister for Women's Issues 2003–2006 |
Succeeded by Julie Bishop |
Famous quotes containing the word kay:
“Most literature on the culture of adolescence focuses on peer pressure as a negative force. Warnings about the “wrong crowd” read like tornado alerts in parent manuals. . . . It is a relative term that means different things in different places. In Fort Wayne, for example, the wrong crowd meant hanging out with liberal Democrats. In Connecticut, it meant kids who weren’t planning to get a Ph.D. from Yale.”
—Mary Kay Blakely (20th century)