18 Facts About Jonty Bush

Jonty Maree Bush was born on 25 June 1979 and is an Australian politician, and the Labor state member for Cooper in the Queensland Legislative Assembly.

Jonty Bush was the 2009 Young Australian of the Year for her advocacy for victims of crime and the development of the One Punch Can Kill campaign.

Jonty Bush was born in Austins Ferry, Tasmania in 1979, and relocated with her family to the Southern Burnett town of Kilkivan when she was 14 and completed high school between Kilkivan and Gympie.

Jonty Bush later graduated from Griffith University with a Masters in Criminology and Criminal Justice.

Jonty Bush joined the Queensland Homicide Victims Support Group in 2000 as a volunteer after the homicides of her sister and her father.

Jonty Bush led a number of policy and legislative reforms to strengthen the rights of victims of crime in Queensland.

Additionally, Jonty Bush initiated an anti-violence campaign called One Punch Can Kill, educating people about the impacts of even one punch.

In 2012, Jonty Bush started Project 24, which focuses on fundraising for agencies that specialise in gender-based violence prevention.

From 2010 to 2020 Jonty Bush worked in the Queensland Public Service, including at Victim Assist Queensland, the Office of the Public Guardian, and the Department of Premier and Cabinet.

Jonty Bush was a member of the Queensland Sentencing Advisory Council from 2010 to 2012.

Jonty Bush was elected a vice-president of Queensland Labor in 2020, and is Patron of two internal party groups, the Labor Environmental Action Network and Labor Enabled.

At the 2020 Brisbane City Council election, Jonty Bush ran for the Enoggera Ward and was defeated by incumbent councillor Andrew Wines, despite a swing towards her.

Jonty Bush was selected as the Labor candidate for Cooper at the 2020 Queensland state election, following the retirement of Kate Jones.

Jonty Bush promised $2.4 million for an upgraded clubhouse for GPS Rugby and Valley's District Cricket Club at Ashgrove, which opened in 2023.

Jonty Bush supported the Voluntary Assisted Dying Bill 2021, which legalised voluntary assisted dying in Queensland.

In 2023, Jonty Bush advocated for stronger environmental protections for the Lake Eyre Basin and Channel Country from mining activities.

Jonty Bush is in a de facto partnership and has one child and three step-daughters.

Jonty Bush won the Young Australian of the Year Award in 2009 in recognition of her work in advocacy for victims of crime in Queensland and her work in community safety education with the One Punch Can Kill campaign.