29 Facts About Justine Elliot

Maria Justine Elliot is an Australian politician.

Justine Elliot is a member of the Australian Labor Party and has served in the House of Representatives since the 2004 federal election, representing the New South Wales seat of Richmond.

Justine Elliot served as Minister for Ageing in the First Rudd government from 2007 to 2010 and as a parliamentary secretary in the Gillard government from 2010 to 2013.

Justine Elliot was a candidate for the Democrats and Greens at several state and federal elections.

Justine Elliot's grandfathers were both World War II veterans, Joe Borsellino with the United States Marines and Victor Perkins with the Australian Army.

Justine Elliot went on to complete a Bachelor of Arts at the University of Queensland, majoring in English and history, and a graduate diploma in human resource management and industrial relations at Griffith University.

Justine Elliot was an officer with the Queensland Police from 1990 to 1997.

Justine Elliot subsequently moved to Northern New South Wales and worked at the Department of Juvenile Justice from 2002 to 2003.

Justine Elliot joined the ALP in 1995 and served as president of its Tweed Coast branch from 2003 to 2004.

Justine Elliot's win was one of the few victories for the Labor Party as the Coalition easily won a fourth term in government.

Justine Elliot was only the second Labor member ever to win the seat, and was the only Labor challenger to defeat a Coalition MP in a rural seat.

Justine Elliot trailed Anthony by 11 points on the first count and was well behind him for most of the night.

However, on the seventh count, a Green candidate's preferences flowed overwhelmingly to Justine Elliot, allowing her to defeat Anthony by 301 votes.

Justine Elliot served on the House of Representatives Standing Committee on Health and Ageing from 2004 to 2007.

The 2007 election saw Justine Elliot re-elected over the Nationals' Sue Page.

Justine Elliot picked up a swing of over 7.4 points, which was significantly larger than the New South Wales state average.

Justine Elliot retained the seat at the 2010 election with only a small swing against Labor.

Justine Elliot stepped aside as Minister for Ageing ahead of the formation of the Second Gillard Ministry on 11 September 2010.

On 11 September 2010 Justine Elliot was appointed as Parliamentary Secretary for Foreign Affairs and Trade, and held this position until a reconfiguration of the ministry on 4 February 2013 when she became a backbencher.

Justine Elliot publicly announced that this was because of her opposition to coal-seam gas mining in the electorate, which conflicted with the role of parliamentary secretary.

Justine Elliot retained Richmond for Labor at the 2013 election even as the Coalition opposition defeated the incumbent Labor government, marking only the second time that the non-Labor parties had been in government without holding Richmond.

Justine Elliot again won with an increased majority at the 2016 election and then increased her majority again at the 2019 election.

Justine Elliot served on the Joint Statutory Law Enforcement Committee in 2013 and 2014, and the Joint Standing Treaties Committee in 2013.

Justine Elliot served on the three House of Representatives Standing Committees of Regional Australia, Publications and Petitions from 2013 to 2016.

Justine Elliot has been the Chair of the Federal Labor Country Caucus since 2014, and was the Deputy Chair of the Standing Committee on Petitions from 2013 to 2016, and again since 2019.

Justine Elliot has served on the Australian Commission for Law Enforcement Integrity since 2016, and the Law Enforcement Committee since 2019.

Justine Elliot was named Assistant Minister for Social Services and Assistant Minister for the Prevention of Family Violence.

Justine Elliot has two children with her husband Craig Justine Elliot, who is a former police officer.

Justine Elliot's husband was the ALP's candidate in Tweed at the 2019 and 2023 New South Wales state election.