23 Facts About Kerrynne Liddle

Kerrynne Liddle was born on 7 October 1967 and is an Australian politician and the first Indigenous federal member of parliament from South Australia.

Kerrynne Liddle is an Arrernte woman and member of the Liberal Party.

Kerrynne Liddle was elected to the Senate on the party's ticket in South Australia at the 2022 federal election, to a term beginning on 1 July 2022.

Kerrynne Liddle was a journalist and corporate manager before entering politics.

Kerrynne Liddle is one of five children born to Arrernte parents Geoff and Jean Liddle; her father was a construction worker and her mother was a nurse but later worked supporting high school students.

Kerrynne Liddle attended a public high school in Alice Springs and studied at Katherine Rural College and later Roseworthy Agricultural College, working as a jillaroo in her early career.

Kerrynne Liddle completed a Vincent Fairfax Foundation Ethics Fellowship and is a graduate of the Australian Institute of Company Directors.

Kerrynne Liddle worked as a journalist with the ABC in radio and television, and Channel 7 Adelaide.

Kerrynne Liddle later established her own public relations business, Precise Media Management, in Adelaide.

In 2011, Kerrynne Liddle was appointed as Santos Limited's Aboriginal participation manager.

Kerrynne Liddle later worked for Voyages Indigenous Tourism Australia as a manager at the Ayers Rock Resort, responsible for over 1000 staff, with 400 Indigenous employees.

Kerrynne Liddle served on several boards, including GPEX for GP training and the Central Australian Aboriginal Congress.

Kerrynne Liddle served as chair of the Tandanya National Aboriginal Cultural Institute, on the boards of the South Australian Housing Trust, Aboriginal Hostels Limited and Indigenous Business Australia, and as a member of the councils of the University of Adelaide and University of South Australia.

Kerrynne Liddle became a member of the Australian Labor Party in 2006.

Kerrynne Liddle later stated in 2021 that she was a financial member for only one year and had only attended one meeting which was an introductory one.

Kerrynne Liddle then joined the Liberal Party and was preselected in sixth place on the party's Senate ticket in South Australia at the 2016 federal election.

In 2019, Kerrynne Liddle began working as a staffer for Senator Anne Ruston.

Kerrynne Liddle was a candidate for the vice-presidency of the Liberal Party's state division in February 2020 but withdrew her candidacy due to illness.

In February 2021, Kerrynne Liddle won preselection for the third position on the Liberal Party's Senate ticket in South Australia at the 2022 election.

Kerrynne Liddle was aligned with the party's moderate faction, although her preselection victory over fellow moderate Rachel Swift was largely due to support from the party's conservatives.

At the 2022 federal election, Kerrynne Liddle was elected to a six-year term beginning on 1 July 2022; she was the last South Australian senator to be declared elected.

Kerrynne Liddle is the first Indigenous Australian elected to represent South Australia in the Senate and the first Indigenous woman to win a parliamentary seat in South Australia at either state or federal level.

Kerrynne Liddle is a member of the Centrist faction of the Liberal Party.