1. Rebekha Carina Sharkie is an Australian politician and member of the Centre Alliance party.
18 Facts About Rebekha Sharkie
1. 2.
Rebekha Sharkie contested the 2018 Mayo by-election on 28 July, and was returned to parliament.
3.
Rebekha Sharkie was born on 24 August 1972 in Torbay, England in 1972 to British and American parents.
4.
The family moved to Australia when Rebekha Sharkie was two years old.
5.
Rebekha Sharkie attended Eyensbury Senior College for her high school education and went on to study international relations and public policy at Flinders University.
6.
Rebekha Sharkie became a naturalised Australian on 19 March 2007, and formally renounced her British citizenship in 2016.
7.
Rebekha Sharkie worked as a paralegal in Darwin and South Australia.
8.
Rebekha Sharkie has worked for South Australian state Liberal MP Rachel Sanderson.
9.
Rebekha Sharkie left it in 2012 when she was appointed the national Executive Officer Youth Connections.
10.
Rebekha Sharkie considered running for the Liberals in the 2014 state election in the safe seat of Schubert, only to be told that she needed the blessing of federal minister Christopher Pyne and federal senator Cory Bernardi, the highest-ranking federal MPs from the moderate and conservative factions of the SA Liberals, before seeking preselection.
11.
Rebekha Sharkie told The Australian that when she learned she couldn't stand without the "anointing" of Pyne and Bernardi, she was appalled.
12.
Rebekha Sharkie became the first NXT member of the Australian House of Representatives, joining a cross-bench of five members not aligned to either major party.
13.
Rebekha Sharkie contested the 2018 Mayo by-election on 28 July, and was returned to parliament with a swing in her favour.
14.
Rebekha Sharkie was re-elected in the 2022 Australian federal election with the support of the Teal independents.
15.
Rebekha Sharkie is seeking a fourth term in the 2025 Australian federal election.
16.
Rebekha Sharkie hinted her support for the coalition in a hung parliament.
17.
Rebekha Sharkie approached finance minister Mathias Cormann in 2019 about funding a research centre in the region that includes the complex ecosystems of the Coorong, Lower Lakes, and Murray Mouth.
18.
Rebekha Sharkie has three children from a previous marriage, which ended around 2008.