Helen Beatrice Polley (born 9 February 1957) is an Australian politician who is an Australian Labor Party member of the Australian Senate, representing the state of Tasmania since 1 July 2005.
Helen Polley | |
|---|---|
 Polley in 2013 | |
| Senator for Tasmania | |
| Assumed office 1 July 2005 | |
| Personal details | |
| Born | 9 February 1957 Ulverstone, Tasmania, Australia |
| Political party | Australian Labor Party |
| Relations | Michael Polley |
| Residence(s) | Launceston, Tasmania, Australia |
| Profession | Political adviser Politician |
Early life and education
editBorn in Ulverstone, Tasmania, Polley is the daughter of Michael and Eileen Polley, and the sister of Michael Polley, former Speaker of the Tasmanian House of Assembly. She was educated at Deloraine High School, Launceston Community College and Launceston Business College, where she obtained a Diploma of Business Administration.
Senator Polley started work in administrative roles and work in finance, transport and manufacturing.[1]
Political career
editEarly career (1984–2005)
editPolley spent time working as an adviser to Senator Terry Aulich from 1984 to 1992, Premier Michael Field from 1992 to 1995, Senator Shayne Murphy from 1995 to 1998, and Premiers Jim Bacon from 1998 to 2004 and Paul Lennon from 2004 to 2005.[2]
She was also the first female President of the Tasmanian branch of the ALP from 1992 to 1995, before being elected as Senator for Tasmania at the 2004 Federal Election.[3]
Australian Senate (2005–present)
editPolley took up her position on 1 July 2005 and retained her Senate seat at the 2010 and 2016 Federal Elections.[4]
Polley is a committee member of the Joint Committee on the National Broadband Network and Law Enforcement – Parliamentary Joint Committee.[5]
Polley served as Deputy Government Whip in the Senate in the Second Gillard Ministry and Second Rudd Ministry from 2010 to 2013, and then as Parliamentary Secretary for Aged Care from 2013 to 2016.
Comcare Investigation
editFollowing several staff alleging harassment and abuse by Polley, Commonwealth workplace health and safety agency Comcare commenced an investigation. The investigation found Polley's office had an unhealthy workplace culture that had "an adverse impact on the morale, health and well-being" of staff.[6] Several staff had compensation claims approved for damages resulting from the bullying endured during their time working for Polley.[7]
Travel expenditure
editIn 2014, Polley admitted to spending about $23,000 of taxpayer money on chartered flights between Hobart and Launceston, each lasting about 35 minutes.[8] According to Polley this was within the entitlements of all Senators of Australia depending on their geographical location[citation needed].
Use of "All lives matter" slogan
editIn 2020, Polley apologised after sharing the a variation of the All Lives Matter slogan that said "Instead of Black Lives Matter how about every life matters no matter what the color of your skin is", on social media in an incident that she acknowledged was "careless" and "insensitive". She claimed that she had been unaware of the issues with the slogan.[9]
Political views
editPolley is a member of Labor's Right faction. She is a member of the Australian Workers' Union (AWU), and is linked with the Shop, Distributive and Allied Employees Association (SDA).
Polley opposes marriage equality and voted against the Marriage Amendment Act 2017 following the Australian Marriage Law Postal Survey.[10]
Polley opposes reproductive rights. In 2006, Polley voted against the Therapeutic Goods Amendment Bill that would provide for medical abortions. Speaking against the Bill, Polley said:
"I dread to think that this chamber might very well be condemning our daughters to a horrible death or complications that may remove the opportunity for them to ever conceive again."[11]
Senator Polley opposes assisted dying and the autonomy of the Northern Territory and Australian Capital Territory governments to legislate on the matter. Polley argues "...legislation will never be able to guarantee that a human life will not be prematurely ended due to abuse or flaws within such a legislative framework", and where assisted dying has been legalised "life has been extinguished prematurely and without the consent of the person. Effectively, in many jurisdictions the state is killing people where voluntary euthanasia laws have been established."[12]
References
edit- ^ "Senator Helen Polley: About Helen". Archived from the original on 13 May 2013. Retrieved 8 August 2013.
- ^ "Senator Helen Polley | MP Profile | Q&A | ABC TV". Australian Broadcasting Corporation. Archived from the original on 29 October 2008.
- ^ "Senator Helen Polley – Parliament of Australia".
- ^ "Senate State First Preferences By Candidate".
- ^ "Senate Committees (Page No Longer Valid) – fapa_ctte index.htm – Parliament of Australia".
- ^ WAHLQUIST, CALLA (11 December 2013). "Polley admits probe, denies specific claims". The Examiner. Retrieved 8 February 2022.
- ^ "Senator's staff win claims of harassment". The Sydney Morning Herald. 11 December 2013. Retrieved 25 March 2022.
- ^ "Senator admits spending $23,000 on 35-minute plane flights within Tasmania". ABC News Online. 19 May 2014. Retrieved 25 March 2022.
- ^ "Tasmanian Labor senator Helen Polley apologises for 'all lives matter' social media post". The Launceston Examiner. 8 June 2020. Retrieved 25 March 2022.
- ^ "Helen Polley voted consistently against same-sex marriage equality". They Vote For You. Retrieved 8 February 2022.
- ^ THERAPEUTIC GOODS AMENDMENT (REPEAL OF MINISTERIAL RESPONSIBILITY FOR APPROVAL OF RU486) BILL 2005. Retrieved 8 February 2022.
- ^ "Restoring Territory Rights (Assisted Suicide Legislation) Bill 2015 Second Reading". 15 August 2018. Retrieved 8 February 2022.