Spouse(s) Nathan Sharkie Residence Birdwood, Australia | Citizenship Australian Children 3 | |
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Full Name Rebekha Carina Che Sharkie Political party Nick Xenophon Team (c. 2014–present) Profiles | ||
Rebekha sharkie nxt sa maiden speech sep 13 2016
Rebekha Carina Che Sharkie is an Australian politician. Representing the Division of Mayo since defeating Liberal Jamie Briggs at the 2016 federal election, she is the first Nick Xenophon Team member to be elected to the Australian House of Representatives.
Contents
- Rebekha sharkie nxt sa maiden speech sep 13 2016
- Early life and education
- Career
- Political life
- Personal
- References
Early life and education
Sharkie moved to Australia as a two-year-old. Her parents are British and American. She studied international relations and public policy at Flinders University.
Career
Sharkie worked as a paralegal in Darwin and South Australia.
Political life
As a university student, Sharkie had handed out how-to-vote cards for Australian Democrats Janine Haines. In 2006, she worked as a researcher for then-South Australian Liberal opposition leader Isobel Redmond. In 2008, she worked as an electorate officer for Briggs for six months. She has also worked for South Australian state Liberal MP Rachel Sanderson.
Although she had worked for Liberals for some time, Sharkie did not formally join the party until 2010. She left it in 2012 when she was appointed the national Executive Officer Youth Connections. When that program was defunded by the Liberal government at the end of 2014, she became Senior Manager and Head of Donor relations at Helping Young People Achieve (HYPA) a NFP that assists young disadvantaged people in South Australia.
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. Sharkie told The Australian that when she learned she couldn't stand without the "anointing" of Pyne and Bernardi, she was appalled. She asked, "Are you serious? A branch doesn't choose?" Combined with her anger at the "ditch the witch" campaign against Julia Gillard, she was thus very receptive when then-independent Senator Nick Xenophon announced he was forming his own party to stand candidates in the upcoming federal election. Initially serving as a volunteer for the newly-formed Nick Xenophon Team, she ultimately agreed to stand in Mayo. Although Mayo had been a very safe Liberal seat for most of its existence, polling suggested that if Labor directed its preferences to Sharkie, she could take the seat off the Liberals.
In the 2 July 2016 election, Sharkie defeated Briggs 55% to 45% in the two-party-preferred vote. She became the first NXT member of the Australian House of Representatives, joining a cross-bench of five members not aligned to either major party. She is the first woman and the first non-Liberal member to represent Mayo.
Sharkie describes her politics as centrist; her policy interests include support for domestic violence victims, youth employment, and pensioner support. She said that for some time, she had felt "despondent" at the Liberals' increasingly rightward turn under Tony Abbott.
Personal
Sharkie is married to Nathan and has three children. They live in Birdwood.