Libby Coker

Last updated

Libby Coker
MP
Libby Coker 2022.jpg
Libby Coker in 2022.
Member of the Australian Parliament
for Corangamite
Incumbent
Assumed office
18 May 2019
Alma mater
ProfessionTeacher and journalist
Website libbycoker.com.au

Elizabeth Ann Coker (born 11 June 1962) is an Australian politician. She is a member of the Australian Labor Party (ALP) and has been a member of the House of Representatives since the 2019 federal election, representing the Victorian seat of Corangamite. She previously served as the mayor of the Surf Coast Shire. Coker won her seat in the 2022 Australian federal election with a 6.5% swing to the ALP. [1]

Contents

Early life

Coker was born in Melbourne on 11 June 1962. [2] Her mother Frances Mann worked as a nurse and her father Jack Coker was a senior public servant with the Australian Broadcasting Control Board. She grew up in the suburb of Beaumaris, later moving with her family to Port Macquarie, New South Wales [3] where Coker's activism began. [3]

In her first speech to parliament, Coker revealed she vandalised a real estate sign with her then-boyfriend in Port Macquarie, in an act of defiance against deforestation. She said she has "moved on" from spray-painting signs, but understands people who are frustrated by government inaction on climate change. [3]

Coker holds a Bachelor of Arts from the University of New England and Bachelor of Letters from Deakin University, as well as a Diploma of Education from Monash University. [2] Prior to entering politics, she worked briefly as a schoolteacher in outer Melbourne and held various positions in journalism, communications and public relations, including as a manager at the Victorian Department of Education. [3] [2] She completed a journalism cadetship at the Geelong Advertiser . [2]

Politics

Coker was first elected to the Surf Coast Shire council in 2008, for the Anglesea ward. She served as mayor between 2009 and 2010, and again from 2012 to 2013. [4]

House of Representatives

Coker won the ultra-marginal seat of Corangamite at the 2019 Australian federal election, defeating Liberal incumbent Sarah Henderson. [5] Coker had unsuccessfully contested the seat at the 2016 Australian federal election. [6] The 2022 Australian Federal Election was won by the Australian Labor Party (ALP), winning with 77 seats [7] forming majority in the lower house. As a result, Coker won the ultra-marginal seat of Corangamite.

Following a redistribution of electoral boundaries in 2021 by the Australian Electoral Commission (AEC), Coker no longer resides in the electorate she represents. The coastal towns of Anglesea and Aireys Inlet, where she resides, are now incorporated into the Division of Wannon.

In March 2024 Coker called for a stop on plans to seismic blast the Otway Basin. [8]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Surf Coast Shire</span> Local government area in Victoria, Australia

The Surf Coast Shire is a local government area in the Barwon South West region of Victoria, Australia, located in the south-western part of the state. It covers an area of 1,553 square kilometres (600 sq mi). It had a population of 32,251 in June 2018. It includes the towns of Aireys Inlet, Anglesea, Lorne, Moriac, Torquay and Winchelsea. It was formed in 1994 from the amalgamation of the Shire of Winchelsea, Shire of Barrabool and part of the former City of South Barwon, which was, at that point, part of the City of Greater Geelong.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Gavan O'Connor</span> Australian politician

Gavan Michael O'Connor is an Australian politician who was an Australian Labor Party (ALP) member of the Australian House of Representatives from March 1993 to November 2007, representing the Division of Corio, Victoria.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Division of Corangamite</span> Australian federal electoral division

The Division of Corangamite is an Australian electoral division in the state of Victoria. The division was proclaimed in 1900, and was one of the original 65 divisions to be contested at the first federal election. It is named for Lake Corangamite, although the lake no longer falls within the division's boundaries.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Electoral district of Marrickville</span> Former state electoral district of New South Wales, Australia

Marrickville was an electoral district of the Legislative Assembly in the Australian state of New South Wales. It was an urban electorate in Sydney's inner west, centred on the suburb of Marrickville from which it took its name. At the time of its abolition it also included the suburbs of Camperdown, Darlington, Enmore, Lewisham, Newtown, Petersham, Stanmore and parts of Dulwich Hill and Erskineville as well as the University of Sydney.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Electoral district of Polwarth</span> State electoral district of Victoria, Australia

The electoral district of Polwarth is an electoral district of the Victorian Legislative Assembly. It is located in south-west rural Victoria, west of Geelong, and covers the Colac and Corangamite local government areas (LGA), parts of the Moyne, Golden Plains and Surf Coast LGAs, and slivers of the Ararat and Greater Geelong LGAs, running along the Great Ocean Road taking in Anglesea, Cape Otway, Peterborough, Aireys Inlet, Lorne, Wye River, Apollo Bay and Port Campbell, covering the inland towns of Winchelsea, Colac, Camperdown and Terang along the Princes Highway, and Inverleigh, Cressy, Lismore and Mortlake on the Hamilton Highway, and finally, includes the Otway Ranges and Lake Corangamite.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Amanda Rishworth</span> Australian politician (born 1978)

Amanda Louise Rishworth is an Australian politician. She is a member of the Australian Labor Party (ALP) and has been Minister for Social Services in the Albanese government since 2022. She has been a member of the House of Representatives since the 2007 federal election, representing the South Australian seat of Kingston.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Darren Cheeseman</span> Australian politician

Darren Leicester Cheeseman is an Australian politician. He has been a member of the Victorian Legislative Assembly since November 2018, representing the seat of South Barwon. He previously held the federal seat of Corangamite from 2007 to 2013.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Julie Collins</span> Australian politician (born 1971)

Julie Maree Collins is an Australian politician. She is a member of the Australian Labor Party (ALP) and has represented the Tasmanian seat of Franklin since the 2007 federal election. She held ministerial positions in the Gillard and Rudd governments, and is Minister for Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry and Minister for Small Business in the Albanese ministry.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sarah Henderson</span> Australian politician and journalist (born 1964)

Sarah Moya Henderson is an Australian politician, lawyer and former journalist. She has been a Senator for Victoria since September 2019, representing the Liberal Party. She previously held the Division of Corangamite in the House of Representatives from 2013 to 2019.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Michelle Rowland</span> Australian politician (born 1971)

Michelle Anne Rowland is an Australian politician. She is a member of the Australian Labor Party (ALP) and has represented the Division of Greenway in the House of Representatives since 2010. She was a member of the shadow ministry from 2013 to 2022, and was elected President of the New South Wales Labor Party in October 2021. She is now the Minister for Communications in the government of Anthony Albanese following the ALP's victory in the 2022 Australian federal election.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lisa Chesters</span> Australian politician

Lisa Marie Chesters is an Australian politician. She is a member of the Australian Labor Party (ALP) and has been a member of the House of Representatives since 2013, representing the Division of Bendigo. Prior to her election to parliament she worked as a union organiser for United Voice.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Christine Couzens</span> Australian politician

Christine Anne Couzens is an Australian politician. She has been a Labor Party member of the Victorian Legislative Assembly since the 2014 state election, representing the seat of Geelong.

Various research and polling firms conducted opinion polling prior to the 2016 federal election in individual electorates across Australia, in relation to voting intentions in the Australian House of Representatives.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Susan Templeman</span> Australian politician

Susan Raye Templeman is an Australian politician. She is the member for Macquarie in the Australian House of Representatives and is Australia's Special Envoy for the Arts. She is a member of the Australian Labor Party and defeated the Liberal Louise Markus at the 2016 federal election. She was re-elected in 2019. Templeman had previously run twice for the same seat, in 2010 and 2013.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Division of Cooper</span> Australian federal electoral division

The Division of Cooper is an Australian Electoral Division in the state of Victoria. It takes in the northern suburbs of Melbourne. The division was contested for the first time at the 2019 federal election, with Ged Kearney of the Australian Labor Party (ALP) elected as its inaugural member of parliament. She had previously represented the Division of Batman since the 2018 by-election.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bev McArthur</span> Australian politician

Beverley McArthur is an Australian politician. She has been a Liberal Party member of the Victorian Legislative Council since 2018, representing Western Victoria Region.

Kate Lynne Thwaites is an Australian politician. She is a member of the Australian Labor Party (ALP) and has been a member of the House of Representatives since the 2019 federal election, representing the Division of Jagajaga in Victoria. She was a journalist and public servant before entering parliament.

The Voices for or Voices of groups are a series of loosely related political community engagement groups in Australia. Some of the groups have endorsed candidates to run as candidates in federal elections. The independence of some of the candidates endorsed by some groups has been disputed, with some candidates receiving significant funding from the Climate 200 fund backed by energy investor Simon Holmes à Court.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sally Sitou</span> Australian politician

Sally Sitou is an Australian politician who is the Labor member for the Division of Reid as of the 2022 Australian federal election. She defeated the incumbent Liberal member, Fiona Martin.

This is a list of results for the 2024 Victorian local elections in the Barwon South West region.

References

  1. ↑ "Corangamite (Key Seat) - Federal Electorate, Candidates, Results". abc.net.au. Retrieved 22 June 2022.
  2. 1 2 3 4 "Ms Libby Coker MP". Senators and Members of the Parliament of Australia . Retrieved 16 November 2021.
  3. 1 2 3 4 "GOVERNOR-GENERAL'S SPEECH - Address-in-Reply". Hansard. Parliament of Australia. 10 September 2019. Retrieved 21 February 2021.
  4. ↑ "Cr Libby Coker". surfcoast.vic.gov.au. Archived from the original on 23 March 2019. Retrieved 22 May 2019.
  5. ↑ "It's Over: Henderson Finally Concedes to Coker" . Geelong Advertiser. Archived from the original on 16 September 2024. Retrieved 22 May 2019.
  6. ↑ "Federal Election 2016: Libby Coker concedes Coranga-fight to Sarah Henderson". Geelong Advertiser. 2 July 2016. Archived from the original on 16 September 2024. Retrieved 22 May 2019.
  7. ↑ "Federal Election 2022 - Australia Votes". www.abc.net.au. Archived from the original on 23 May 2022. Retrieved 22 June 2022.
  8. ↑ Lamacraft, Tim (8 March 2024). "Coker calls for halt to seismic blasting". K ROCK 95.5. Archived from the original on 1 May 2024. Retrieved 1 May 2024.

 

Australian House of Representatives
Preceded by Member for Corangamite
2019–present		Incumbent
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.