Senator
Wendy Askew
Senator for Tasmania
Assumed office
6 March 2019
Preceded byDavid Bushby
Personal details
Born
Wendy Anne Bushby

(1963-03-16) 16 March 1963 (age 60)
Launceston, Tasmania, Australia
Political partyLiberal
RelationsMax Bushby (father)
David Bushby (brother)

Wendy Anne Askew (née Bushby; formerly Summers; born 16 March 1963) is an Australian politician who is a Senator for Tasmania, representing the Liberal Party. She was appointed to a casual vacancy on 6 March 2019 in place of her brother David Bushby.

Personal life

Askew was born in Launceston, Tasmania.[1] Her father Max Bushby and brother David Bushby were also Liberal politicians.[2] She was known as Wendy Summers until her marriage in September 2018.[3]

Politics

Prior to entering politics, Askew worked in a variety of roles in the public and private sectors. She was general manager of the St Giles Society, a disability services provider, and also spent 20 years in the banking industry, including roles with Westpac and the Commonwealth Bank.[4] She later worked as office manager to state MP Michael Ferguson and as an adviser to state MP Sarah Courtney and federal MP Andrew Nikolic.[3] Immediately prior to her elevation to the Senate she was working as an adviser to federal education minister Dan Tehan.[2]

Askew held various senior positions in the Tasmanian Liberals, serving on the state executive, as party treasurer, and as a senior vice-president of the party.[1] In 2018, it was reported that she would be a candidate for Senate preselection for the 2019 federal election.[5]

Senate

Askew's brother David Bushby announced his retirement from the Senate in January 2019. She subsequently defeated seven other candidates to become the Liberal Party's nominee for the casual vacancy caused by his resignation. She will serve the remainder of his six-year term, which expires in June 2022.[6] Askew was temporarily appointed to the Senate on 6 March 2019 by state governor Kate Warner under the provisions of section 15 of the constitution, as the state parliament was not in session.[4][7] A joint sitting of the state parliament on 20 March 2019 formalised her appointment to the Senate.[8]

Askew is the fourth woman to represent the Tasmanian Liberals in federal parliament and the first since Jocelyn Newman retired in 2002.[9]

After the Coalition's defeat at the 2022 federal election, Askew was appointed Chief Opposition Whip in the Senate.[1]

Askew is affiliated with the National Right faction of the Liberal Party,[10] after previously being factionally unaligned during the Morrison government years.[11]

References

  1. ^ a b c "Senator Wendy Askew". Parliament of Australia. Retrieved 15 March 2019.
  2. ^ a b "Liberal senator David Bushby to be replaced by his sister, Wendy Askew". The Mercury. 2 February 2019. Retrieved 16 February 2019.
  3. ^ a b Vinall, Frances (2 February 2019). "David Bushby's sister Wendy Askew will replace him in Federal senate". The Examiner. Retrieved 16 February 2019.
  4. ^ a b Maloney, Matt (6 March 2019). "Tasmanian Liberal Senator Wendy Askew officially takes up role in Australian Parliament". The Examiner. Retrieved 6 March 2019.
  5. ^ "Conservative Liberals moving against newly promoted moderate Richard Colbeck". ABC News. 27 August 2018. Retrieved 16 February 2019.
  6. ^ Bailey, Sue (10 February 2019). "Tasmania will have one less Senator when Federal Parliament resumes". The Advocate. Retrieved 16 February 2019.
  7. ^ "Governor appoints Wendy Askew to fill casual Senate vacancy". Premier of Tasmania. 6 March 2019. Retrieved 9 November 2022.
  8. ^ "Senate Casual Vacancy". Parliament of Tasmania. 20 March 2019. Archived from the original on 8 November 2022. Retrieved 9 November 2022.
  9. ^ "Wendy Askew the fourth Liberal woman to represent Tasmanian federally, ever". The Examiner. 4 February 2019. Retrieved 16 February 2019.
  10. ^ Massola, James. "How Morrison's shattering defeat gave Dutton a seismic shift in factional power". The Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved 4 December 2023.
  11. ^ Massola, James (20 March 2021). "Who's who in the Liberals' left, right and centre factions?". The Sydney Morning Herald. Fairfax Media. Retrieved 1 February 2022.
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