Meegan Fitzharris

Meegan Fitzharris (born 1972) is a former Australian politician, who was a member of the Australian Capital Territory Legislative Assembly for the Yerrabi electorate from October 2016 to July 2019, and before that, member for the electorate of Molonglo after she won a countback to fill the Legislative Assembly seat vacated by former Chief Minister, Katy Gallagher, in January 2015.[1][2] She was the Minister for Transport and Municipal Services, Minister for Higher Education, Training and Research and Minister for Health until her resignation from politics in July 2019.[3]

Meegan Fitzharris
Meegan Fitzharris in Gungahlin in 2015
Minister for Tertiary Education
In office 22 January 2016 – 1 July 2019
Leader	Andrew Barr
Succeeded by	Andrew Barr
Minister for Transport
In office 22 January 2016 – 1 July 2019
Leader	Andrew Barr
Preceded by	Shane Rattenbury
Succeeded by	Chris Steel
Minister for Health and Wellbeing
In office 22 January 2016 – 1 July 2019
Leader	Andrew Barr
Preceded by	Simon Corbell
Succeeded by	Rachel Stephen-Smith
Member of the ACT Legislative Assembly for Yerrabi
In office 15 October 2016 – 8 July 2019
Succeeded by	Deepak-Raj Gupta
Member of the ACT Legislative Assembly for Molonglo
In office 16 January 2015 – 15 October 2016
Preceded by	Katy Gallagher
Personal details
Born	1972 (age 47–48) Wellington, New Zealand
Citizenship	Australian
Nationality	New Zealand
Political party	Labor Party
Spouse(s)	Pierre Huetter
Children	Three
Alma mater	University of Otago University of Auckland
Occupation	Politician, political staffer, public servant
Website	www.meeganfitzharris.com

Life and career

Meegan Fitzharris was born in Wellington, New Zealand, in 1972. She was educated at the University of Otago and the University of Auckland, and holds a Bachelor of Commerce and a Masters in International Development.[2]

Fitzharris moved to Australia in 1998.[1] She has three children.[2]

Before commencing a political career, Fitzharris worked for New South Wales Police, Australian Federal Police and the Attorney-General's Department.[1]

Politics

Fitzharris was a Labor Party candidate in the 2012 Australian Capital Territory general election. When she did not win a seat, she became the chief of staff and senior adviser for then Minister, later Chief Minister, Andrew Barr.[2]

Chief Minister Katy Gallagher resigned from the Assembly on 23 December 2014 to pursue a seat in the Australian Senate.[2] Ahead of Gallagher's resignation, media speculation was that Fitzharris would be the most likely candidate to take Gallagher's Assembly seat.[4]

On 15 January 2015, ACT Electoral Commissioner Phil Green announced Fitzharris had been elected as the new member for Molonglo in the Legislative Assembly, after holding a countback of the 2012 Legislative Assembly election.[1][2]

In January 2016, Fitzharris was appointed to the Barr ministry, taking on the transport, health and higher education portfolios and becoming one of ACT Labor's most senior frontbenchers. As transport minister, she oversaw the introduction of light rail in Canberra,[5] but also weathered complaints about the rollout of a new bus network in 2019.[6] As health minister, she ordered an inquiry into allegations of bullying and misconduct at ACT Health.[7]

On 27 June 2019, Fitzharris announced she would resign from her cabinet roles on 1 July and would resign from politics for family reasons shortly after that.[8] She resigned from the Legislative Assembly on 8 July, creating a casual vacancy which was filled by a countback.[9]

References

1. Labor staffer Meegan Fitzharris wins countback for ACT Legislative Assembly seat, ABC News Online, 15 January 2015
2. Gorrey, Megan (15 January 2015). "Meegan Fitzharris to fill Katy Gallagher's ACT Legislative Assembly spot". The Canberra Times. Fairfax Media. Archived from the original on 17 January 2015.
3. "Fitzharris, Meegan - ACT Legislative Assembly". www.parliament.act.gov.au. Retrieved 27 February 2016.
4. Towell, Noel (5 December 2014). "Katy Gallagher resigns: Meegan Fitzharris most likely to her spot - if she wants it". The Canberra Times. Fairfax Media. Archived from the original on 26 December 2014.
5. Canberra, ABC Radio (26 June 2019). "'End of an era': ACT Health Minister Meegan Fitzharris makes 'difficult decision' to resign". ABC News. Retrieved 13 July 2019.
6. Lowrey, Tom (29 April 2019). "One bus used to take commuters door-to-door. Now there's a bus, then a tram, then another bus". ABC News.
7. Burnside, Niki (1 February 2019). "ACT Health staff describe in detail persistent emotional abuse, sexual harassment on the job". ABC News. Retrieved 13 July 2019.
8. Jervis-Bardy, Dan; White, Daniella (26 June 2019). "ACT Minister Meegan Fitzharris to quit politics". The Canberra Times. Retrieved 12 July 2019.
9. "ACT Legislative Assembly casual vacancy announced to replace Meegan Fitzharris". Elections ACT. 12 July 2019. Retrieved 12 July 2019.

Australian Capital Territory Legislative Assembly
Preceded by Katy Gallagher	Member for Molonglo 2015–2016	Electorate abolished
Electorate created	Member for Yerrabi 2016–2019	Succeeded by Deepak-Raj Gupta
Political offices
Preceded by	Minister for Tertiary Education 2016–2019	Succeeded by Andrew Barr
Preceded by Simon Corbell	Minister for Health and Wellbeing 2016–2019	Succeeded by Rachel Stephen-Smith
Preceded by Shane Rattenbury	Minister for Transport 2016–2019	Succeeded by Chris Steel