Hon Susan Close MP
Deputy Premier

Susan Close is the Deputy Premier of South Australia and the Minister for Climate, Environment and Water; Minister for Industry, Innovation and Science; and Minister for Defence and Space Industries. Susan has been the Member for Port Adelaide since 2012. Before entering parliament, Susan was an executive in the Department of Environment and Natural Resources and played a key role in the establishment of the Adelaide Dolphin Sanctuary as a community advocate. She previously worked at the University of Adelaide managing student services and holds a PhD from Flinders University. Susan is a fierce advocate for women in the workplace, passionate about ensuring accessible and quality education for all, deeply concerned about protecting nature, and driven to deliver the best economic outcomes for South Australia so everyone can benefit from a prosperous future for our state.

Associate Professor
Rob Manwaring

Dr Rob Manwaring is an Associate Professor in the College of Business, Government and Law at Flinders University. Rob's background is in public policy, and he has worked for the UK's Commission for Racial Equality as a senior policy adviser, and also for the South Australian Council of Social Services. Rob teaches a range of policy and politics topics, and conducts research into the areas of centre-left political parties, democratic politics, and public policy. Most recently, his (2021) book 'The Politics of Social Democracy' was published with Routledge. Rob is member of the Australian Political Science Association and is currently a co-editor for the Australian Journal of Political Science.

Lucy Hood MP

Lucy Hood was recently elected as the Member for Adelaide after a two-year campaign of community engagement. Before entering politics as a candidate, Lucy was the Director of Policy for SA Labor Leader and now Premier, Peter Malinauskas MP. Prior to this, Lucy was raised in Naracoorte and was the first in her family to go to university, moving to Adelaide to study journalism. She later started her career at The Advertiser as a cadet journalist and went on to become Education Editor and Policy Desk Producer. Lucy and her husband Jarrad are now raising their two young children, Audrey and Ned, in Prospect. Lucy spent her childhood growing up in country SA, where community is in people's DNA. Lucy believes that governments are elected to build stronger communities, and they do this by investing in community infrastructure that keeps people local, active and connected.

Rebekha Sharkie MP

Rebekha Sharkie believes there is no greater honour than representing the people of Mayo in the Federal Parliament. Rebekha has lived in the region for over 20 years and was honoured to be elected at the 2016 Federal Election and the 2018 Mayo by-election. Rebekha’s journey into politics was not straightforward. She began in conveyancing and office management, juggling hours with responsibilities as a mum. She later worked in political offices where she saw a need for greater community engagement in national decision-making. She decided to put her name forward for the Nick Xenophon Team (now Centre Alliance) as the candidate for Mayo so the communities across the Adelaide Hills, Fleurieu and Kangaroo Island regions would have someone who would listen and act for them – not for big business or union donors. Rebekha is an advocate for our local industries, protecting our farming land, improving local health services and addressing youth unemployment.