Ged Kearney

Gerardine Mary "Ged" Kearney is an Australian politician and trade unionist. She has been a member of the House of Representatives since March 2018, representing the Division of Cooper for the Labor Party. She was previously president of the Australian Council of Trade Unions from 2010 to 2018. Kearney was born in Richmond, Melbourne, Victoria, as the second-youngest of nine children. Her father was a publican. She began to study for a Bachelor of Economics degree at Monash University, but dropped out to pursue a nursing career. She qualified as a registered nurse in 1985 and participated in the nurses' strike in 1986. She also gained a Bachelor of Education, and worked as a nurse and nurse educator, including a period managing clinical nurse education at Austin Health. Kearney has four children.