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Rachel Carling-Jenkins

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Australian politician

Rachel Carling-Jenkins
Leader of the Australian Conservatives Party in Victoria
In office
26 June 2017 – 3 August 2018
LeaderCory Bernardi
Preceded byOffice established
Leader of the Democratic Labour Party
in Victoria
In office
29 November 2014 – 26 June 2017
LeaderPaul Funnell
Rosemary Lorrimar
Paul McCormack
Rosemary Lorrimar
Preceded byJohn Madigan
Succeeded byOffice abolished
Member of the Victorian Legislative Council for Western Metropolitan Region
In office
29 November 2014 – 24 November 2018
Personal details
BornRachel Carling
(1975-09-02) 2 September 1975 (age 49)
Rockhampton, Queensland, Australia
Political partyIndependent (2018–)
Other political
affiliations		Conservatives (2017–2018)
Democratic Labour (until 2017)
Spouse(s)Gary Jenkins
(m. 2005; div. 2016)
Graham Watt ​(m. 2021)​
Children1
Alma materJames Cook University
OccupationResearch & Advocacy Manager
(Aruma)
Professionformer Politician
Websitehttp://www.rachelmp.com.au/

Rachel Carling-Jenkins (née Carling) (born 2 September 1975) is an Australian politician. She was a member of the Victorian Legislative Council from 2014 to 2018, representing Western Metropolitan Region for the Democratic Labour Party (2014–2017), Australian Conservatives (2017–2018) and as an independent (2018). She did not recontest her Legislative Council seat at the 2018 election, instead unsuccessfully contesting the Legislative Assembly seat of Werribee.

Career and party affiliations

Carling-Jenkins has a Ph.D. in Social Science; she has worked as an academic and social worker. Carling-Jenkins is the author of Disability and Social Movements, which was published in November 2014.

She was elected as a Democratic Labour Party (DLP) member in the Western Metropolitan Region of the Victorian Legislative Council at the 2014 state election. On 26 June 2017, Carling-Jenkins resigned from the DLP to join Cory Bernardi's Australian Conservatives. Carling-Jenkins said of the move, “I think it’s time for minor parties, like-minded parties, to unite because the conservative vote has been fractured." On 3 August 2018 Carling-Jenkins quit the Australian Conservatives after the party announced it would not contest the Victorian election in 2018.

Policy positions

In Carling-Jenkins' inaugural parliamentary speech, she described herself as a social justice campaigner, committed to raising awareness about gender selection abortions, cracking down on the sex industry, and rights for people with a disability and the elderly.

Carling-Jenkins was a leading anti-abortion activist in parliament, speaking often about her hopes to roll back Victoria’s abortion laws.

In a speech to the Victorian Legislative Council in September 2017, Carling-Jenkins disclosed that her former husband had been convicted and imprisoned for possession of child pornography, describing her shock at discovering the material on his computer and how she had reported him to the police. Carling-Jenkins has campaigned widely against child exploitation.

Carling-Jenkins was a force behind the introduction of Jalal's Law, which provides that any unlicensed driver involved in a crash where someone is killed or injured will be presumed to have been driving dangerously. The change follows community lobbying over the death of 13-year-old boy Jalal Yassine-Naja, who was killed after being struck by a four-wheel-drive with an unlicensed driver behind the wheel in March 2017.

Personal life

On 22 October 2021, Carling married former Liberal MP Graham Watt.

References

  1. Carling-Jenkins, Rachel (2014). Disability and social movements : learning from Australian experiences. Ashgate. ISBN 9781472446336.
  2. Green, Antony. "Western Metropolitan Region". Australian Broadcasting Corporation.
  3. "Dr Rachel Carling-Jenkins". Parliament of Victoria.
  4. ^ "Cory Bernardi strikes again, luring another MP to his Australian Conservatives". Smh.com.au. 27 June 2017. Retrieved 28 June 2017.
  5. "Cory Bernardi's Australian Conservatives secures Victorian DLP MP Rachel Carling-Jenkins". Abc.net.au. 27 June 2017. Retrieved 28 June 2017.
  6. "Victorian MP Rachel Carling-Jenkins set to defect to Australian Conservatives party". News.com.au. 27 June 2017. Retrieved 28 June 2017.
  7. "DLP MP Rachel Carling-Jenkins joins Australian Conservatives". HeraldSun.com.au. 26 June 2017. Retrieved 28 June 2017.
  8. "It's over: Cory Bernardi's only Victorian MP sensationally quits". smh.com.au. 4 August 2018. Retrieved 5 August 2018.
  9. https://amp.theage.com.au/national/victoria/abortion-laws-rachel-carlingjenkins-bid-to-roll-back-victorias-abortion-laws-20160521-gp0fel.html
  10. https://amp.theage.com.au/national/victoria/antiabortion-crossbencher-likely-to-be-elected-to-upper-house-20141202-11yhki.html
  11. https://www.heraldsun.com.au/news/victoria/bid-to-outlaw-lateterm-abortions-in-victoria-fails/news-story/4a5b5c9b39946dabd6a44ef6e43e8a5c
  12. "Australian politician reveals husband's child porn conviction". BBC News. 7 September 2017. Retrieved 7 September 2017.
  13. Carey, Adam (19 September 2018). "Jalal's skateboard death inspires new law targeting unlicensed drivers". The Age. Retrieved 7 November 2018.
  14. Hutchinson, Samantha; Brook, Stephen (24 October 2021). "House and home: Ex-MPs tie the knot". The Age. Retrieved 17 December 2021.

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