Karen Struthers

**The Hon**
Karen Struthers
The Hon Karen Struthers
Minister for Community Services of Queensland
	In office; 26 March 2009 – 26 March 2012
Premier	Anna Bligh
Preceded by	Lindy Nelson-Carr (Communities)
Succeeded by	Tracy Davis (Communities)
Minister for Housing of Queensland
	In office; 26 March 2009 – 26 March 2012
Premier	Anna Bligh
Preceded by	Robert Schwarten
Succeeded by	Bruce Flegg
Minister for Women of Queensland
	In office; 26 March 2009 – 26 March 2012
Premier	Anna Bligh
Preceded by	Margaret Keech
Succeeded by	Tracy Davis (as Minister for Communities)
Member of the Queensland Parliament for Algester ; Archerfield (1998–2001)
	In office; 13 June 1998 – 24 March 2012
Preceded by	Len Ardill
Succeeded by	Anthony Shorten
Personal details
Born	19 February 1963; Adelaide, South Australia, Australia
Political party	Labor Party
Children	1
Alma mater	University of Queensland, Griffith University

Karen Struthers (born 19 February 1963) is an Australian politician who served in the Legislative Assembly of Queensland from 1998 to 2012.

Early life and career

Before she was elected Struthers was an Assistant Director of the Queensland Council of Social Service.[1]

Member of parliament

She first entered Parliament at the 1998 election, winning the seat of Archerfield after the retirement of sitting member Len Ardill.[2]

Archerfield was abolished in a redistribution ahead of the 2001 state election, and Struthers followed most of her constituents into the new seat of Algester,[3] which she held until her defeat in the 2012 election.

Beattie Ministry

She was promoted to the front bench on 12 February 2004 as Parliamentary Secretary to the Premier (Multicultural Affairs) and Minister for Trade. She was appointed Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister for Employment, Training and Industrial Relations on 28 July 2005 and became Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Health on 13 September 2006.

Bligh Ministry

In March 2009, she was promoted to the Cabinet as Minister for Community Services and Housing and Minister for Women.[4]

Struthers was one of several Labor MPs in previously safe seats who were swept out in the massive Liberal National landslide of 2012, losing to LNP challenger Anthony Shorten on a swing of over 18 percent—enough to turn the seat from safe Labor to safe LNP in one stroke. In a measure of the backlash against Labor that year, Struthers had seen off a challenge from Shorten in 2009, taking 59 percent of the two-party vote.

Personal life

She has one son.

References

"FORMER MEMBER DETAILS Struthers, Karen Lee". Queensland Parliamentary Website. Retrieved 24 August 2022.
Riggert, E (15 June 1998). "New MP can't wait to report for duty". The Courier-Mail. Brisbane, Australia. p. 8.
Green, Anthony. "Algester". ABC Elections: 2009 Queensland Election. Australian Broadcasting Corporation. Retrieved 8 February 2010.
Odgers, Rosemary; Lion, Patrick (25 March 2009). "Eight new faces in Cabinet clean-out – Ministers told to get runs on the board". The Courier-Mail. Brisbane, Australia. p. 4.

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[1] "FORMER MEMBER DETAILS Struthers, Karen Lee". Queensland Parliamentary Website. Retrieved 24 August 2022.

[Riggert1998-06-15-2] Riggert, E (15 June 1998). "New MP can't wait to report for duty". The Courier-Mail. Brisbane, Australia. p. 8.

[GreenAlgester2009-3] Green, Anthony. "Algester". ABC Elections: 2009 Queensland Election. Australian Broadcasting Corporation. Retrieved 8 February 2010.

[Odgers-4] Odgers, Rosemary; Lion, Patrick (25 March 2009). "Eight new faces in Cabinet clean-out – Ministers told to get runs on the board". The Courier-Mail. Brisbane, Australia. p. 4.