Kiama Labor – Katelin McInerney

Katelin McInerney grew up in Kiama and attended Minnamurra Public and Kiama High. She now resides in the town with her partner Brian and their two year old son William.

Ms McInerney has worked as a journalist, communications specialist and campaigner with unions and not-for-profits, representing a diverse national membership of actors, journalists, stage and screen crew, and musicians.

She was the first woman to hold the director position of the journalists union (MEAA) and has represented members at all levels of government, at Senate inquiries, with the ACCC, and fought for greater Federal government funding for the ABC and SBS, and positions in regional newsrooms, for more than a decade.

She is also a founding member of the Women in Media initiative, a mentoring and support network for women working in media – an industry with one of the highest rates of sexual harassment and gender pay inequity in the country.

In recent times Ms McInerney has worked closely with Labor Member for Gilmore Fiona Phillips and Kiama Labor councillors to secure a funding commitment for a dedicated Headspace in Kiama and will continue to campaign for greater access to health services across the area.

She is also involved in campaigns to utilise brownfields sites for sustainable development and to bring creative and arts-industry jobs to the region through her work with the Kiama Epicentre Association. She is dedicated to safeguarding our beautiful coastal countryside and waterways, and will push for key planning controls and infrastructure investment from the State Government.

Ms McInerney has also been a volunteer for the Kiama Downs Surf Lifesaving Club, as well as a member of the local softball and netball associations.