Bridget McKenzie

Hon Bridget McKenzie is an Australian politician who has been a Senator for Victoria since 2011, representing the National Party. She has been the National Party's deputy leader since December 2017 and shortly after her election to that position, she was appointed to cabinet as Minister for Sport, Minister for Rural Health, and Minister for Regional Communications in the Turnbull Government. On 28 August 2018, she will include Regional Services, Decentralisation and Local Government to her portfolio as part of a cabinet reshuffle in the Morrison government. In May 2019, Ms McKenzie became Australia’s first female Agriculture Minister. In February 2020, Ms McKenzie quit as deputy leader of the Nationals over the sports rorts scandal.

In July 2021, Ms McKenzie returned to the frontbench following a leadership spill and the re-election of Barnaby Joyce as Nationals leader and deputy prime minister. She took on the portfolios of regionalisation, regional communications, regional education, drought and emergency management until May 2022 when the Liberal Party was defeated at the federal election. In June 2022, she became the Shadow Minister for Infrastructure, Transport & Regional Development and Leader of the Nationals in the Senate in the Dutton shadow ministry.