Jess Walsh

Jessica Cecille Walsh (born 16 May 1971) is an Australian politician and trade unionist. She is a member of the Australian Labor Party (ALP) and has served as a Senator for Victoria since 2019. Prior to her election to parliament she was the state secretary of United Voice.

Early life
Walsh was born in Melbourne on 16 May 1971. She grew up in the suburb of North Balwyn. She holds the degrees of Bachelor of Arts (Hons.) from the University of Melbourne, Master of Arts from the University of Southern California, and Doctor of Philosophy in economic geography from the University of Melbourne. Her doctoral thesis was titled "Organising the low-wage service sector: labour, community and urban politics in the United States".

Career
From 1998 to 2000 Walsh was a research fellow at two progressive think tanks in the United States, the Institute for Policy Studies and the Economic Policy Institute. There she researched "the loss of decent, stable manufacturing jobs and the growth in their place of low-paid and insecure work in service industries". After returning to Australia, Walsh worked as a researcher and organiser for the Victorian branch of United Voice from 2002 to 2006. She then served as assistant state secretary from 2006 to 2007 and as state secretary from 2007 to 2019.

Walsh was elected to the Senate at the 2019 federal election. She serves as Chair of the Senate Economics Committee and is a member of the Parliamentary Joint Committee on Intelligence and Security.

Politics
Walsh joined the ALP in 2005. In 2018 she won ALP preselection for the Senate in second position on the party's ticket in Victoria. The party's left faction demoted incumbent senator Gavin Marshall to the third spot after Raff Ciccone and Walsh.

Walsh was elected to the Senate at the 2019 federal election, to a six-year term beginning on 1 July 2019. In 2022 she was appointed chair of the Senate's economics legislation committee.

Personal life
Walsh has two residential properties in Melbourne and South Gippsland. She has an investment property in Byron Bay.