Sarah Connolly (politician)

Sarah Connolly (born 29 December 1981) is an Australian politician. She has been an Australian Labor Party member of the Victorian Legislative Assembly since 2018, representing the electorates of Tarneit (2018-2022) and Laverton (2022-present), in Melbourne's outer west.

Early life
Connolly grew up in the coastal township of Kingscliff in northern New South Wales.

She holds a Bachelor of Laws from the University of Queensland and Graduate Diploma of Legal Practice from the Queensland University of Technology.

Early career
Prior to entering into politics, Connolly worked in the criminal justice system as a judge’s associate, and in a law firm. She also worked for the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission and Australian Energy Regulator, and spent over a decade working across public and privately-owned energy networks in policy, legislative reform and regulatory frameworks.

Personal life
Connolly is married to Scott Connolly, Assistant Secretary of the Australian Council of Trade Unions. Together they have had three children but the eldest, Viviene, has died.

Political career
Connolly was pre-selected by the Labor Party as its candidate for Tarneit in 2017 and went on to be elected at the 2018 Victorian State Election. She was a Board Member of VicHealth, and is a member of the Transport Workers Union and the Commonwealth Parliamentary Association.

At the 2022 state election, she stood in the new electorate of Laverton, which had been established in a redistribution, and was elected.