SA Greens Senator Sarah Hanson-Young marries during election campaign

SA Greens Senator Sarah Hanson-Young might be in election mode, but that hasn’t stopped her taking one of the biggest steps of her life – getting married.

SA Greens Senator Sarah Hanson-Young has married Ben Oquist. Picture: Bentinmarcs Photography

The election campaign might be in full swing, but Senator Sarah Hanson-Young has taken the weekend off for a rather fabulous reason. 


The SA Greens pollie tied the knot on Saturday morning to Ben Oquist, the executive director of Canberra think tank The Australia Institute.

SA Greens Senator Sarah Hanson-Young with her new husband Ben Oquist. Picture: Bentinmarcs Photography

The couple walked each other down the aisle together in front of 80 friends and family at Lobethal Road Wines with Ms Hanson-Young wearing a white strapless lace gown by Adelaide designer Alexis George.

On Friday, Kaurna elder Uncle Moogy Sumner gave the couple a traditional Aboriginal wedding ceremony in front of their families.

“Because of Covid, my side of the family, the family who live in Victoria and Ben’s side of the family who live in New South Wales haven’t actually met until now, so it’s a lovely bringing together of the two families,” Ms Hanson-Young said.

Faces at the wedding included the Greens senate candidate Barbra Pocock, member for Sydney Alex Greenwich as well as former Greens leader Bob Brown, from whom Mr Oquist used to work.

Mr Oquist proposed earlier this year while the couple were on Kangaroo Island celebrating Ms Hanson-Young’s 40th birthday, after asking permission from both their daughters.

“We’ve been friends for a long time and as the pandemic was hitting we kind of fell in love and it just happened. It was this beautiful transition from friendship into something more intimate and I feel like I am marrying my best friend. We just both feel so lucky,” said Ms Hanson-Young.