Karen Andrews: Inside story of McPherson MP’s political career after retirement announcement

Karen Andrews never set out to become a politician, yet she became one of the most prominent figures of her political generation. This is the inside story of her time in power.

Karen Andrews never set out to become a politician.

The 62-year-old, who will bow out from federal parliament at the next election, started out professionally as an engineer.

After graduating from university in 1983, Ms Andrews went to work for the Queensland Electricity Generating Board where she took up postings at various stations, rotating in and out every six months.

It was during the early 1990s Ms Andrews became interested in politics after a conversation with a colleague and ultimately chose to run for parliament in 2009.

Karen Andrews in 2009 on the day she beat Peter Dutton to represent McPherson.

Her entrance to politics became national news when she trounced now-Opposition Leader Peter Dutton for Liberal Party preselection in the southern Gold Coast seat of McPherson.

Ms Andrews spent the first three years in Opposition before the Abbott Government was elected in September 2013.

In 2014 she was appointed Assistant Minister for Science, a position she retained after Tony Abbott was replaced as Prime Minister by Malcolm Turnbull in 2015.

She admits the third week of August in 2018, when Mr Turnbull’s prime ministership was destroyed in a party room coup, was the most difficult of her career.

“A leadership spill is horrendous, you are being lobbied left, right and centre but when you go in to vote for the leader you know you are voting for someone to lose their job and potentially be absolutely rushed by that outcome,” she said in 2019.

Tony Abbott and Karen Andrews.

“They are terrible times because there is the really personal implication that you know this individual and know you are making a decision which will affect so many people.

“It is very difficult and no matter who you vote for, not everyone will think it’s a good idea.”

Ms Andrews reluctantly voted for the final spill which ended Mr Turnbull's tenure, writing on the petition “because this has to be resolved”.

Despite the emotional difficulties of the week, Ms Andrews’ career flourished in the wake of Scott Morrison becoming prime minister, as she was finally appointed to Cabinet as Industry, Science and Technology.

Malcolm Turnbull with Karen Andrews and Steven Ciobo.

After retaining her seat at the 2019 election, Ms Andrews ultimately played a key early role in Australia’s response to Covid-19, during which she ensured the supply chain line remained open and bolstered the nation’s supplies of hand sanitiser.

Ms Andrews was at the forefront of taking a public stand against the poor treatment of women in politics in recent years.

In a scathing statement, she called for gender quotas in the Coalition in a bid to bring more women into parliament and launched a fiery broadside about sexist behaviour.

The Gold Coast MPs celebrating their win in 2013.

A Coalition staffer that week was sacked for filming himself performing a lewd act on a female MP’s desk and sending it to a group in which similar images were regularly shared.

“I have had an absolute gutful, and my conscience will not allow me to remain quiet. There are some specific instances in this building that are absolutely unacceptable,” she said.

“What does it say about an individual that thinks that sort of behaviour is okay?

“What does it say about a group of people, who seem to be men, who have passed around those sorts of photographs and thought that that was okay?

Scott Morrison and Karen Andrews (AAP Image/David Mariuz)

“I just can’t imagine how (the female MP whose desk was featured) is feeling at the moment. It’s appalling. I mean, how do you even try to explain how that would feel for her to know that that was done by one of her staff when she wasn’t in the office? I mean, you’d just be gutted.”

Mr Morrison promoted Ms Andrews just days later to the role of Home Affairs Minister, a role she retained until the Coalition lost power in May 2022.

Ms Andrews came under fire in the final weeks of the election campaign over her stance on the light rail extension to Gold Coast Airport, backing away from Federal government funding commitments.

Her opposition to the extension running through Palm Beach sparked a vicious war of words, not just with Labor but Gold Coast Mayor Tom Tate.

Follow @GCS_Pottsy