Linda White

Biography

Linda White is an Australian politician who was born around 1960. She is a member of the Australian Labor Party (ALP) and was elected as the party’s lead candidate in Victoria to the Senate at the 2022 federal election, commencing her term on 1 July 2022. Prior to entering politics, White was a lawyer and trade unionist, having worked as assistant national secretary of the Australian Services Union (ASU).

White studied law and commerce at the University of Melbourne, and after graduating, worked as a solicitor for ten years before joining the ASU. As assistant national secretary of the union, she was responsible for developing the union’s national strategy in the private sector, including the airline industry, IT and call centre industries, and the non-government social and community services sector.

In addition to her work with the ASU, White has also served as a director of the Victorian Legal Industry Superannuation Scheme, which later merged into Legalsuper. She has also held director positions with the Royal Botanic Gardens Victoria and the Australian Centre for the Moving Image.

White’s involvement in the ALP began in 2006 when she was elected to the party’s National Executive. In 2013, she was appointed to the board of the Chifley Research Centre, the party’s think tank, and became its chair in 2015. In March 2022, White won ALP preselection as the party’s lead Senate candidate in Victoria at the 2022 federal election, receiving the support of the United Workers Union in her preselection contest against Josh Bornstein. She is a member of the Labor Left and is seen as the successor to Kim Carr on the ticket.