Julie Owens

Who is Julie Owens?

Julie Ann Owens, Australian politician, has been an Australian Labor Party member of the Australian House of Representatives since October 2004, representing the division of Parramatta, New South Wales.

She was born in Rockhampton, Queensland, and was educated at the Queensland Conservatorium of Music and at the University of Sydney. She was production manager at the Lyric Opera of Queensland from 1985-89 and senior program officer at the Australia Council from 1989-93. She then became a small-business owner and CEO of the Association of Australian Independent Record Labels before entering Parliament.

Owens' first foray into politics came in 1996, when she stood as the Labor candidate in Division of North Sydney. She was given very little chance of winning, given that North Sydney has long been a conservative stronghold, and was soundly defeated by Liberal Joe Hockey.

In the 2004 election campaign, Owens ran against the incumbent Liberal Ross Cameron. The campaign was notable for the admission by Cameron, a prominent family values campaigner, that he had had an extramarital affair, and Owens won the seat on preferences, despite a swing against the Labor Party in New South Wales.