The Australian Women's Register

Summary

Louise Clare Pratt was born in Kalgoorlie in 1972. She attended Eastern Hills Senior High School in Perth, then studied arts at the University of Western Australia. Pratt became actively involved in student politics, eventually being elected state education officer for the National Union of Students in 1994. A member of the Australian Labor Party, she was elected to the Legislative Council of the Parliament of Western Australia in 2001, the youngest woman ever elected to the Council. She served until 2007, when she resigned after being assured of election at the 2007 federal election, having won first position on the Labor ticket, defeating incumbent Senator Ruth Webber in a pre-selection contest. She has been a Labor member of the Australian Senate since July 2008.