An active and committed environmentalist, Sonya McKay represented the Australian Greens in the House of Representatives election for Blaxland in 2001 and at the New South Wales Legislative Assembly election for East Hills in 2003. She conducted her campaign on the local issues of opposition to the Holsworthy airport proposal, opposition to the privatisation and expansion of Bankstown airport and prevention of overdevelopment of the electorate area. Sonya McKay was also a strong advocate of increased funding for health and public education. At the time of her campaign for East Hills she was enrolled in a Master of Environmental Law degree at the University of Sydney (B.A., LL.B). Sonya McKay was born and educated in the western suburbs of Sydney.

Sources used to compile this entry: Putting Skirts on the Sacred Benches: Women Candidates for the New South Wales Parliament, Australian Women's Archives Project, 2006, http://www.womenaustralia.info/exhib/pssb/home.html; Ephemera on NSW State and local elections, Box 12, Mitchell Library collection, State Library of NSW, Sydney; http://pandora.nla.gov.au/pan/34138/20030320/www.nsw.greens.org.au (accessed 4 June 2005).