Senate
Susan McDonald
Susan McDonald is a The Nationals senator for Queensland. First elected 1 July 2019.
- 2019 Won seat, entered parliament
- 2021 Appointed Northern Australia envoy
- 2022 Ended Northern Australia envoy role
- The Nationals
What do they focus on?
Her 34 tracked speeches address workplace rules and costs for small businesses, including Fair Work Legislation Amendment (Closing Loopholes) and Fair Work Amendment (Baby Priya’s). Her tracked votes also include motions to review new penalty and overtime rules under Fair Work Amendment (Protecting Penalty and Overtime Rates). Energy and environmental regulation are another strand: she opposed Treasury Laws Amendment (Energy Price Relief Plan), while voting to refer Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation (Restoration Charge Imposition) to a Senate inquiry. Other tracked activity covers education, aged care and social security, including votes on passing the three-day childcare guarantee in Early Childhood Education and Care (Three Day Guarantee).
Bars show tracked speeches and amendments by policy area.
How do they vote?
Share of recorded votes on the same side as each party's majority.
351 tracked votes while with The Nationals.
How do they compare?
- Years in parliament i Total time served across every stint in either chamber, up to the end of the tracked record. 7 yrs 0.2 avg 8.5 yrs 33.3
- Votes against their party i Recorded votes cast against their own party's majority side. The average is across party members only. 0 avg 0.6 26
- Bills introduced i Bills they introduced to Parliament, counted across the tracked record. 0 avg 2.8 46
- Amendments sponsored i Amendments to bills they put forward during debate, counted across the tracked record. 4 avg 7.9 226
The marker starts at their party’s position and shifts only for floor-crossings towards a neighbouring party. No topic strip is shown because their economic, social and environment votes followed the party line.
What have they done lately?
Since late 2025, Susan McDonald’s activity has mainly been voting, with no motions of her own and most speeches in May. She voted against the university commission bill at its second reading and final passage, although it advanced and passed. She also voted against superannuation changes at second reading and final passage, which likewise passed. On environmental restoration charges, she voted against a First Nations consent standard but for an inquiry and a delay; all three proposals were defeated, while the bill’s second reading carried.
In speeches, she supported veterans oversight and the Survivors Law, backed action against counterfeit goods with conditions, and opposed dirty-donations and firearms-law changes. In May, she supported authors’ lending-rights reforms as governance measures but criticised the absence of new funding or payment changes.
When do they vote against their party?
Susan recorded no votes against the The Nationals position across 351 recorded votes.
What do they say in debate?
38 tracked speeches across 36 bills.
- 14 backing a bill
- 4 with reservations
- 18 against
- 2 no clear position
Go deeper
Every figure links to a cited page.
About these numbers
Based on 766 tracked bills from the 47th and 48th Parliaments, current to 6 July 2026. This is a sample of parliamentary activity, not the complete record.
Career markers come from dated public records. Voting figures use division lists only. For party members, the left-to-right marker begins at the party position. It moves only when the member votes against that party and on the same side as a neighbouring party; other cross-party combinations do not affect it. Independents and minor-party members are placed by their votes in divisions where the Greens and the Coalition took opposite sides. If this position differs from a member’s broader public politics, a note appears below the strip.