Anna Burke

Anna Burke was the elected representative for the Victorian electoral division of Chisholm in the Australian Parliament from 1998 until 2016; she served as the Speaker of the House of Representatives during the 43rd Parliament from 2012 to 2103.

Prior to becoming Speaker, Anna served as Deputy Speaker in the both the 42nd and 43rd Parliaments as well as on a number of Parliamentary Committees including Climate Change, Environment and the Arts, Petitions, and Privileges.

Anna saw her role as the local representative as paramount and was well known throughout her local community and was successfully been re-elected six times.

Many Australians from across the country know Anna not only for her role in the Speaker’s Chair, but for her highly successful campaign to protect people from unwanted telemarketing calls. In 2005, she moved a Private Member’s Bill in Federal Parliament to create a national ‘Do Not Call’ list, which led to the former Government adopting her policy. 

Anna was born in 1966 in Melbourne. She and her four siblings were raised in Ashwood, part of the electorate Anna represented.

Anna has a Bachelor of Arts (Honours) degree from Monash University and a Master of Commerce (Honours) from the University of Melbourne.

Prior to entering Federal Parliament, Anna worked as a national industrial officer for the Finance Sector Union, where she represented the workers in the banking, finance and insurance industries.