Anne Ruston

Ruston was born on 10 June 1963 in Renmark, South Australia. She holds the degree of Bachelor of Business from the University of Southern Queensland.[1]

In 1996, Ruston was appointed Chief Executive at the National Wine Centre until 2002, following which she became a commercial rose producer. From 2003 to 2015, she was the owner and managing director of Ruston's Roses, the largest rose garden in Australia.[2] Her uncle David Ruston founded the rose garden and was the first Australian to serve as president of the World Federation of Rose Societies.[3]

Ruston began her political career as an electorate officer for state Liberal Chaffey MP Peter Arnold. Upon the election of the Dean Brown Liberal government in 1993 she became a state Senior Policy Advisor to the Minister for Industrial Affairs and Tourism, Recreation, Sport and Racing.

Ruston became Vice-President of the South Australian Division of the Liberal Party of Australia in 2011. In August 2012, Ruston was chosen by the federal Liberal Party of Australia and appointed by a joint sitting of the Parliament of South Australia on 5 September 2012 to fill the casual vacancy in the Senate created by the parliamentary resignation of Mary Jo Fisher.[4] Ruston became Assistant Minister for Agriculture and Water Resources in the First Turnbull Ministry on 21 September 2015.

During 2017, when Cory Bernardi moved a motion to ban abortion on gender grounds, Ruston was one of the ten senators who voted in favour. The motion was defeated by a vote of 10 – 36.[5][6]

Ruston is married to Richard Fewster with one son.[7]

• Parliamentary Profile: Senator Anne Ruston
• Summary of parliamentary voting for Senator Anne Ruston on TheyVoteForYou.org.au