Glenn Sterle

Glenn Sterle (born 3 January 1960) is an Australian politician. A former trade union organiser, he has been an Australian Labor Party member of the Australian Senate since 2005, representing the state of Western Australia.

Early life Sterle was born in Melbourne on 3 January 1960.

Sterle grew up in the Perth suburb of Langford. Three years later, he founded his own business operating road trains throughout northern Western Australia and the Northern Territory. He spent fourteen years working as an owner-operator before giving up his business to take on a position as an organiser with the Transport Workers Union (TWU) in 1991.

Politics Sterle's involvement with the union prompted him to join the Australian Labor Party in 1991, and in 1999, he was elected as a delegate to the party's state conference. He served as the ALP's transport policy convener in 2000, and was a delegate to the party's national conference in 2002 and 2004. He subsequently decided to make a bid to enter parliament, and in the lead-up to the 2004 federal election, challenged the preselection of veteran senator and former cabinet minister Peter Cook. Cook was determined to remain in parliament, but withdrew from the ballot of their shared Centre Faction when it became clear that Sterle had achieved enough support to win. As a result, Sterle gained the second position on the party's Senate ticket and was easily elected.

Senate Sterle's term began on 1 July 2005. He has served on a variety of Senate and joint-house committees, notably Rural and Regional Affairs, and Transport: Legislation and References. He served as a temporary Chair of Committees from 12 November 2013 to 9 May 2016.

Sterle was appointed Shadow Assistant Minister for Road Safety in Bill Shorten's shadow ministry in June 2018, and retained the position in the Anthony Albanese's shadow ministry after the 2019 election.