Karen Andrews

Karen Lesley Andrews (née Weir; born 23 August 1960) is an Australian politician who served in the Morrison government as Minister for Industry, Science and Technology from 2018 to 2021 and as Minister for Home Affairs from 2021 to 2022. She is a member of the Liberal National Party of Queensland and has represented the Queensland seat of McPherson since the 2010 federal election. Andrews sat as a Liberal and previously served as an assistant minister in the Abbott and Turnbull governments. Before entering politics, she was a mechanical engineer and industrial relations consultant.

On 18 April 2023, Andrews announced that she would retire at the 2025 Australian federal election.

Early life Andrews was born in Brisbane on 23 August 1960. She is the daughter of William and Moya Weir; her father served in World War II and was later national secretary and treasurer of an organisation for disabled veterans.

Andrews grew up in Townsville and attended Townsville Grammar School. She subsequently completed the degree of Bachelor of Mechanical Engineering at the Queensland Institute of Technology, After graduating, Andrews worked as a drafter with the Queensland Electricity Generating Board and in plant maintenance at the Gladstone Power Station. She later moved to Victoria to work in the oil industry as a supervisor, during which time she completed a graduate diploma in industrial relations at Victoria University. She defeated three candidates, including Peter Dutton, the incumbent MP for Dickson, who sought to transfer seats after an unfavourable redistribution. She retained the seat for the LNP at the 2010 federal election. She served as chair of the joint statutory committee on public works from 2013 to 2015 and was also appointed to the speaker's panel in 2014. In July 2014, the Gold Coast Bulletin reported that her office had an unusually high employee turnover and that former staffers had accused her of creating a hostile work environment. Andrews responded that the high turnover was normal for a parliamentary office.

Government minister

In December 2014, Andrews was promoted to parliamentary secretary to the Minister for Industry and Science in the Abbott Ministry. Her title was changed to Assistant Minister for Science in September 2015, when Malcolm Turnbull replaced Abbott as prime minister.

During the 2018 Liberal leadership spills, Andrews reportedly supported Peter Dutton against Turnbull in the first ballot. She voted against holding a second ballot, but subsequently voted for Scott Morrison against Dutton.

As science minister, Andrews announced the creation of a Cooperative Research Centre on clean energy and additional funding for artificial intelligence research and the Australian Space Agency. According to The Australian, during the initial stages of the COVID-19 pandemic she "became a key player in the government's response as it scrambled to reassure the public about both the contagion itself and the panic-buying that soon began threatening supplies of food, toilet paper and sanitising products".

Political positions Andrews is currently factionally unaligned, after previously identifying as a member of the Centre Right faction of the Liberal Party during the Morrison government.

Andrews has identified as a feminist.

In a 2018 interview with Sky News, Andrews declared that coal would play a major role in Australia's energy mix in the future.

In January 2020, Andrews stated that it was time to move on from ideological battles over climate change, saying that it had robbed Australia of the time and energy needed to respond to the change. "Every second that we spend talking about whether or not the climate is changing is a second that we are not spending on looking at adaptation [and] mitigation strategies. It really is time for everyone to move on and look at what we're going to do."

In 2023, Andrews stated that she was disappointed that only one of the potential Liberal candidates for the by-election in the seat of Fadden was female. Andrews had previously gone on record criticising the Liberal party for its underrepresentation of women.

Personal life Andrews has three daughters with her husband Chris.