About Connie

I hold an Honours degree in Law and a Bachelor of Arts, majoring in Modern Greek and Social Politics, both from the University of Adelaide. My political career began more than 14 years before my election to South Australia’s Legislative Council in 2018. I started as a senior adviser to Nick Xenophon and later served as Chief of Staff to Senator Stirling Griff, gaining valuable experience - at both state and federal levels - with the Xenophon team.

Since entering parliament, I have been a strong and compassionate voice in South Australia’s Upper House.  A long-time advocate for gambling reform, I have led the charge against predatory gambling practices and the widespread harm they cause. 

Equally committed to justice and safety, I have been a fierce advocate for victims of crime and child protection. I am also leading efforts to end period poverty through free universal access to menstrual products and I proudly support this work as an ambassador for KickStart for Kids.

My commitment to gender equality runs deep. I initiated the inquiry into bullying and harassment in the legal profession, helping to expose a culture of silence and imbalance in one of the state’s most powerful sectors. I have twice introduced legislation to establish a Commissioner for Gender Equality to hold public institutions accountable.

My legislative achievements span a wide range of vital reforms. I successfully introduced major changes to the Coroners Act, strengthening coroners’ powers to conduct thorough investigations and hold government accountable. I spearheaded amendments to the Equal Opportunity Act to remove outdated exemptions for MPs and the judiciary, expanding protections for all South Australians. 

Following the tragic death of a teenager, I introduced a private members bill that banned the sale of LPG bottles without appropriate safety labels. I have also criminalised child-like sex dolls and related child-exploitation material, and led Australia-first reforms aligning drug-driving laws with drink-driving offences, including updated motorbike licensing requirements for young people.

I have championed laws preventing persons charged with child sex offences from working with children, strengthening safeguards for vulnerable young people in the workplace. I was instrumental in implementing an IVF donor conception register and fought to give public servants the freedom to choose their superannuation funds. 

South Australia became one of the very few jurisdictions worldwide to criminalise non-consensual condom removal (“stealthing”) under my leadership. I also introduced pioneering laws imposing heavy penalties and jail time for the creation and distribution of deepfake invasive images.

I successfully lobbied for the reversal of a federal decision that would have allowed an offshore wind farm zone to include Port MacDonnell - one of our most iconic and pristine regional coastal towns and home to our most valuable seafood resource, the Southern Rock Lobster fishery.  

My commitment to protecting our pristine waters and our fisheries also culminated in compensation rights for fishers, equivalent to landholder entitlements.  After a two-decade campaign working alongside the seafood sector in SA, I ensured South Australia led the way in the implementation of nationwide 'country of origin' labelling laws.  

I contributed to higher education reform by participating in the University Merger Committee and secured the passage of legislation that led to establishment of the new Adelaide University. 

As part of the reform package, I secured $60 million – in perpetuity – in additional funding for scholarships for regional, remote, and low economic background students for the new university and Flinders University. 

I also successfully secured the passage of legislation facilitating construction of the new Women’s and Children’s Hospital.

I have successfully secured changes to our Return to Work scheme that reversed measures adversely impacting injured workers and resulted in additional protections for our state's most vulnerable injured workers and asbestos-related diseases victims. 

As a parent, I am grounded by a desire to build a safer, more equal future for the next generation — and it is this perspective that continues to guide my fight for a fairer South Australia.