Kara Cook

Kara Cook
MP
Member of the Australian Parliament
for Bonner
Incumbent
Assumed office
3 May 2025 (2025-05-03)
Preceded byRoss Vasta
Councillor of the City of Brisbane
for Morningside Ward
In office
20 January 2018 – 2 May 2023
Preceded byShayne Sutton
Succeeded byLucy Collier
Personal details
Born (1985-06-28) 28 June 1985 (age 41)
Mackay, Queensland, Australia
PartyLabor
EducationGriffith University
ProfessionLawyer
Signature
Websitehttps://www.karacook.com.au/

Kara Cook (born 28 June 1985) is an Australian politician. She is a member of the Australian Labor Party (ALP) and has served in the House of Representatives since 2025, representing the Queensland seat of Bonner. She was a lawyer before entering politics.

Early life

Cook was born on 28 June 1985 in Mackay, Queensland. She was raised in Yeppoon. She is the daughter of Denis and Christine Cook. Her father was manager of the Keppel Bay Sailing Club and her mother was a TAFE instructor in early childhood education.

Cook attended St Ursula's College, Yeppoon. She holds the degrees of Bachelor of Laws and Bachelor of Business from Griffith University.

Prior to entering politics Cook worked as a lawyer. She worked as an associate to District Court of Queensland judge Clive Wall and was admitted to practise in 2009, subsequently joining a family law firm. In 2014 she was awarded the Australian Young Lawyer of the Year Award by the Law Council of Australia, at which time she was the principal solicitor for the Women's Legal Service Queensland. In 2016 she established Cook Legal, her own firm in Brisbane, which specialised in domestic violence cases and offered discount fees to victims.

Local government

Cook was elected to the Brisbane City Council at the 2018 Morningside Ward by-election. She was re-elected at the 2020 Brisbane City Council election as Labor's only female councillor and subsequently served as deputy opposition leader. She resigned from the council in May 2023.

Federal politics

In early 2025, Cook won Labor preselection unopposed for the federal seat of Bonner, following intervention by the ALP national executive to remove a competing candidate. At the time of her preselection she was living in the adjacent seat of Griffith. She was elected to the House of Representatives at the 2025 federal election, defeating the incumbent Liberal MP Ross Vasta.

Cook is a member of the Queensland Labor Unity faction, and caucuses with Labor Left federally.

Personal life

Cook is married to Joshua Creamer, a barrister and son of Indigenous activist Sandra Creamer.

Cook was diagnosed with melanoma on three occasions, beginning in 2012.

References

  1. 1 2 3 "Ms Kara Cook MP". Parliament of Australia. Retrieved 4 July 2026.
  2. 1 2 Edmistone, Leanne (21 September 2014). "Power of words". The Courier-Mail – via ProQuest.
  3. ↑ "Yeppoon bred Kara wins 2014 Young Lawyer of the Year title". Rockhampton Morning Bulletin. 17 September 2014. Retrieved 4 July 2026.
  4. 1 2 Lynch, Lydia (16 January 2025). "Former councillor Kara Cook poised to run for Labor in Bonner after federal intervention". The Australian. Retrieved 4 July 2026.
  5. ↑ "Griffith alumnus wins national award". Griffith University. 23 September 2014. Retrieved 4 July 2026.
  6. ↑ Nelson, Felicity (8 December 2015). "New firm targeting domestic violence is 'first of its kind'". Retrieved 4 July 2026.
  7. ↑ McCosker, Ruth (20 January 2018). "Labor claims victory in Brisbane City Council byelection". Retrieved 4 July 2026.
  8. ↑ Dennien, Matt (25 March 2023). "'The best choice': Top media adviser to replace Labor councillor Kara Cook". Brisbane Times. Archived from the original on 3 May 2025. Retrieved 3 May 2025.
  9. ↑ "Bonner (Key Seat) Federal Election 2025 Results". www.abc.net.au. 2 May 2025. Archived from the original on 4 May 2025. Retrieved 3 May 2025.
  10. ↑ "Our QLD Labor Unity Elected Representatives". Queensland Labor Unity. Retrieved 12 April 2026.
  11. ↑ Johns, David. "Explainer: Full list of Australian Labor Party factions and politicians aligned to them". The Nightly. Retrieved 12 April 2026.
  12. ↑ Turner, Tonya (1 March 2025). "Griffith University alumni speak about the uni's impact on their lives". The Courier-Mail. Retrieved 4 July 2026.
  13. ↑ Sinnerton, Jackie (8 June 2024). "SEQ officially the 'skin cancer capital of the world'". The Courier-Mail. Retrieved 4 July 2026.