Meet newly elected Senator for Western Australia Ellie Whiteaker! Ellie spent her most of her childhood in Kalgoorlie before moving to Perth’s southern suburbs to finish primary school and then attending Comet Bay College in Secret Harbour, where she graduated as the school’s first ever Head Girl.
Ellie began her tertiary studies at the University of Western Australia and went on to complete a Bachelor of Arts at Monash University in 2018. During her university years, she served as President of WA Young Labor.
Ellie’s working life has been dedicated to the labour movement, advocating for workers and campaigning to elect Labor governments.
As an Organiser with Unions WA, she campaigned against the Barnett Liberal Government’s cuts to public services. She then went on to advocate for many young and migrant women working in the male dominated mining services sector as an Organiser with the Australian Manufacturing Workers Union. Ellie also worked for then Senator Louise Pratt, campaigning alongside her during the marriage equality plebiscite.
In 2018, she was elected Assistant State Secretary of WA Labor and was Deputy Campaign Director for WA Labor’s landslide victory in 2021. She carried that momentum into the 2022 federal campaign, where her focus on localised messaging and community engagement helped deliver Labor’s best-ever federal result in Western Australia.
In July 2022, Ellie became the first woman to serve as State Secretary of WA Labor. As Campaign Director, she led the Party’s 2025 WA state election campaign securing a third consecutive term and the second-largest victory in WA Labor’s history. Ellie’s strategic leadership was again evident in the 2025 federal election, where her focus on WA-specific issues helped Labor expand its stronghold in the west.
Ellie lives in Beeliar with her husband, David Scaife MLA, the State Member for Cockburn, and their young son William. Congratulations on your election to the Australian Senate, Ellie, and welcome to the Labor team!