Hollie Alexandra Hughes (; born 12 February 1975) is an Australian politician who was elected as a Senator for New South Wales at the 2019 federal election. She is a member of the Liberal Party.
Hughes was an unsuccessful Senate candidate at the 2016 federal election. During the 2017 parliamentary eligibility crisis, she won the countback to determine the replacement for disqualified Senator Fiona Nash, but was not declared elected because the High Court of Australia, sitting as the Court of Disputed Returns, ruled that she was ineligible for election, due to her employment as a member of the Administrative Appeals Tribunal.
In November 2018, Hughes won the most votes in the Liberal Party's Senate preselection ballot for the 2019 federal election. She was first on the Coalition's Senate ticket in New South Wales at the 2019 election.
Early life and education
Hughes was born in Adelaide on 12 February 1975. She is the oldest of three children born to June and Dennis Nolan. She attended Perth's John XXIII College and Sydney's Loreto Kirribilli during her school years. She studied for a Bachelor of Arts (Communications) at Charles Sturt University in Bathurst, graduating in 1997. Later, she completed a masters degree in public policy at Macquarie University, graduating in 2007.
Early career
Hughes worked as an adviser to Liberal senators Bill Heffernan (2003–2005) and Concetta Fierravanti-Wells (2005–2007).
Hughes was in fourth spot on the Coalition ticket for the 2010 half-Senate election. She was in the tenth spot on the Coalition ticket for the 2015 Legislative Council election. In 2016, she was set to be in the first spot on the Coalition ticket for the anticipated half-Senate election, ahead of Concetta Fierravanti-Wells, but when a double dissolution election was called, she was nominated in sixth spot on the Coalition ticket for the double dissolution election.
As of 2017, Hughes had spent a decade on the State Executive of the Liberal Party of Australia and attained the position of Country Vice-President of the State Party during this tenure. Hughes was described by ABC News as a "regional powerbroker" of the party, advocating for the people of rural New South Wales, whose political views were centre-right, with a particular focus on issues pertaining to rural Australia, and garnering support for people living with disabilities. The Liberal Party described her as a "passionate advocate for rural and regional New South Wales, having led campaigns to improve transport options and health services for the bush".
She was the founder and chair of the Country Autism Network, created to facilitate greater community awareness of regional children affected by autism, and develop more sophisticated support mechanisms for them and their families. Hughes began the network following the diagnosis of her middle child with autism, recognising a lack of support and relevant information available to families in regional areas regarding the condition.
Hughes worked in the private sector as a senior consultant for the Human Resources consultancy Salt & Shein.
After ostensibly failing to be elected to the Senate in 2016, Hughes was appointed to the Administrative Appeals Tribunal, where she worked in part-time capacity. In 2017, when Senator Fiona Nash was found to be ineligible, making Hughes likely to be found to be her replacement, Hughes resigned from this position in an attempt to prevent herself from being found ineligible.
Parliamentary eligibility crisis
At the 2016 double dissolution election, Hughes ran for the Senate to represent New South Wales, in the sixth position on the Coalition ticket, which was considered to be unwinnable. However, during the 2017 Australian parliamentary eligibility crisis, Senator Fiona Nash of the National Party was found to be ineligible to sit in the senate under Section 44(i) of the Constitution due to being a British Citizen. Hughes, as the first unelected candidate on the Coalition's New South Wales ticket, was expected to be declared elected upon a countback of New South Wales Senate votes that excluded Nash.