Rachel Carling-Jenkins

Rachel Carling-Jenkins (born 2 September 1975) is an Australian politician. She was elected as a Democratic Labour Party (DLP) member in the Western Metropolitan Region of the Victorian Legislative Council at the 2014 state election.

On 26 June 2017 it was revealed that Carling-Jenkins is leaving the DLP to join Cory Bernardi's Australian Conservatives.

Carling-Jenkins became the first female parliamentarian elected under either the historic or current DLP. Carling-Jenkins has a Ph.D. in Social Science; she has worked as an academic and social worker, before unsuccessfully contesting La Trobe in the 2013 Federal Election for the DLP. Carling-Jenkins is the author of Disability and Social Movements, which was published in November 2014.

In Carling-Jenkins' inaugural parliamentary speech, she described herself as a social justice campaigner, committed to raising awareness about gender selection abortions, cracking down on the sex-industry, and rights and care for the disabled and elderly. In addition she stated:

"My desire to contribute to a society which has as its core aim the human flourishing of all its members led me to join and run as a candidate for the DLP — a party which stands for the twin pillars of human dignity and the common good. It is human dignity and the common good which I will pursue here in this place where I will tell the stories of the people I represent — people I will fight for and people I care about."