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Karlene Maywald

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The Honourable Karlene Maywald FTSE
Maywald in 2026

Member of the South Australian Parliament for Chaffey
In office 11 October 1997 – 20 March 2010
Preceded by	Kent Andrew
Succeeded by	Tim Whetstone

Personal details
Born	Karlene Ann Maywald Melbourne, Victoria, Australia
Party	The Nationals
Spouse	Dean
Children	1
Alma mater	Flinders University University of Ballarat
Occupation	Businessperson
Signature
Karlene Maywald's voice Maywald speaking about climate change Recorded 9 May 2025

Karlene Ann Maywald is an Australian former politician who represented Chaffey in the South Australian House of Assembly from 1997 to 2010. She became the first woman to lead the South Australian National Party and, in 1998, became the first South Australian parliamentarian to give birth while serving in parliament.

Maywald was born in Melbourne and moved with her family to Waikerie, where her family ran a school bus service and where she received her education until she joined Flinders University where she briefly studied politics before embarking on nursing duties in Darwin then returned to Waikerie where she joined the family business. Later, she got into employment in the transport and retail sectors and lived for sometime in Canada where she started a home brewing business and received a Graduate Diploma in Brewing and Malting from Ballarat University. After the death of her father in 1995, she went back to Waikerie to help her mother in the family business.

In the 1997 state election, Maywald joined the South Australian parliament, defeating incumbent Liberal member Kent Andrew and gaining the National Party's Chaffey House of Assembly seat. She became the first woman to lead the South Australian National Party. Re-elected in 2002, she supported the minority Labor government led by Mike Rann and joined its cabinet in July 2004, becoming Minister for the River Murray, Regional Development, Small Business and Consumer Affairs. She retained her National Party membership while serving in the Labor cabinet and was later appointed Minister for Water Security in 2007. Her ministerial responsibilities included water policy during the Millennium Drought and negotiations concerning the River Murray and the Murray–Darling Basin.

In the 2010 state election, Maywald lost to Liberal candidate Tim Whetstone, ending her 12.5-year tenure in parliament. She subsequently worked as a water policy and government relations consultant and held several water-sector positions, including chair of the National Water Commission from 2012 to 2015 and director of SA Water from 2011 to 2018. She also served as Local Recovery Coordinator following the 2015 Sampson Flat bushfire and held roles with the International Centre of Excellence in Water Resources Management and the Peter Cullen Trust. In 2020 she became a director of Cancer Council SA, in 2021 a director of WaterAid International, and in April 2024 chair of the Adelaide Festival Centre Trust.

Early life and education

Karlene Ann Maywald was born in Melbourne and moved with her family to Waikerie at the age of 13, where they operated a school bus business. She completed her schooling in Waikerie before briefly studying politics at Flinders University in Adelaide.^[1] She subsequently worked as a nurse in Darwin for two years, returned to Waikerie to work in the family business, and later entered the transport industry, where she met her husband.^[2] She subsequently worked in the retail industry and spent time in Canada, where she established a business based on the home-brewing model and obtained a Graduate Diploma in Brewing and Malting from Ballarat University. Following her father's death in 1995, she returned to Waikerie to assist her mother in the family business.^[1]

Political career

Member of Parliament (1997–2002)

At the 1997 South Australian state election on 11 October, Maywald was elected to the South Australian House of Assembly for Chaffey as a National Party candidate,^[3] defeating the sitting Liberal member Kent Andrew. The result ended Liberal representation of Chaffey, which had been held by the party since 1973, and contributed to the Olsen government's loss of its parliamentary majority.^[4] Maywald became the first woman to lead the South Australian National Party.^[1] In 1998, she gave birth to her daughter, becoming the first South Australian parliamentarian to give birth while serving in Parliament.^[2] From 2 December 1997 to 15 January 2002, she served on the Environment, Resources and Development Committee; from 10 December 1998 to 21 October 1999, the Select Committee on the Heroin Rehabilitation Trial; from 27 May 1998 to 3 August 1999, the Select Committee on the Emergency Services Levy; from 7 December 2000 to 15 January 2002, the Parliamentary Procedures and Practices Committee; and from 18 November 1999 to 25 July 2001, the Select Committee on the Murray River.^[5]

Ministerial appointments (2002–2008)

At the 2002 state election, Maywald was re-elected for Chaffey with 49.2 per cent of the primary vote and an 11.5 per cent two-party-preferred swing.^[4] The election produced a minority parliament, and Maywald remained outside government, supporting the Rann government in the first confidence vote.^[6] She subsequently served on the Select Committee on the Crown Lands (Miscellaneous) Amendment Bill from 17 July 2002 to 20 February 2006, the Economic and Finance Committee from 7 May 2002 to 23 July 2004, and the Natural Resources Committee from 3 December 2003 to 23 July 2004.^[5]

Maywald joined the Executive Council on 23 July 2004, when Premier Mike Rann named her Minister for the River Murray, Minister for Regional Development, Minister for Small Business, and Minister for Consumer Affairs.^[5] She retained her membership of the National Party while serving in the Labor cabinet, under an agreement that allowed her to dissent from government decisions and legislation on specified matters, particularly where she considered them to conflict with the interests of the Chaffey electorate or her political position.^[7]^[6] She served as Minister for Consumer Affairs until 23 March 2006, and as Minister for Regional Development and Minister for Small Business until 24 July 2008, while remaining Minister for the River Murray and a member of the Executive Council until 25 March 2010.^[5] From 23 August 2004, she also represented South Australia on the Murray–Darling Basin Commission.^[8] Her appointment to cabinet followed speculation that she might contest the federal seat of Barker for the National Party^[4] and made her the second non-Labor parliamentarian, after independent Rory McEwen, to serve in a South Australian Labor cabinet.^[6] The arrangement attracted criticism from some Liberal and National Party members, including calls for her expulsion from the Nationals.^[6] She exercised her right to dissent on issues including industrial relations, equal opportunity legislation and electoral laws.^[1]

As Minister for the River Murray and later Minister for Water Security, Maywald was responsible for water policy during the Millennium Drought,^[9] including reduced River Murray allocations,^[1] negotiations over upstream water flows and planning for the Port Stanvac desalination plant.^[9] The drought affected irrigators and communities in the Riverland, and Maywald identified reduced water allocations, lower commodity prices and the high value of the Australian dollar as factors affecting the region. She was also involved in policy discussions that preceded the Murray–Darling Basin Plan.^[1] On 2 December 2004, she was appointed a Justice of the Peace for South Australia.^[10]

On 23 March 2005, Maywald became Minister for Science and Information Economy, serving until 6 February 2007, and on 23 March 2006 became Minister Assisting the Minister for Industry and Trade, serving until 24 July 2008.^[5] She remained in cabinet following Labor's victory at the 2006 state election,^[6] at which she increased her primary vote to 53.2 per cent.^[4] On 14 December 2006, she was appointed Acting Minister for the Status of Women for 24 December during the absence of Jennifer Rankine.^[11] On 6 February 2007, she became Minister for Water Security, while continuing as Minister for the River Murray.^[5]

River Murray and water policy (2008–2010)

On 5 February 2008, Opposition Leader Martin Hamilton-Smith called for Maywald to resign as Minister for the River Murray after irrigation water allocations were set at 32 per cent.^[12] On 27 March, Maywald welcomed the Council of Australian Governments' approval of the National Water Plan following Victoria's decision to adopt it, and advocated measures to improve irrigation efficiency, address water over-allocation, restore environmental flows and secure water supplies for communities. She also supported establishing an independent Murray–Darling Basin Authority to advise the Commonwealth Water Minister.^[13] On 22 April, she attended community meetings in Berri and Waikerie to discuss drought response measures and water management.^[14] On 3 July, she criticised Victoria's position on water sharing in the Murray–Darling basin, arguing that water distribution should be managed in the national interest; at the time, South Australian irrigation communities were receiving 2 per cent of their water allocation, while irrigators in New South Wales and Victoria had no allocation.^[15] On 6 August, she attended a public hearing at Meningie concerning a proposed weir at Wellington intended to address declining water levels in the Lower Lakes, where community opposition to the project was expressed; more than $30 million had already been spent by the South Australian government on preparations for the project.^[16]

On 24 March 2009, Maywald served on the committee considering the Renmark Irrigation Trust Bill.^[5] On 28 April, she adopted the Regional Natural Resources Management Plan following consultation with the regional community; it came into effect on 1 July 2009, replacing the initial plan and providing the basis for natural resources management activities in the region.^[17] On 1 September, Maywald announced that South Australian River Murray water licence holders would be permitted to extract 10 per cent of their water entitlements, up from 5 per cent, following increased inflows during August.^[18]

On 19 February 2010, a poll of 571 voters in Chaffey recorded a two-party-preferred result of 50.5 per cent for Maywald and 49.5 per cent for Liberal candidate Tim Whetstone; the primary vote was reported as 40 per cent for Whetstone, 30 per cent for Maywald, 14 per cent for Labor, 11 per cent for Family First and 3 per cent for the Greens.^[19] At the 20 March 2010 state election, Maywald was defeated by Whetstone, with a swing against her of more than 20 per cent. Maywald attributed the result partly to dissatisfaction in the Riverland over the government's handling of the River Murray during the drought, noting that her position as a minister had placed her at the centre of criticism.^[20] She left the ministry and stated that she did not intend to seek political office again. She also expressed concern that the Riverland might no longer have a parliamentarian directly involved in negotiations over the River Murray and the Murray–Darling Basin Plan. Her defeat ended her 12½-year career in the South Australian parliament.^[20]

Later career

Following her defeat at the 2010 state election, Maywald became managing director of Maywald Consultants, providing advice on water policy and government relations.^[21] In December 2010, she was considered for the position of chair of the Murray–Darling Basin Authority following Mike Taylor's resignation, and Water Minister Paul Caica supported her candidacy.^[22] On 1 May 2011, she joined the SA Water Board as a non-executive director, with her term initially running until 30 June 2013,^[23] and also became a member of an advisory committee to the Murray–Darling Basin Authority. In 2012, she was appointed chair of the National Water Commission, which monitored implementation of the Murray–Darling Basin Plan and the performance of the Basin states against agreed targets.^[9] She remained chair until 2015.^[24] Following the federal government's decision to abolish the commission in 2014, Maywald argued that water reform should continue.^[9] She served as a director of SA Water from 2014 to 2018 and chaired the International Centre of Excellence in Water Resources Management from 2015 to 2021.^[24] She also held positions with GPEx and Flinders University New Venture.^[25]

On 9 January 2015, Maywald was appointed Local Recovery Coordinator by the South Australian Government following the Sampson Flat bushfire in the Adelaide Hills. She coordinated the recovery response among affected communities, local and state government agencies, councils, non-government organisations and volunteers, with responsibilities including community wellbeing, infrastructure restoration, economic recovery and environmental rehabilitation.^[26]^[27] Early recovery activities included livestock management, fence repairs and insurance matters, while more than 1,300 volunteers registered during the first week.^[28] She had previously served as the duty minister during the 2005 Eyre Peninsula bushfires.^[26] Later in the year, the Weatherill ministry appointed Maywald as Strategic Adviser–Water Opportunities on an external consultancy basis, with responsibility for promoting South Australia's water-management capabilities in international markets, including India and China.^[29]

In 2018, Maywald's term as a director of SA Water ended following the change of government at the state election. She said she had not sought reappointment and had notified the Marshall government after applications to renew board appointments were issued. She continued working as a consultant to the International Centre of Excellence in Water Resources Management.^[30] On 14 February 2020, she was appointed a director of Cancer Council SA, serving as board chair, chair of the Nomination and Remuneration Committee, and a member of the Investment Committee.^[31] On 19 August 2021, she was appointed a director of WaterAid International.^[32] In July 2022, she led a delegation to Rajasthan, India, where she met state officials to discuss cooperation in groundwater management and water purification^[33] and was involved in establishing the Rajasthan Centre of Excellence for Water Resources Management.^[34] She served as chair of the Peter Cullen Trust for more than four years before resigning at the conclusion of its February 2024 board meeting.^[35] On 19 April 2024, she was appointed chair of the Adelaide Festival Centre Trust, succeeding former South Australian Governor Hieu Van Le.^[36]

Personal life

Maywald and her husband, Dean, had a daughter, Tilly Rose, in 1998. Dean cared for their daughter while continuing his transport business.^[1]^[2]

Recognitions and awards

Maywald was elected a Fellow of the Academy of Technological Sciences and Engineering (FTSE) in 2012.^[37] In May 2014, she received the Chairman's Award from the Water Industry Alliance for her contribution to the water industry in South Australia and nationally.^[24]^[38] In 2015, Flinders University conferred on her the degree of Doctor of the University for her service to the community through public policy.^[25]