Spouse of the Prime Minister of Australia Spouse of the Prime Minister of Australia The spouse of the Prime Minister of Australia is generally a high-profile individual, and assists the prime minister with his or her ceremonial duties as well as performing various other functions. The wife of the current prime minister is Jenny Morrison. With a few exceptions, the prime minister's spouse has been a public figure and the subject of media interest. Most have used the position to promote charitable causes. By convention, the spouse of the prime minister serves as the host or hostess of The Lodge and Kirribilli House, the official residences of
Julia Gillard Subsequent to the federal election held on 7 September 2013, Gillard was succeeded as the Member for Lalor by her preferred replacement, Joanne Ryan, a former school principal. Although nominally a member of the Victorian Left faction of the Labor Party, her election to Prime Minister occurred because of support from the Right factions of the party, with the hard Left planning to support Rudd in the Caucus vote had there actually been one. Analyses of Jacqueline Kent's 2009 biography of Gillard suggest that her membership in the Left faction is "more organisational than ideological". In July 2010, historian Ross