Jodi Leyanne McKay (born 16 August 1969) is an Australian former politician who was the Leader of the Opposition in the Parliament of New South Wales from June 2019 until May 2021.
[8] In April 2008, the NSW Greens were critical of McKay for failing to declare a political donation from a property developer group, Buildev, owned by Nathan Tinkler, to help pay for printing costs during her campaign.
At the time, Buildev was seeking support from the Minister for Planning, Frank Sartor, for a development at Medowie, near Newcastle Airport.
She immediately distanced herself from the style of her predecessor Michael Costa, and committed to greater engagement with local government and community groups.
[13][14] McKay told the Independent Commission Against Corruption that Tinkler had offered to bankroll her 2011 election campaign, in exchange for her support of his $1 billion coal loader project.
[15] The ICAC inquiry revealed that after McKay knocked back the alleged bribe, Tinkler's Buildev company, her colleague and senior Labor MP Joe Tripodi, and former Labor staffer Ann Wills, were involved in a pamphlet smear campaign that she believed contributed to her election loss.
"[16] After her election defeat, McKay held an executive role with Family Planning NSW and was a non-executive director of both Australian Science Innovations and Epilepsy Action Australia.
[18] However, in October 2014, McKay was installed as the Labor candidate for the seat of Strathfield for the next state election[19] and, following her endorsement, was quoted as saying that she realised "if you want change, it has to come from within".
[24] Following Labor's defeat in the 2019 election, the party leader, Michael Daley, resigned, and McKay expressed interest in running for the leadership.
[32] On 17 October 2021, McKay announced that she had advised the Speaker of the New South Wales Legislative Assembly of her intention to resign as member for Strathfield, which would trigger a by-election to fill the vacancy.