Sandra Bourke

Sandra Bourke is an Australian former federal law enforcement officer, national security specialist, and political advocate. She is currently the Director of Myall Coast Consulting Services. In 2024-25, she served as a spokesperson for ADVANCE, a conservative political group, and is a prominent critic of large-scale renewable energy projects in regional areas. Her career spans roles in federal policing, intelligence, higher education, and national security policy.

Bourke was Dux of The Hills Grammar School in 1988. She graduated top of her Australian Federal Police (AFP) recruit course in 1990. She holds a Bachelor of Arts in Education and Government from the University of Sydney, and a Master of Social Science in Criminology from Charles Sturt University.

Bourke began her AFP career in 1990 before transitioning to intelligence roles with the former National Crime Authority (NCA) and NSW Police. At the NCA, she received the Chairman's Award for her work on Italian-Australian organised crime (Cerberus Assessment). In 2004, she established the NSW Police Force’s first Project Management Office and helped shape the State Crime Command.

In 2011, she joined the Department of Defence at RAAF Headquarters Air Command, completing the Advanced Air Power Course in 2015. In 2018, Bourke was seconded to the National Security College (ANU), where she worked on leadership and education programs.

Bourke entered political advocacy in the 2020s, initially opposing a massive floating offshore wind turbine installation near her NSW Mid North Coast home. She raised concerns about impacts on marine life, including Gould’s Petrel, and criticised the lack of proper consultation and ambiguity around costings by the Labor government.

As a volunteer member of the National Rational Energy Network, she helped organise the 2024 “Reckless Renewables” protest in Canberra, calling for a moratorium on major energy projects. As national spokesperson for ADVANCE, she led campaigns against the reckless rollout of turbines, grid solar, and environmentally damaging transmission corridors, advocating for nuclear energy and a balanced energy policy. She played a key role in the 2025 federal election and Victorian Prahran by-election, leading the effective ADVANCE “Put the Greens Last” strategy.

Bourke is active in community life, serving as a local Lions Club and Progress Association committee member. She regularly speaks at regional forums on energy and the environment.