Louise represented Western Australia in the Senate from July 2008 until June 2014 and was re-elected in 2016 and 2019.

Her key policy interests include combating climate change and economic inequality, generating good, secure jobs in manufacturing industries, increasing women's workforce participation, consumer protection, early childhood education and care, ending discrimination against LGBTIQ+ Australians, population and development issues and supporting First Nations communities cultural empowerment, truth-telling and fight for substantive justice.

Louise has worked on key national reforms in the Senate. This has included changes to Fair Work legislation, marriage equality, action on climate change, regulating political donations, reforming the AusAID family planning guidelines, paid parental leave, health system reform, enhancing migrant workers' rights, the rights of refugees and better consumer protection laws.

Louise entered the Federal Parliament with a background in community activism and a history of parliamentary service in Western Australia. In 2001, she was the youngest woman ever elected to the Western Australian Legislative Council.

As a State Parliamentarian, she served as the Chair of the Council's Environment and Public Affairs Committee and as the Commonwealth Women Parliamentarians Australia regional representative.

As a member of both the Gallop and Carpenter State Labor Governments, Louise chaired the Government’s Greenhouse Stakeholder Group and a review of child adoption legislation, was the secretary of the Western Australian State Labor Caucus and was a key member of the State Government’s Ministerial Taskforce on lesbian and gay law reform.