Tamara Francine Smith is an Australian politician, representing Ballina in the New South Wales Legislative Assembly for the Greens since 2015.[2]
Tamara Smith | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Member of the New South Wales Legislative Assembly for Ballina | |
| Assumed office 28 March 2015 | |
| Preceded by | Don Page |
| Personal details | |
| Born | 19 October[1] |
| Nationality | Australian |
| Political party | Greens New South Wales |
| Alma mater | University of New South Wales University of Sydney Southern Cross University |
| Occupation | Secondary school teacher |
| Profession | Solicitor |
| Website | www |
Smith is the first non-conservative to represent the Ballina area in 88 years, first woman to hold the seat of Ballina, and the first regional Greens MP to represent a regional lower house seat in Australia.[3][better source needed]
Early life and education
editChildhood
editSmith's father was an American corporate manager and their Australian mother worked as a secretary, and they are one of four children - sisters Natasha and Nicole and brother Dominic who is a novellist[4] [5] The year following her parents' separation, the family home burned down and Smith's mother suffered a stroke and became disabled; the family struggled to make ends meet.[6]
Smith's ancestors have lived in the Northern Rivers area of New South Wales for four generations.[7]
Smith grew up in Hazelbrook in the Blue Mountains, and in Manly in Sydney, before moving to Byron Bay when they were 15.[4]
When Smith moved to the North Coast, they got involved in grassroots environmental movements to save our north-east forests and Fraser Island, to stop uranium mining at Roxby Downs and to stave off mega-development in the Northern Rivers—the home of their maternal great-great-grandparents, greatgrandparents and grandmother, Josephine Frances Hegerty.
Smith has one child, a daughter.[8]
Education
editSmith undertook at Bachelor of Arts at the University of NSW, before obtaining a Graduate Diploma in Education from the University of Sydney.[9]
Smith has also completed a Bachelor of Laws (Hons) at Southern Cross University.[citation needed]
Pre-parliamentary career
editSmith was a secondary school teacher for many years in Ballina at Southern Cross High School, the Western suburbs of Brisbane and remote New South Wales,[7] such as Broken Hill. Smith has been a member of the NSW Teachers Federation since 2002 and became the first female President of the Barrier Teachers Association in 60 years in 2002.[10] Smith has also been admitted as a solicitor in NSW in 2010,[11] and worked in Redfern and the Northern Territory.[4]
Smith has also worked in the areas of social justice, Aboriginal affairs and public education advocacy and has a keen research interest in women’s rights and global warming.[12]
Political career
editFirst term (2015 - 2019)
editThe 2015 State Election was a referendum on coal-seam gas, with the Bentley Blockade that saw tens of thousands of people participate in a series of blockades in the Northern Rivers against exploratory drilling by the resources company Metgasco.[13][14]
Smith was preselected to stand as the Greens candidate for the state division of Ballina at the 2015 election against Nationals candidate Kris Beavis,[15] after the retirement of Nationals incumbent Don Page.
Smith won Ballina at the 2015 State election[16] with 27 percent of the primary vote, an increase of 4.5 percent, and 53.1 percent of the two-candidate preferred vote after out-polling Labor party's Paul Spooner following the allocation of preferences.[17] Smith is the first woman to hold the seat of Ballina, and the first regional Greens MP to represent a regional lower house seat in Australia,[3] and was joined two other Greens, Jamie Parker and Jenny Leong in the lower house of the New South Wales Parliament.
Second term (2019 - 2023)
editSmith retained the seat of Ballina, with an increase of 4.7 percent of the primary vote and a 2.3 percent two-party swing in her favour, in the 2019 election.[18] Smith was the only major candidate calling for a halt to major developments, including the bypass and bus interchange, and a total opposition to the contentious West Byron urban development.[19]
Smith's portfolios included Climate Change, Regional Communities (including Regional Development), Tourism, Education, and Region: North Coast.[10]
Third term (2023 - ongoing)
editSmith was re-elected as the Member for Ballina for a third time at the 2023 election, pushing the Nationals into second place, and with the overwhelming preference for her over the Nationals and Labor with a further increase of 4.0 percent of the primary vote.[20]
Smith is the portfolio holder for Education, Early Learning, Skills & TAFE, Premier & Cabinet, Older People, Veterans, Tourism and Disaster Relief, and is the Chair of the Joint Standing Committee on the Office of the Valuer General.[9]
Outside of politics
editSmith has also been an Adjunct Professor in the School of Law and Justice at Southern Cross University since 2023,[21] and is a member of their Advisory Board.
References
edit- ^ "Member for Ballina". Hansard. 17 October 2019.
- ^ "Ms Tamara Francine Smith, MP". Members of the Parliament of New South Wales. Retrieved 6 April 2019.
- ^ a b "Tamara Smith MP for Ballina". Greens NSW. 25 March 2023. Retrieved 13 October 2023.
- ^ a b c Smith, Tamara (6 May 2016). "Legislative Assembly Hansard - 12 May 2015 Inaugural Speeches". Parliament of NSW. Retrieved 6 August 2024.
- ^ Baum, Caroline (21 May 2016). "Dominic Smith". The Age.
- ^ Baum, Caroline (21 May 2016). "Dominic Smith (book review)". The Age.
- ^ a b Smith, Tamara (6 May 2016). "Legislative Assembly Hansard - 12 May 2015 Inaugural Speeches". Parliament of NSW. Retrieved 6 August 2024.
- ^ Smith, Tamara (6 May 2016). "Legislative Assembly Hansard - 12 May 2015 Inaugural Speeches". Parliament of NSW. Retrieved 6 August 2024.
- ^ a b "Adjunct Professor Tamara Francine SMITH, BA.DipEd, LLB (Hons), GDLP MP". NSW Parliament. Retrieved 17 August 2024.
- ^ a b "Tamara Smith MP". Traffic Light Election Guide. Retrieved 17 August 2024.
- ^ "Tamara Smith". Greens NSW. Retrieved 17 August 2024.
- ^ Smith, Tamara (6 May 2016). "About Tamara Smith". Tamara Smith. Retrieved 11 October 2023.
- ^ "NSW election: CSG hated by voters (unless they're living with it)". The Weekly Times. 30 March 2015. Retrieved 16 August 2024.
- ^ Ricketts, Aidan; Kia, Annie (18 May 2014). "Enabling Emergence: The Bentley Blockade and the Struggle for a Gasfield Free Northern Rivers". Retrieved 16 August 2024.
- ^ "Ballina - NSW Election 2015". ABC News (Australia). Retrieved 26 August 2024.
- ^ Hasham, Nicole. "NSW Election 2015: Greens celebrate strong inner west showing against Labor". The Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved 28 March 2015.
- ^ "NSW State Election Results 2015 - State Electoral District of Ballina". NSW Electoral Commission. 25 August 2015. Retrieved 13 October 2023.
- ^ "NSW State Election Result 2019 - State Electoral District of Ballina". NSW Electoral Commission. 23 March 2019. Retrieved 13 October 2023.
- ^ Lovejoy, Hans (25 March 2019). "Greens MP returned with increased majority". The Echo. Retrieved 17 August 2024.
- ^ "NSW State Election Results 2023 - Electoral District of Ballina". NSW Electoral Commission. 6 March 2023. Retrieved 13 October 2023.
- ^ "Adjunct staff". Southern Cross University. Retrieved 23 August 2024.