Lisa Singh
Encyclopedia
Lisa Maria Singh is an Australia
n politician. She is currently an Australian Labor Party
Senator for Tasmania. From 2006 to 2010, she was a Member of the Tasmanian House of Assembly
, representing the division of Denison.
Singh was the first person of South Asian decent to be elected to the Australian Parliament.
, Tasmania
to a naturalised Indian Fijian
father and an Australian mother. Singh attended St Mary's College and Elizabeth College before leaving Tasmania to live and work in Melbourne
, Sydney
and Brisbane
.
Singh returned to Tasmania to study at the University of Tasmania
, graduating with a Bachelor of Arts
with Honours in Social Geography in 1996. Singh attended university with Tasmanian Premier Lara Giddings
.
as an industrial organiser. After joining the Australian Labor Party, Singh served on the Tasmanian ALP’s State Administrative Committee, as President of the New Town branch and as a delegate at state and national conferences.
From 1999–2001 Singh was as an adviser to Sue Mackay
. Singh then became the Director of the Working Women’s Centre in Tasmania where she campaigned for paid parental leave and equal pay. Singh is a member of Emily’s List, serving on the National Executive of the organisation in Australia.
Singh became Hobart Citizen of the Year in 2004 for her work in the peace movement surrounding the Iraq war, especially in highlighting the plight of women and children in war.
Singh has also served as the President of the YWCA
Tasmania, the President of the United Nations Association
Tasmania and as a member of the Tasmania Women’s Council. Singh was also Convenor of the Australian Republican Movement
from 2004–2007. She subsequently managed the Tasmanian Government arts unit, arts@work, before being pre-selected for the Australian Labor Party.
Singh was elected to the Tasmanian House of Assembly as one of the five Members of the division of Denison
in the March 2006 state election. Singh gave her inaugural speech on 18 March 2006. In August 2007, Singh abstained in a vote on a controversial Bill supporting Gunns
' Bell Bay Pulp Mill
supported by all fellow Labor MPs, after having failed in an appeal to then-Premier Paul Lennon
for a conscience vote on the matter.
Singh became Parliamentary Secretary in early 2008. On 25 November 2008, then-Premier David Bartlett
announced that Singh would enter Cabinet as Minister for Corrections and Consumer Protection, Minister for Workplace Relations and Minister Assisting the Premier on Climate Change. She was sworn in at a ceremony at Government House on 26 November 2008. As minister, Singh introduced legislative reforms in workers compensation, corrections and asbestos management.
Singh was defeated at the March 2010 state election
. After her defeat, Singh co-founded the Asbestos Free Tasmania Foundation, an advocacy group to highlight the dangers of asbestos
and support suffers of asbestos-related disease and became its first CEO.
Singh was placed third on the Labor Party's Senate ticket for Tasmania in the 2010 federal election, winning the final sixth Tasmanian Senate seat and making her the first person of South Asian descent to be elected to the Australian Parliament. She began her term in the Senate on 1 July 2011.
, OBE
, an Indian Fijian Member of the Parliament of Fiji
.
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
n politician. She is currently an Australian Labor Party
Australian Labor Party
The Australian Labor Party is an Australian political party. It has been the governing party of the Commonwealth of Australia since the 2007 federal election. Julia Gillard is the party's federal parliamentary leader and Prime Minister of Australia...
Senator for Tasmania. From 2006 to 2010, she was a Member of the Tasmanian House of Assembly
Tasmanian House of Assembly
The House of Assembly, or Lower House, is one of the two chambers of the Parliament of Tasmania in Australia. The other is the Legislative Council or Upper House...
, representing the division of Denison.
Singh was the first person of South Asian decent to be elected to the Australian Parliament.
Early life
Singh was born 20 February 1972 in HobartHobart
Hobart is the state capital and most populous city of the Australian island state of Tasmania. Founded in 1804 as a penal colony,Hobart is Australia's second oldest capital city after Sydney. In 2009, the city had a greater area population of approximately 212,019. A resident of Hobart is known as...
, Tasmania
Tasmania
Tasmania is an Australian island and state. It is south of the continent, separated by Bass Strait. The state includes the island of Tasmania—the 26th largest island in the world—and the surrounding islands. The state has a population of 507,626 , of whom almost half reside in the greater Hobart...
to a naturalised Indian Fijian
Indians in Fiji
Indo-Fijians are Fijians whose ancestors came from India and various parts of South Asia, South-East Asia and Asia itself. They number 313,798 out of a total of 827,900 people living in Fiji...
father and an Australian mother. Singh attended St Mary's College and Elizabeth College before leaving Tasmania to live and work in Melbourne
Melbourne
Melbourne is the capital and most populous city in the state of Victoria, and the second most populous city in Australia. The Melbourne City Centre is the hub of the greater metropolitan area and the Census statistical division—of which "Melbourne" is the common name. As of June 2009, the greater...
, Sydney
Sydney
Sydney is the most populous city in Australia and the state capital of New South Wales. Sydney is located on Australia's south-east coast of the Tasman Sea. As of June 2010, the greater metropolitan area had an approximate population of 4.6 million people...
and Brisbane
Brisbane
Brisbane is the capital and most populous city in the Australian state of Queensland and the third most populous city in Australia. Brisbane's metropolitan area has a population of over 2 million, and the South East Queensland urban conurbation, centred around Brisbane, encompasses a population of...
.
Singh returned to Tasmania to study at the University of Tasmania
University of Tasmania
The University of Tasmania is a medium-sized public Australian university based in Tasmania, Australia. Officially founded on 1 January 1890, it was the fourth university to be established in nineteenth-century Australia...
, graduating with a Bachelor of Arts
Bachelor of Arts
A Bachelor of Arts , from the Latin artium baccalaureus, is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate course or program in either the liberal arts, the sciences, or both...
with Honours in Social Geography in 1996. Singh attended university with Tasmanian Premier Lara Giddings
Lara Giddings
Larissa Tahireh "Lara" Giddings is an Australian politician and the 44th and current Premier of Tasmania since January 2011...
.
Career
Following university, Singh worked in public relations and for the Australian Education UnionAustralian Education Union
The Australian Education Union is an Australian trade union, founded in 1984 as the Australian Teachers Union, which is registered with Fair Work Australia as an employee group, and is affiliated with the Australian Council of Trade Unions...
as an industrial organiser. After joining the Australian Labor Party, Singh served on the Tasmanian ALP’s State Administrative Committee, as President of the New Town branch and as a delegate at state and national conferences.
From 1999–2001 Singh was as an adviser to Sue Mackay
Sue Mackay
Sue Mary Mackay is an Australian politician. She was a Labor member of the Australian Senate representing the state of Tasmania. She was appointed to the Senate on 8 March 1996 and resigned on 29 July 2005....
. Singh then became the Director of the Working Women’s Centre in Tasmania where she campaigned for paid parental leave and equal pay. Singh is a member of Emily’s List, serving on the National Executive of the organisation in Australia.
Singh became Hobart Citizen of the Year in 2004 for her work in the peace movement surrounding the Iraq war, especially in highlighting the plight of women and children in war.
Singh has also served as the President of the YWCA
YWCA
The YWCA USA is the United States branch of a women's membership movement that strives to create opportunities for women's growth, leadership and power in order to attain a common vision—to eliminate racism and empower women. The YWCA is a non-profit organization, the first of which was founded in...
Tasmania, the President of the United Nations Association
United Nations Association of Australia
The United Nations Association of Australia is a non-profit, non-government, membership-based, community organization working to promote the aims and ideals of the United Nations, and seek support for the UN, its programs and agencies. It has divisions within all of the States and Territories of...
Tasmania and as a member of the Tasmania Women’s Council. Singh was also Convenor of the Australian Republican Movement
Australian Republican Movement
The Australian Republican Movement is a non-partisan lobby group advocating constitutional change in Australia to a republican form of government, from a constitutional monarchy.-Foundation:...
from 2004–2007. She subsequently managed the Tasmanian Government arts unit, arts@work, before being pre-selected for the Australian Labor Party.
Singh was elected to the Tasmanian House of Assembly as one of the five Members of the division of Denison
Division of Denison (state)
The Electoral Division of Denison is one of the 5 electorates in the Tasmanian House of Assembly. The division is named after Sir William Denison, who was Lieutenant Governor of Van_Diemen's Land 1847-55, and Governor of New South Wales 1855-61. The division shares its name and boundaries with the...
in the March 2006 state election. Singh gave her inaugural speech on 18 March 2006. In August 2007, Singh abstained in a vote on a controversial Bill supporting Gunns
Gunns
Gunns Limited is a major forestry enterprise located in Tasmania, Australia. Founded in 1875 by brothers John and Thomas Gunn, it is one of Australia's oldest companies. It has over 900 square kilometres of plantations, mainly eucalyptus trees. It is Tasmania’s largest private land-owner...
' Bell Bay Pulp Mill
Bell Bay Pulp Mill
The Bell Bay Pulp Mill, also known as the Tamar Valley Pulp Mill or Gunns Pulp Mill, is a proposed $2.3 billion pulp mill which Gunns Limited is planning to build in the Tamar Valley, near Launceston, Tasmania.-Proposed mill:...
supported by all fellow Labor MPs, after having failed in an appeal to then-Premier Paul Lennon
Paul Lennon
Paul Anthony Lennon is an Australian Labor Party politician. He was Premier of Tasmania from 21 March 2004 until his resignation on 26 May 2008. He was member of the Tasmanian House of Assembly for the seat of Franklin from 1990 until officially resigning on 27 May 2008...
for a conscience vote on the matter.
Singh became Parliamentary Secretary in early 2008. On 25 November 2008, then-Premier David Bartlett
David Bartlett
David John Bartlett is an Australian former politician in the state of Tasmania, serving as the 43rd Premier of Tasmania from May 2008 until January 2011. He was an Australian Labor Party member of the Tasmanian House of Assembly seat of Denison from 2004 to 2011.-Early life:He has been a resident...
announced that Singh would enter Cabinet as Minister for Corrections and Consumer Protection, Minister for Workplace Relations and Minister Assisting the Premier on Climate Change. She was sworn in at a ceremony at Government House on 26 November 2008. As minister, Singh introduced legislative reforms in workers compensation, corrections and asbestos management.
Singh was defeated at the March 2010 state election
Tasmanian state election, 2010
The 2010 Tasmanian state election was held on 20 March 2010 to elect members to the Tasmanian House of Assembly. The 12-year incumbent Labor government, led by Premier of Tasmania David Bartlett, won a fourth consecutive term against the Liberal opposition, led by Will Hodgman, after Labor formed a...
. After her defeat, Singh co-founded the Asbestos Free Tasmania Foundation, an advocacy group to highlight the dangers of asbestos
Asbestos
Asbestos is a set of six naturally occurring silicate minerals used commercially for their desirable physical properties. They all have in common their eponymous, asbestiform habit: long, thin fibrous crystals...
and support suffers of asbestos-related disease and became its first CEO.
Singh was placed third on the Labor Party's Senate ticket for Tasmania in the 2010 federal election, winning the final sixth Tasmanian Senate seat and making her the first person of South Asian descent to be elected to the Australian Parliament. She began her term in the Senate on 1 July 2011.
Personal life
Singh became a mother to two sons, Darcy and Jack, whilst at university. Her grandfather was The Honourable Ram Jati SinghRam Jati Singh
Ram Jati Singh, OBE was a Fiji Indian politician and landlord who was elected to the Legislative Council in the 1966 general elections on the National Federation Party ticket. He was re-elected in the 1968 by-election with an increased majority....
, OBE
Order of the British Empire
The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is an order of chivalry established on 4 June 1917 by George V of the United Kingdom. The Order comprises five classes in civil and military divisions...
, an Indian Fijian Member of the Parliament of Fiji
Parliament of Fiji
Fiji's Parliament is bicameral. The House of Representatives has 71 members. 25 of these are elected by universal suffrage. The remaining 46 are reserved for Fiji's ethnic communities and are elected from communal electoral rolls: 23 Fijians, 19 Indo-Fijians, 1 Rotuman, and 3 "General electors"...
.