Dawn Walker

Dawn Elizabeth Walker is a former Australian politician. She was appointed as a Greens member of the New South Wales Legislative Council on 22 February 2017 to fill a casual vacancy resulting from the resignation of Jan Barham, and served until her defeat at the 2019 state election.

Dawn Walker
Member of the New South Wales Legislative Council
In office
22 February 2017 – 23 March 2019
Preceded byJan Barham
Personal details
BornMelbourne, Victoria, Australia
NationalityAustralian
Political partyGreens New South Wales
Children3
EducationMonash University
University of Melbourne
OccupationSmall business consultant, policy adviser
WebsiteDawn Walker MLC

Early life

Walker was born and schooled in Melbourne, graduating from Monash University with a Bachelor of Arts with Honours, and from the University of Melbourne with a diploma in adult education and training. She then worked for 15 years as a policy adviser for Small Business Victoria, a state government agency.[1] Beginning her career at the Commonwealth Employment Service, Dawn was responsible for developing and funding programs to make TAFE more accessible to women. In 2005, she moved with her partner and three children to Tweed Heads on the Far North Coast of New South Wales.[2]

Political career

Walker ran as the Greens candidate for the Division of Richmond at the 2013 and 2016 federal elections, increasing the Greens vote each time.[3]

On 22 February 2017, Walker was elected by a joint sitting of the New South Wales Parliament to fill a casual vacancy resulting from the resignation of Jan Barham.[4] Walker used her maiden speech[5] to call for a re-examination of whether there should be dedicated seats in the NSW Parliament for Aboriginal people, elected by Aboriginal people, as occurs for Maoris in the New Zealand Parliament.[6]

On 6 December 2017, Walker was arrested along with 16 other people including fellow NSW Greens MLC Jeremy Buckingham after taking part in a blockade of Adani’s Carmichael coal mine rail construction site at Belyando, in Queensland. They were arrested and charged with trespass and failing to comply with police direction.[7] In a statement following the arrest, Ms Walker said “It was a very important day for me, stopping work on the Adani mine and being arrested with climate activists who understand the importance of preventing this destructive project from going ahead. I was proud to stand with traditional owners who have said 'no means no' to Adani, and made it clear they will not be surrendering their land and water to this coal corporation.”[8]

Since being elected, Dawn Walker has campaigned for the creation of a new 315,000 hectare Great Koala National Park in the Coffs Harbour hinterland[9] and for an end to native forest logging in New South Wales.[10]

Her preselection was controversial, with the returning officer of the ballot identifying "areas of concern" about the integrity of the process, and claims that Walker had broken party rules by using its email lists for campaigning purposes.[11] These complaints were not upheld by the party's preselection disputes committee and a subsequent meeting of the Greens' State Delegates Council ratified the preselection.[12]

Walker was defeated at the 2019 state election after being ranked third on the Greens ticket for the Legislative Council. She subsequently resigned her membership of the party.[13]

References
  1. "Di Natale hopes for the Dawn of Greens in Richmond". Echo News Daily. 2 October 2015. Archived from the original on 23 February 2017. Retrieved 22 February 2017.
  2. "Dawn Walker: Greens". Tweed Daily News. 24 August 2013. Archived from the original on 23 February 2017. Retrieved 22 February 2017.
  3. Green, Antony. "Electorate: Richmond". ABC Elections. ABC. Archived from the original on 23 February 2017. Retrieved 22 February 2017.
  4. "Ms Dawn Elizabeth Walker". Former Members of the Parliament of New South Wales. Retrieved 29 June 2020.
  5. Walker, Dawn (8 March 2017). "Inaugural Speech" (PDF). Parliamentary Debates (Hansard). New South Wales: Legislative Council. Retrieved 29 June 2020.
  6. Alexander, Harriet (9 March 2017). "Greens call for dedicated seats for Aboriginal people in NSW Parliament". The Sydney Morning Herald. Archived from the original on 27 February 2018. Retrieved 27 February 2018.
  7. Clun, Rachel (6 December 2017). "NSW Greens MPs arrested in Queensland coal mine protest". The Sydney Morning Herald. Archived from the original on 27 February 2018. Retrieved 27 February 2018.
  8. Turner, Liana. "Dawn Walker, Jeremy Buckingham arrested over blockade". Archived from the original on 6 December 2017. Retrieved 27 February 2018.
  9. Walker, Dawn (30 January 2018). "Koala national parks needed before it is too late". The Sydney Morning Herald. Archived from the original on 27 February 2018. Retrieved 27 February 2018.
  10. Minhas, Jasmine. "Yet another protest held to prevent logging of NSW forests". Archived from the original on 27 February 2018. Retrieved 27 February 2018.
  11. Nicholls, Sean (3 February 2017). "Concerns raised about 'integrity' of Greens preselection". Nambucca Guardian. Archived from the original on 22 February 2017. Retrieved 22 February 2017.
  12. Nicholls, Sean (12 February 2017). "Opponents fail to overturn preselection of Dawn Walker as next NSW Greens MP". The Sydney Morning Herald. Archived from the original on 22 February 2017. Retrieved 22 February 2017.
  13. "Whither the Greens? How a reckoning looms for a party fighting to hang on". The Guardian Australia. 4 May 2019. Retrieved 4 May 2019.
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