Juanita Wheeler
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Juanita Wheeler (b. ?1976) is a member of the Australian Greens and a former student politician in Queensland. She is National Convenor of the Australian Greens, as well as holding a number of positions in the Queensland Greens.
She studied at the Queensland University of Technology along with her husband Rob Wheeler, who was also a student politician. Juanita and Rob entered student politics as a result of their dissatisfaction with the operation of the QUT Student Guild childcare centres, which during this time was dominated by members of the National Organisation of Labor Students (NOLS).
In 2001, she was elected President of the Queensland University of Technology Student Guild in a controversial election that saw an entire ticket disqualified, as well as financial incentives given to students who voted in the election. Shortly after this time she joined the Greens. She also served as Education Officer for the Queensland state branch of the National Union of Students in 2002.
Juanita was the only 'progressive' voice in the state branch that year as her votes alongside with the liberal and Student Unity, (Labor Right) students locked out the wider left, comprised of NOLS, (labor left), NBL, (radical left) and unaligned left students.
Juanita became a statewide spokesperson on Higher Education for the Greens in 2003 before being elected as Deputy Convenor of the Queensland Greens for 2003/04. She ran for the Queensland Greens in the 2004 election for the seat of South Brisbane, achieving the highest result for a female Greens candidate in a Queensland state election. Juanita was the national preference negotiator for the Australian Greens during the 2004 Federal Election.
Juanita ran in the [Queensland legislative election, 2006|2006 Queensland State election], this time in the seat of Mt Coot-tha, garnering 21.73% of the primary votes.[1]
Juanita is currently employed as a senior staffer for The Greens Canberra.
