Peg Putt
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Margaret Ann (Peg) Putt (born 5 June 1953, Sydney) is an Australian politician and parliamentary leader of the Tasmanian Greens. She first entered the Tasmanian House of Assembly in 1993 after Bob Brown resigned and votes in the Hobart electorate of Denison were recounted. Immediately prior to entering parliament she was director of the Tasmanian Conservation Trust.
In the 1998 state election she was the only Green to retain a seat and became leader as a result. Four years later she recorded the second highest vote of 12,036 (20.0%) after Tasmanian premier Jim Bacon. In doing so, she outpolled the leader of the Tasmanian division of the Liberal Party of Australia, Bob Cheek, in their electorate of Denison.
In the lead up to the 2006 Tasmanian Legislative Election, Labor leader Paul Lennon refused to hold a televised debate if Peg Putt was involved, and opposition Liberal leader Rene Hidding said he would only participate if Paul Lennon did.
Ms Putt was re-elected in the 2006 election, receiving 18.4% of first preferences, a decrease compared to her previous result of 20.0% in the 2002 election, but the highest of any Denison candidate.
