Andrea Mason

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Andrea Mason (born 1968) is an Australian politician and an Australian Aborigine. In the Federal Election of 2004, she led the Family First Party, a political party with close (though unofficial) links with the Assemblies of God in Australia denomination.

[edit] Background

Mason is the daughter of Ben Mason, an Aboriginal Christian pastor involved in the founding of the Aboriginal Evangelical Fellowship, she was born in Subiaco, Western Australia. She grew up in Western Australia before her family moved to Adelaide, South Australia in 1979. After completing her secondary education she was awarded a Netball Scholarship at the Australian Institute of Sport and moved to Canberra for two years.

On her return to Adelaide, Mason studied for a Bachelor of Arts degree in Aboriginal Affairs and Public Administration. She graduated in 1988, and from 1989 onwards she worked on housing and employment programs with the South Australian Public Service.

In 1999 Mason commenced a Bachelor of Laws Degree at the University of Adelaide. Graduating in 2002, she began working for Andrew Evans, a member of the South Australian Legislative Council and leader of the South Australian branch of the Family First Party, as a personal assistant.

[edit] Making history

On the 8th of August 2004, Mason became the first-ever Indigenous Australian woman to lead an Australian political party, when the Family First Party chose her as its national leader. She unsuccessfully contested the 2004 Australian Federal Election as the party's South Australian lead Senate candidate.