Fiona Richardson

Fiona Richardson
Member of the Victorian Legislative Assembly
for Northcote
Incumbent
Assumed office
25 November 2006
Preceded by Mary Delahunty
Personal details
Born 22 November 1966 (1966-11-22) (age 45)
Dar es Salaam, Tanzania
Political party Australian Labor Party

Fiona Richardson (born 22 November 1966), Australian Labor Party politician, is the current member for the electorate of Northcote.

Contents

Personal life

Richardson was born in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania[1] and was educated at the University of Melbourne, where she graduated in 1989 majoring in Politics and Psychology.[1] She was then a researcher of occular trauma at the Royal Melbourne Eye & Ear Hospital.

Richardson is married to former ALP state secretary Stephen Newnham and they have two children.[2]

Political career

Richardson joined the Australian Labor Party in 1991, and has been an adviser to numerous State and Federal Members of Parliament.[1] She was the Secretary of the Right-wing Labor Unity faction from 2000 to 2007. It was alleged in 2006 that Richardson offered a cash inducement and a politically appointed job to Hume City Councillor Mohamad Abbouche in exchange for him defecting from the Left and supporting Right-wing preselection challenges against sitting MPs. Richardson declined to comment and the allegation was rejected by the Councillor.[3]

Richardson was elected to the Victorian Legislative Assembly in November 2006 representing the electorate of Northcote,.[1] She replaced the retiring Arts Minister Mary Delahunty.[2] She was appointed Parliamentary Secretary for Education and served in that position until August 2007, when she became a Parliamentary Secretary for Treasury and Finance. Following Labor's loss at the 2010 state election, Richardson became opposition spokesperson for Public Transport.

Richardson was seen as a key player in protecting husband Stephen Newnham as state secretary during a debilitating struggle within the Right faction over control of ALP head office during 2008 and 2009. Newnham eventually left the role in September 2009 after losing the support of the Premier John Brumby.

Notes

  1. ^ a b c d "Parliamentary handbook of the 56th Parliament - Fiona Richardson". Parliament of Victoria. http://www.parliament.vic.gov.au/handbook/searchresult.cfm?menuid=2&memberId=1671. Retrieved 2008-03-08. 
  2. ^ a b Irwin, Julia (16 October 2006). "Fiona: I'm no outsider". Northcote Leader. http://www.northcoteleader.com.au/article/2006/10/16/6080_nlv_news.html 
  3. ^ Tomazin, Farrah (9 February 2006). "Bracks denies defection claims". The Age (Melbourne). http://www.theage.com.au/news/national/bracks-denies-defection-claims/2006/02/08/1139379575882.html. 

References

Victorian Legislative Assembly
Preceded by
Mary Delahunty		 Member for Northcote
2006–present		 Succeeded by
Incumbent
Labor (43)
Liberal (35)
National (10)