| Jo Vallentine | |
|---|---|
| Senator for Western Australia | |
| In office 1 July 1985 – 31 January 1992 |
|
| Personal details | |
| Born | 30 May 1946 Perth, Australia |
| Nationality | Australian |
| Political party | NDP (1985) Independent (1985–90) Greens WA (1990–92) |
| Relations | Mary Jo Fisher (niece) |
| Occupation | Teacher |
Josephine Vallentine (born 30 May 1946) is a peace activist and a former Australian Senator for Western Australia. Vallentine entered the Senate on 1 July 1985 after she had been elected as a member of the Nuclear Disarmament Party but she sat as an independent and then as a member of the Greens Western Australia from 1 July 1990. She resigned on 31 January 1992 and, after a brief respite, has been active in community issues ever since.
Jo Vallentine grew up in Beverley, in Western Australia's Wheatbelt area. As a young woman she travelled to the United States and was moved to hear and meet Robert F. Kennedy.
In an interview in 2001 for a history of the WA peace movement she offered the following summary of the establishment of her political career: "The Quakers influenced me I suppose from the Vietnam Moratorium days because I was a teacher then, in 1967-69, when the marches were getting going in Perth, and I can remember being a bit nervous because in those days if you were seen in a protest you might have lost your job on Monday when you went to work.
Later we were sitting in the lounge room and someone said, we have got to have a slogan for my campaign what should it be? And one of my friends came up with "Take Heart – Vote Vallentine" So it was all green and white, and really it was a bit schmaltz when you think about it – but it worked!! It was something positive, and people didn't want to feel burdened with the thought that we were all about to be blown up, rather that we could do something about it, that we could stand up and be counted and if enough people everywhere did that, then maybe we wouldn't be blown up. So I suppose it worked to the extent that we haven't been blown up yet! And there are less nuclear weapons now than there were, but it is still pretty dangerous."
At the time of her first election campaign in 1984, media interest tended to focus more on the NDP Senate candidate for New South Wales, Midnight Oil's singer Peter Garrett. However, under the Australian Senate's voting system of proportional representation, Western Australia was the only state to return an NDP senator. Jo Vallentine's feisty turn of phrase and willingness to challenge cant and custom quickly inspired many.
Soon concerned about the directions of the nascent NDP, Jo Vallentine resigned from the party, held her Senate seat as an independent, was re-elected in 1987 election, and as the inaugural Greens WA Senate candidate in 1990 was elected for a third time.
During her time in Parliament, Jo Vallentine continued her grassroots activism, and marched on the "Joint Facilities" base Pine Gap near Alice Springs. She was arrested. She also marched on the American Clark Air Base in The Philippines in 1989.
Her efforts took a toll. After resigning from the Senate (Christabel Chamarette was appointed as her replacement), Vallentine took time to recuperate from ill health. By 1994 she was helping found Alternatives to Violence Project in Western Australia, focused on sharing nonviolent skills with people in prisons. She also travelled with the 1997 Peace Pilgrimage, was involved in the Jabiluka campaign, successfully campaigned to keep the estuary at Guilderton free from urban development on the south side of Moore River, and continues to oppose the 2003 Iraq War, the use of depleted uranium in Iraq (and its possible use by the US at Lancelin, Western Australia) and expansion of nuclear power and weapons.
In an historical survey of the state in November 2006, the conservative West Australian newspaper named Jo Vallentine as one of the state's 100 most influential people ever. She has recently been one of a number of women nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize. The Australian Government's intentions to further mine uranium, and possibly build 25 nuclear power stations around Australia's cities in 2006 has stepped up Vallentine's role as a spokesperson.
Current South Australian Liberal Senator Mary Jo Fisher is Vallentine's niece.