Carmel Tebbutt
Encyclopedia
Carmel Mary Tebbutt is an Australian politician. She is the Australian Labor Party
Australian Labor Party
The Australian Labor Party is an Australian political party. It has been the governing party of the Commonwealth of Australia since the 2007 federal election. Julia Gillard is the party's federal parliamentary leader and Prime Minister of Australia...

 Member for Marrickville
Electoral district of Marrickville
Marrickville is an electoral district of the Legislative Assembly in the Australian state of New South Wales. It is a 13.47 km² urban electorate in Sydney's inner west, centred on the suburb of Marrickville from which it takes its name...

 in the New South Wales Legislative Assembly
New South Wales Legislative Assembly
The Legislative Assembly, or lower house, is one of the two chambers of the Parliament of New South Wales, an Australian state. The other chamber is the Legislative Council. Both the Assembly and Council sit at Parliament House in the state capital, Sydney...

 and was Deputy Premier of New South Wales from 2008 to 2011. She was also Minister for Health in the Keneally
Kristina Keneally
Kristina Kerscher Keneally MP, is an Australian politician and was the 42nd Premier of New South Wales. She was elected leader of the Australian Labor Party in New South Wales and thus Premier in 2009, but went on to lose government to the Liberal/National Coalition at the March 2011 state election...

 Government. She is the first woman to hold the position of Deputy Premier of New South Wales.

Background

Tebbutt is one of seven children. She was born and raised in the country town of Forbes
Forbes, New South Wales
-Notable residents:*Carolyn Simpson - Judge of the Supreme Court of New South Wales; Member of the first all-female bench to sit in an Australian court*NSW Deputy Premier Carmel Tebbutt was born and raised in Forbes....

. Her family then moved to the Sutherland Shire in Sydney where she attended Our Lady of Fatima Catholic primary school, Our Lady of Mercy College, Burraneer
Our Lady of Mercy College, Burraneer
Our Lady of Mercy College, Burraneer is an all-girls 7–10 school situated on Burraneer Bay, near Cronulla, in Sydney's southern suburbs, Australia. Our Lady of Mercy College, Burraneer is a Systemic Roman Catholic School. It was founded by in 1932 by The Sisters of Mercy Parramatta. In 1960, it...

 girls high school, then completed her HSC at De La Salle College (Cronulla, NSW)
De La Salle College (Cronulla, NSW)
De La Salle College Cronulla is a Catholic systemic, senior secondary, co-educational day school, located in Cronulla, a southern suburb of Sydney, New South Wales, Australia....

  high schools. She went on to earn an Economics degree from Sydney University, graduating in 1986. She joined the Australian Labor Party
Australian Labor Party
The Australian Labor Party is an Australian political party. It has been the governing party of the Commonwealth of Australia since the 2007 federal election. Julia Gillard is the party's federal parliamentary leader and Prime Minister of Australia...

 in 1985, and is a member of its left-wing faction.

Tebbutt is married to Anthony Albanese
Anthony Albanese
Anthony Norman Albanese , Australian politician, who serves as Leader of the House of Representatives and Minister for Infrastructure and Transport in the Gillard Ministry...

, the Minister for Infrastructure and Transport in the federal Labor Government. Interestingly, her state seat of Marrickville
Electoral district of Marrickville
Marrickville is an electoral district of the Legislative Assembly in the Australian state of New South Wales. It is a 13.47 km² urban electorate in Sydney's inner west, centred on the suburb of Marrickville from which it takes its name...

 is contained almost entirely within her husband's federal seat of Grayndler
Division of Grayndler
The Division of Grayndler is an Australian Electoral Division in inner Metropolitan Sydney, New South Wales. It is one of Australia's smallest electorates, located in the inner-southern Sydney metropolitan area, including parts of the inner-west...

, leading the Greens
Australian Greens
The Australian Greens, commonly known as The Greens, is an Australian green political party.The party was formed in 1992; however, its origins can be traced to the early environmental movement in Australia and the formation of the United Tasmania Group , the first Green party in the world, which...

 to dub them as the 'King and Queen of Marrickville'. She and her husband have one young son named Nathan.

Parliamentary career

Tebbutt was elected to a seat on Marrickville Council
Marrickville Council
Marrickville Council is a Local Government Area situated in the Inner West region of Sydney, Australia.The area is bounded by Leichhardt to the north, the City of Sydney to the east and north-east, the City of Botany Bay to the south-east, Rockdale to the south, Canterbury to the west, and...

 in 1993 before becoming Deputy Mayor in 1995. She was appointed to the New South Wales Legislative Council
New South Wales Legislative Council
The New South Wales Legislative Council, or upper house, is one of the two chambers of the parliament of New South Wales in Australia. The other is the Legislative Assembly. Both sit at Parliament House in the state capital, Sydney. The Assembly is referred to as the lower house and the Council as...

 filling a vacancy following the retirement of Ann Symonds in 1998.

After the Carr government
Bob Carr
Robert John "Bob" Carr , Australian statesman, was Premier of New South Wales from 4 April 1995 to 3 August 2005. He holds the record for the longest continuous service as premier of NSW...

 was re-elected in 1999, she served as Minister for Juvenile Justice. In July 2002, Tebbutt was promoted, given responsibility for the Ministries of Community Services, Ageing, Disability Services, and Youth, whilst retaining the Juvenile Justice portfolio. In a cabinet reshuffle in early 2005, she was promoted to Minister for Education and Training.

Following Premier Bob Carr's unexpected resignation 27 July 2005, and the resultant resignations of Deputy Premier Andrew Refshauge
Andrew Refshauge
Andrew John Refshauge was an Australian politician and Deputy Premier of New South Wales from 1995 to 2005.Refshauge was born in Melbourne, the son of Major-General Sir William Refshauge AC CBE ED , who later became Honorary Physician to Queen Elizabeth II 1955–64 and Director-General of the...

 and Senior Minister Craig Knowles
Craig Knowles
Craig John Knowles is a former Australian politician and member of the New South Wales Legislative Assembly from 1990 to 2005....

, the 'Triple-M' by-elections for the seats of Maroubra
Electoral district of Maroubra
Maroubra is an electoral district of the Legislative Assembly in the Australian state of New South Wales. It is currently represented by Michael Daley of the Australian Labor Party,...

, Marrickville, and Macquarie Fields
Electoral district of Macquarie Fields
Macquarie Fields is an electoral district of the Legislative Assembly in the Australian state of New South Wales, located in the outer south-western suburbs of Sydney. It is currently represented by Dr Andrew McDonald of the Australian Labor Party....

 were held on 17 September 2005. The new incoming Premier, Morris Iemma
Morris Iemma
Morris Iemma , is a former Australian politician and 40th Premier of New South Wales, succeeding Bob Carr after he resigned on 3 August 2005. Iemma led the Australian Labor Party to victory in the 2007 election before resigning as Premier on 5 September 2008, and as a Member of Parliament on 19...

, was said to have favoured her for the position of Deputy Premier because having a woman in the role would have looked favourably with the electorate, however ultimately the position of the Deputy Premier is chosen by the Left Faction.

Tebbutt resigned from the Legislative Council on 26 August to seek election for the seat of Marrickville. Hence for the three week period from 26 August to 17 September 2005, Tebbutt was in the unusual, though not unprecedented, position of being a Minister of the State, without being a Member of Parliament.

Tebbutt successfully defended the seat of Marrickville for the Labor Party in her by-election
Marrickville by-election, 2005
A by-election was held in the State Electoral District of Marrickville in New South Wales, Australia on 17 September 2005.The by-election was prompted by the resignation of the sitting member Deputy Premier Andrew Refshauge on 10 August 2005, in the wake of the resignation of Premier Bob Carr.The...

. With no Liberal
Liberal Party of Australia
The Liberal Party of Australia is an Australian political party.Founded a year after the 1943 federal election to replace the United Australia Party, the centre-right Liberal Party typically competes with the centre-left Australian Labor Party for political office...

 candidate contesting the election, the ALP primary vote increased, though she suffered a 5.6% two-candidate preferred swing to the Greens.

On 27 November 2006, Tebbutt made an embarrassing gaffe during a live interview on radio Nova 96.9
Nova 96.9
Nova 96.9 is a commercial radio station operating in Sydney, Australia, owned by the DMG Radio Network.-History:One of the driving forces behind the creation of Nova was the growing demographic of youth who were embracing the commercialised anti-pop movement fronted by such artists as Daft Punk...

. Tebbutt was complaining about the lack of history knowledge of today's schoolchildren. When the announcer asked her what is the significance of Australia Day
Australia Day
Australia Day is the official national day of Australia...

, Tebbutt replied, "Well, we celebrate Australia Day because that's the day that we became a nation. When the states joined together, the federation of Australia, and it's an important day to understand that history." When the announcer pointed out her error, she quickly backtracked: "Sorry, you've got me too early in the morning. Australia Day of course is European arrival in Australia."

Tebbutt successfully held the seat of Marrickville at the 2007 election, but announced after it that she would not be a candidate for the new ministry and would return to the back bench so she could spend more time with her family.

A meeting of the Left faction on 4 September 2008 saw her return to the front bench as she was elected as the Deputy Leader of the NSW Labor Party. Following the resignation of Morris Iemma
Morris Iemma
Morris Iemma , is a former Australian politician and 40th Premier of New South Wales, succeeding Bob Carr after he resigned on 3 August 2005. Iemma led the Australian Labor Party to victory in the 2007 election before resigning as Premier on 5 September 2008, and as a Member of Parliament on 19...

 and the selection of Nathan Rees
Nathan Rees
Nathan Rees MP, , an Australian politician, was the 41st Premier of New South Wales and parliamentary leader of the New South Wales division of the Australian Labor Party from September 2008 to December 2009...

 as the new Premier the following day, she was sworn in as Deputy Premier of New South Wales. She was sworn in as Minister for Climate Change and the Environment and Minister for Commerce on 7 September 2008.

A little over a year later, Rees was deposed as Labor leader and Premier, in favour of Kristina Keneally. Tebbutt remained Deputy Premier to Keneally, and became Minister for Health.

In the seat of Marrickville at the 2011 State election
New South Wales state election, 2011
Elections to the 55th Parliament of New South Wales were held on Saturday, 26 March 2011. The 16-year incumbent Australian Labor Party government led by Premier Kristina Keneally was defeated in a landslide by the Liberal-National coalition opposition led by Barry O'Farrell.New South Wales has...

, Tebbutt suffered a 8.5% swing against her towards the NSW Greens candidate and mayor of Marrickville Council
Marrickville Council
Marrickville Council is a Local Government Area situated in the Inner West region of Sydney, Australia.The area is bounded by Leichhardt to the north, the City of Sydney to the east and north-east, the City of Botany Bay to the south-east, Rockdale to the south, Canterbury to the west, and...

, Fiona Byrne. In a very tight contest that came down to less than 680 votes, Tebbutt won the seat with 50.9% of the vote on a two-party preferred basis. The campaign was marked by anti-Zionist protests as four months earlier, Byrne and Marrickvile Council had controversially voted to boycott Israel
Israel
The State of Israel is a parliamentary republic located in the Middle East, along the eastern shore of the Mediterranean Sea...

. There were no allegations that Tebbutt was involved in any of the anti- or pro-Zionist threats that occurred during the campaign.

External links

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