Dawn Elizabeth Fardell a former Australia

Australia

Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...

n politician, was an independent member of 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...

 representing Dubbo

Electoral district of Dubbo

Dubbo is an electoral district of the Legislative Assembly in the Australian state of New South Wales. It is represented by Troy Grant of the National Party of Australia....

 between 2004

Dubbo state by-election, 2004

A by-election was staged in the New South Wales Legislative Assembly district of Dubbo on 20 November 2004. It was triggered by the death of sitting independent member Tony McGrane....

 and 2011

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...

.

Early years and background

Fardell was born Sydney and moved to Dubbo in 1977. She is married to a local businessman and has three adult children. Fardell was a Councillor

Alderman

An alderman is a member of a municipal assembly or council in many jurisdictions founded upon English law. The term may be titular, denoting a high-ranking member of a borough or county council, a council member chosen by the elected members themselves rather than by popular vote, or a council...

 for Dubbo City Council

City of Dubbo

Dubbo is a Local Government Area in the Orana region of New South Wales, Australia. The City is traversed by the Mitchell Highway, the Newell Highway, the Golden Highway and the Main Western railway line.The largest population centre is the city of Dubbo...

 between 1999 and 2005.

Political career

Following the 2004 death of independent Tony McGrane

Tony McGrane

Anthony Michael McGrane was an Australian politician.McGrane was born in Forbes. He had a lengthy career in local government, as a long serving councillor in Gilgandra and Dubbo....

, Fardell was elected to represent Dubbo at the subsequent by-election. At the time, the by-election was seen as a test of the NSW Nationals

National Party of Australia

The National Party of Australia is an Australian political party.Traditionally representing graziers, farmers and rural voters generally, it began as the The Country Party, but adopted the name The National Country Party in 1975, changed to The National Party of Australia in 1982. The party is...

, who had held the seat for 17 years prior to McGrane's election in 1999, while Fardell presented herself as "capable of working with any party and not having to toe the party line". Labor

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...

, who had not held the seat since 1959, did not field a candidate and federal independents Peter Andren

Peter Andren

Peter James Andren AM was an Australian politician. He was an independent member of the Australian House of Representatives from March 1996 until October 2007, representing the electorate of Calare, New South Wales....

 and Tony Windsor

Tony Windsor

Antony Harold Curties "Tony" Windsor , an Australian politician, is an independent member of the House of Representatives since 2001, representing the Division of New England, New South Wales...

 supported Fardell in her campaign. In the final result, Fardell picked up 49.3% of the primary vote, with 56% on a two-party preferred basis.

She was returned to office in the 2007 state election, winning 41.66% of the primary vote with both major parties once again running, and served as a member of parliamentary standing committee

Standing Committee

In the United States Congress, standing committees are permanent legislative panels established by the United States House of Representatives and United States Senate rules. . Because they have legislative jurisdiction, standing committees consider bills and issues and recommend measures for...

s on public works and road safety. Fardell was defeated at the 2011 general election by Troy Grant

Troy Grant

Troy Grant, an Australian politician, is a member of the New South Wales Legislative Assembly representing Dubbo for the National Party of Australia since 26 March 2011.-Early years and background:...

, a local police inspector

Police officer

A police officer is a warranted employee of a police force...

.