Denise Margaret Allen is 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.

Born in Alexandra

Alexandra, Victoria

Alexandra is a town in Victoria, Australia. It is located at the junction of the Goulburn Valley Highway and Maroondah Highway , 26 kilometres west of Eildon, in the Shire of Murrindindi local government area...

, Victoria

Victoria (Australia)

Victoria is the second most populous state in Australia. Geographically the smallest mainland state, Victoria is bordered by New South Wales, South Australia, and Tasmania on Boundary Islet to the north, west and south respectively....

 to Jack Donald and Bette Doreen Boote, she attended local public schools before graduating in 1970. She was a professional model from 1972 to 1994 before becoming a motivational speaker. She also owned a modelling agency, beauty therapy studio and retail fashion store.

In 2000, she was the 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...

 candidate for the by-election

Benalla state by-election, 2000

A by-election was held for the Victorian Legislative Assembly seat of Benalla on 13 May 2000. The by-election was triggered by the resignation on 12 April of Pat McNamara, the sitting member who was Deputy Premier of Victoria until the defeat of the Kennett government at the 1999 state...

 for the safe 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...

 seat of Benalla

Electoral district of Benalla

Benalla is an electoral district of the Legislative Assembly in the Australian state of Victoria. The electorate covers a rural area of 17,120 km², and includes the towns of Benalla, Bright, Eildon, Euroa, Mansfield, Mount Beauty, Murchison, Myrtleford, Nagambie and Violet Town...

 in the Victorian Legislative Assembly

Victorian Legislative Assembly

The Victorian Legislative Assembly is the lower house of the Parliament of Victoria in Australia. Together with the Victorian Legislative Council, the upper house, it sits in Parliament House in the state capital, Melbourne.-History:...

, which was being vacated by former Nationals leader Pat McNamara. She won a surprise victory over new Nationals candidate Bill Sykes

Bill Sykes (politician)

Dr Bill Sykes became the Nationals Member for Benalla in November 2002 after a career as a veterinarian and businessman....

, winning by only 237 votes. A Buddhist, she was the inaugural chairperson of the Parliamentary Friends of Tibet

Tibet

Tibet is a plateau region in Asia, north-east of the Himalayas. It is the traditional homeland of the Tibetan people as well as some other ethnic groups such as Monpas, Qiang, and Lhobas, and is now also inhabited by considerable numbers of Han and Hui people...

. In the 2002 state election, she was defeated by Sykes. She was a People Power candidate for the Victorian Legislative Council

Victorian Legislative Council

The Victorian Legislative Council, is the upper of the two houses of the Parliament of Victoria, Australia; the lower house being the Legislative Assembly. Both houses sit in Parliament House in Spring Street, Melbourne. The Legislative Council serves as a house of review, in a similar fashion to...

 in 2006, contesting Northern Victoria Region unsuccessfully.