Isobel Redmond
Encyclopedia
Isobel Mary Redmond is the current parliamentary leader of the South Australia
South Australia
South Australia is a state of Australia in the southern central part of the country. It covers some of the most arid parts of the continent; with a total land area of , it is the fourth largest of Australia's six states and two territories.South Australia shares borders with all of the mainland...

n division of the Liberal Party of Australia
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...

 and the Leader of the Opposition
Leader of the Opposition (South Australia)
The Leader of the Opposition in South Australia is the leader of the largest minority political party or coalition of parties, known as the Opposition, in the House of Assembly of the Parliament of South Australia. By convention, he or she is generally a member of the House of Assembly...

 in the Parliament of South Australia
Parliament of South Australia
The Parliament of South Australia is the bicameral legislature of the Australian state of South Australia. It consists of the Legislative Council and the House of Assembly. It follows a Westminster system of parliamentary government....

 since 2009. The Redmond Liberals won 18 of 47 seats in the South Australian House of Assembly
South Australian House of Assembly
The House of Assembly, or lower house, is one of the two chambers of the Parliament of South Australia. The other is the Legislative Council. It sits in Parliament House in the state capital, Adelaide.- Overview :...

 at the 2010 election, a gain of three since the previous election. Redmond has been the member for the electoral district of Heysen
Electoral district of Heysen
Heysen is an electoral district of the House of Assembly in the Australian state of South Australia. It is named after Sir Hans Heysen, a prominent South Australian landscape artist. It is a 616 km² electoral district stretching from residential suburbs in the east and southeast of Adelaide...

 in the House of Assembly since 2002.

Early life

Redmond attended Heathcote High School
Heathcote High School
Established in 1960, Heathcote High School is set in spacious grounds near the Royal National Park on the southern side of Sydney, Australia. It is a comprehensive co-educational school that educates around 1000 students in years 7-12 and has around 80 staff...

 on the outskirts of Sydney graduating in 1971. After receiving the winnings of a lotto ticket from her parents, Redmond and her husband Jim moved to Stirling, South Australia
Stirling, South Australia
Stirling is a town located in the Adelaide Hills. It is administered by the Adelaide Hills Council. Its population is about 2500, though the town has largely merged with neighbouring townships such as Crafers and Aldgate. The towns closely surrounding it are: Aldgate, Crafers, Bridgewater and...

 in the Adelaide Hills
Adelaide Hills
The Adelaide Hills are part of the Mount Lofty Ranges, east of the city of Adelaide in the state of South Australia. It is unofficially centred on the largest town in the area, Mount Barker, which has a population of around 29,000 and is also one of Australia's fastest growing towns.- History :The...

 and set up her own legal firm. She was also elected to Stirling Council
Adelaide Hills Council
Adelaide Hills Council was established in 1997 by the amalgamation of four smaller district councils...

. Redmond was briefly a member of 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 the 1970s.

Parliament

Redmond was elected to the electoral district of Heysen
Electoral district of Heysen
Heysen is an electoral district of the House of Assembly in the Australian state of South Australia. It is named after Sir Hans Heysen, a prominent South Australian landscape artist. It is a 616 km² electoral district stretching from residential suburbs in the east and southeast of Adelaide...

 in the South Australian House of Assembly
South Australian House of Assembly
The House of Assembly, or lower house, is one of the two chambers of the Parliament of South Australia. The other is the Legislative Council. It sits in Parliament House in the state capital, Adelaide.- Overview :...

 at the 2002 state election and from 2004 held various shadow ministries. Redmond is linked to the conservative Evans
Stan Evans
Stanley George "Stan" Evans is a former South Australian Liberal politician.He held the seat of Onkaparinga from 1968 to 1970, then Fisher from 1970 to 1985....

 family faction within the Liberal Party's South Australian division.

Redmond became deputy leader of the Liberal Party on 4 July 2009 after party leader Martin Hamilton-Smith
Martin Hamilton-Smith
Martin Leslie James Hamilton-Smith is the member for the electoral district of Waite in the South Australian House of Assembly since 1997...

 called a leadership and deputy leadership spill. Hamilton-Smith retained the leadership, with Redmond replacing Vickie Chapman
Vickie Chapman
Vickie Ann Chapman is an Australian politician, representing the South Australian House of Assembly seat of Bragg for the Liberal Party since 2002. She was Deputy Leader of the South Australian Opposition from 30 March 2006 until 4 July 2009.-Early life:Chapman was born in Kangaroo Island...

 as deputy leader. Hamilton-Smith called a second leadership spill after a close 11 to 10 vote, and a few days later did not nominate himself for the leadership position. On 8 July 2009, Redmond was elected leader against Chapman by 13 votes to 9. Steven Griffiths
Steven Griffiths
Steven Paul Griffiths is a former parliamentary deputy leader of the South Australian division of the Liberal Party of Australia and the deputy Leader of the Opposition in South Australia since 2009, and member for the electoral district of Goyder in the House of Assembly since 2006.Griffiths was...

 was elected deputy leader, 8 votes to 6 against Mitch Williams
Mitch Williams (Australian politician)
Michael Richard "Mitch" Williams is a South Australian Liberal politician and farmer. He is currently the deputy opposition leader in the South Australian parliament. He resigned from the Liberal Party and was elected to the safe Liberal seat of MacKillop in the state's south east at the 1997...

. He stepped down from the deputy leadership after the 2010 election to be replaced by Hamilton-Smith.

The dodgy documents affair, known as "Dodgy-gate", which ultimately saw the downfall of Hamilton-Smith, resurfaced with revelations that Redmond was "a central figure in a strategy meeting in Mr. Hamilton-Smith's office the day the documents were used against the government", and that she was shown the documents and the accompanying questions, and was asked for and subsequently gave approval, based on being told the documents came from a Labor source, which Hamilton-Smith later admitted not to be true.

In the 47-member South Australian House of Assembly
South Australian House of Assembly
The House of Assembly, or lower house, is one of the two chambers of the Parliament of South Australia. The other is the Legislative Council. It sits in Parliament House in the state capital, Adelaide.- Overview :...

, the 2010 election saw the Redmond Liberals win only 18 of 47 seats despite winning the two party preferred vote, compared to 15 seats under the leadership of Rob Kerin
Rob Kerin
Robert Gerard Kerin was the Liberal Premier of South Australia from 22 October 2001 to 5 March 2002. He also served as Deputy Premier of South Australia to John Olsen from 7 July 1998 until he became premier upon Olsen's resignation....

 at the 2006 election.

Redmond on behalf of the SA Liberals backed Mike Rann
Mike Rann
Michael David Rann MHA, CNZM , Australian politician, served as the 44th Premier of South Australia. He led the South Australian branch of the Australian Labor Party to minority government at the 2002 election, before attaining a landslide win at the 2006 election...

's support for same-sex marriage
Same-sex marriage
Same-sex marriage is marriage between two persons of the same biological sex or social gender. Supporters of legal recognition for same-sex marriage typically refer to such recognition as marriage equality....

 in October 2011. She joins conservative Campbell Newman
Campbell Newman
Campbell Kevin Thomas Newman is the leader of the Liberal National Party of Queensland. He was the 15th Lord Mayor of Brisbane from 2004 to 2011....

 and all state Labor leaders in support of marriage equality. After refusing to reply to a radio talkback caller asking for Redmond's removal as leader, Hamilton-Smith gave media reporters a reply to a question on his leadership intentions which gave the impression that he may challenge for the Liberal leadership, saying "I'm not going to play the game of being drawn any further on that issue, because there is no right or wrong answer".

Personal life

Redmond is married to Jim Redmond with whom she raised three children, now all adults. She resides in the town of Stirling
Stirling, South Australia
Stirling is a town located in the Adelaide Hills. It is administered by the Adelaide Hills Council. Its population is about 2500, though the town has largely merged with neighbouring townships such as Crafers and Aldgate. The towns closely surrounding it are: Aldgate, Crafers, Bridgewater and...

 in the Adelaide Hills. Redmond served as the first female President of the Stirling Rotary
Rotary International
Rotary International is an organization of service clubs known as Rotary Clubs located all over the world. The stated purpose of the organization is to bring together business and professional leaders to provide humanitarian service, encourage high ethical standards in all vocations, and help...

 Club in 1999.

External links


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