Jillian Skinner
Encyclopedia
Jillian Gell Skinner MP (born 5 August 1944 in Melbourne, Victoria), an Australian politician, is the New South Wales
Minister for Health
and Minister for Medical Research
in the O'Farrell
-Stoner
Liberal
/National
coalitition
government
. Skinner is a member of the New South Wales Legislative Assembly
representing North Shore
for the Liberal Party since 1994; and Deputy Leader of the New South Wales Liberal Party
since 2007.
. She began as a journalist working for the Melbourne Herald and later continued her career in Hong Kong, working for Radio Hong Kong and The Associated Press, Hong Kong, from 1962 to 1973. Upon returning to Australia Skinner continued working as a journalist in Melbourne, including a period on the Parliamentary Press Gallery during the Premiership of Sir Henry Bolte
, Sydney and Adelaide. She has lived in Sydney since 1979. From 1984 to 1988 she was involved in editorial writing, research, policy development and strategic planning. From 1988 to 1994 she was Director of the New South Wales Office of Youth Affairs. She is married with three children.
and became Vice-President of the Cremorne Branch and gained preselection for the seat of North Shore at the 1988 election
and the 1984 election
, she was however defeated by the sitting independent
member, Ted Mack
. When Mack resigned, she again contested North Shore at the ensuing by-election. This was, however, won by independent candidate, Robyn Read
, with Skinner gaining 35 per cent of the primary vote. Skinner then lost preselection for the 1991 election to in favour of Liberal MP, Phillip Smiles
, who had his seat of Mosman
abolished at that election. Smiles resigned his seat on 21 December 1993 and Skinner gained preselection for the ensuing by-election. On 5 February 1994, Skinner was elected as Member for North Shore with 54 percent of the vote and was duly sworn in as a member of the NSW Legislative Assembly. Skinner has held the safe Liberal seat comfortably, securing a swing of 13.9 per cent at the 2011 state election
and won 80.3 per cent of the vote on a two party preferred basis.
After the Labor party won the 1995 election, Skinner was appointed to the Opposition frontbench and has held various shadow portfolios since. Under Opposition Leaders
Peter Collins
, John Brogden and Peter Debnam
, Skinner was Shadow Minister for Health (1995–2003), Youth Affairs (1995–1999, 2002–2003), Arts (2003–2008), Education and Training (2003–2005), School Education (2005), Cancer and Medical Research (2006–2007) and Science and Medical Research (2007–2008).
Following the 2007 election and the resignation of Peter Debnam as leader, on 4 April 2007 Skinner was elected Deputy Leader of the Liberal Party and Deputy Leader of the Opposition alongside Leader Barry O'Farrell. She retained the position of Shadow Minister for Health, which she has held from 7 September 2005 until the 2011 state election when the coalition gained government.
New South Wales
New South Wales is a state of :Australia, located in the east of the country. It is bordered by Queensland, Victoria and South Australia to the north, south and west respectively. To the east, the state is bordered by the Tasman Sea, which forms part of the Pacific Ocean. New South Wales...
Minister for Health
Minister for Health (New South Wales)
The New South Wales Minister for Health has responsibilities which includes all hospitals and health services in NSW.The current Minister for Health is Jillian Skinner. She administers her portfolio through the Department of Health.-List of Ministers:...
and Minister for Medical Research
Minister for Medical Research (New South Wales)
The New South Wales Minister for Medical Research has responsibilities for sponsoring and supporting scientific and medical research.The current Minister for Medical Research is Jillian Skinner. She administers her portfolio through the Department of Health....
in the O'Farrell
Barry O'Farrell
Barry Robert O'Farrell MP, is an Australian politician and is the 43rd Premier of New South Wales, Minister for Western Sydney, Leader of the New South Wales Liberal Party and a Member of the New South Wales Legislative Assembly representing Ku-ring-gai for the Liberal Party since 1999.Born in...
-Stoner
Andrew Stoner
Andrew John Stoner is an Australian politician, Deputy Premier of New South Wales and member of the New South Wales Legislative Assembly for the seat of Oxley since the 1999 state election, and the Leader of the New South Wales National Party since 31 March 2003...
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...
/National
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...
coalitition
Coalition (Australia)
The Coalition in Australian politics refers to a group of centre-right parties that has existed in the form of a coalition agreement since 1922...
government
O'Farrell Ministry
The O'Farrell ministry is the 93rd ministry of the Government of New South Wales, and is led by the 43rd Premier Barry O'Farrell.The Liberal–National coalition ministry was formed following the defeat of the Keneally Labor government at the 2011 election...
. Skinner is a 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 North Shore
Electoral district of North Shore
North Shore is an electoral district of the Legislative Assembly in the Australian state of New South Wales. It is represented by Jillian Skinner of the Liberal Party of Australia.-History:...
for the Liberal Party since 1994; and Deputy Leader of the New South Wales Liberal Party
Leader of the New South Wales Liberal Party
The position of leader of the Liberal Party of Australia's New South Wales division is a formal role held by a Liberal member of the Parliament of New South Wales...
since 2007.
Early life and career
Skinner was educated at the Presbyterian Ladies' College, MelbournePresbyterian Ladies' College, Melbourne
Presbyterian Ladies' College, Melbourne , is an independent,private, Presbyterian, day and boarding school predominantly for girls, located in Burwood, an eastern suburb of Melbourne, Victoria, Australia....
. She began as a journalist working for the Melbourne Herald and later continued her career in Hong Kong, working for Radio Hong Kong and The Associated Press, Hong Kong, from 1962 to 1973. Upon returning to Australia Skinner continued working as a journalist in Melbourne, including a period on the Parliamentary Press Gallery during the Premiership of Sir Henry Bolte
Henry Bolte
Sir Henry Edward Bolte GCMG was an Australian politician. He was the 38th and longest serving Premier of Victoria.- Early years :...
, Sydney and Adelaide. She has lived in Sydney since 1979. From 1984 to 1988 she was involved in editorial writing, research, policy development and strategic planning. From 1988 to 1994 she was Director of the New South Wales Office of Youth Affairs. She is married with three children.
Political career
Skinner joined the Liberal Party of AustraliaLiberal 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 became Vice-President of the Cremorne Branch and gained preselection for the seat of North Shore at the 1988 election
New South Wales state election, 1988
Elections to the 49th Parliament of New South Wales were held on Saturday 19 March 1988. All seats in the Legislative Assembly and half the seats in the Legislative Council were up for election...
and the 1984 election
New South Wales state election, 1984
Elections were held in the state of New South Wales, Australia, on Saturday 24 March 1984. The Labor government led by Neville Wran won a fourth term in office, although with a reduced margin and a 7% swing against it....
, she was however defeated by the sitting independent
Independent (politician)
In politics, an independent or non-party politician is an individual not affiliated to any political party. Independents may hold a centrist viewpoint between those of major political parties, a viewpoint more extreme than any major party, or they may have a viewpoint based on issues that they do...
member, Ted Mack
Ted Mack (politician)
Edward Carrington Mack is an Australian politician. He is the only person ever to have been elected and re-elected as an independent to local, state and federal government in Australia, and is often referred to as the "father of the independents".-Early life:Mack was born in the Sydney suburb of...
. When Mack resigned, she again contested North Shore at the ensuing by-election. This was, however, won by independent candidate, Robyn Read
Robyn Read
Robyn Read is a former Australian politician. She was the Independent member for North Shore in the New South Wales Legislative Assembly from 1988 to 1991.Read was born in St Leonards, the daughter of Norman Read and Edith Gordon...
, with Skinner gaining 35 per cent of the primary vote. Skinner then lost preselection for the 1991 election to in favour of Liberal MP, Phillip Smiles
Phillip Smiles
Phillip Murray Smiles is a former Australian politician. He was a Liberal member of the New South Wales Legislative Assembly, representing Mosman from 1984 to 1991 and North Shore from 1991 to 1993....
, who had his seat of Mosman
Electoral district of Mosman
Mosman was an electoral district of the Legislative Assembly in the Australian state of New South Wales, originally created in 1913 and named after and including the Sydney suburb of Mosman. In 1920, with the introduction of proportional representation, it was absorbed into Middle Harbour. Mosman...
abolished at that election. Smiles resigned his seat on 21 December 1993 and Skinner gained preselection for the ensuing by-election. On 5 February 1994, Skinner was elected as Member for North Shore with 54 percent of the vote and was duly sworn in as a member of the NSW Legislative Assembly. Skinner has held the safe Liberal seat comfortably, securing a swing of 13.9 per cent 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...
and won 80.3 per cent of the vote on a two party preferred basis.
Shadow minister
Leader of the Opposition (New South Wales)
The role of the Leader of Her Majesty's Loyal Opposition in New South Wales is a title held by the leader of the largest minority party in the state lower house, the New South Wales Legislative Assembly...
Peter Collins
Peter Collins (Australian politician)
Peter Edward James Collins, AM, RFD, QC was the Leader of the Opposition in the New South Wales Legislative Assembly from 4 April 1995 to 8 December 1998.-Early years and background:...
, John Brogden and Peter Debnam
Peter Debnam
Peter John Debnam , is a former Australian politician. He was a member of the New South Wales Legislative Assembly representing Vaucluse between 1994 and 2011. Debnam is a former Leader of the New South Wales Liberal Party, Leader of the Opposition and Shadow Minister for Western Sydney,...
, Skinner was Shadow Minister for Health (1995–2003), Youth Affairs (1995–1999, 2002–2003), Arts (2003–2008), Education and Training (2003–2005), School Education (2005), Cancer and Medical Research (2006–2007) and Science and Medical Research (2007–2008).
Following the 2007 election and the resignation of Peter Debnam as leader, on 4 April 2007 Skinner was elected Deputy Leader of the Liberal Party and Deputy Leader of the Opposition alongside Leader Barry O'Farrell. She retained the position of Shadow Minister for Health, which she has held from 7 September 2005 until the 2011 state election when the coalition gained government.
Minister for Health and Minister for Medical Research
On 3 April 2011, Premier O'Farrell announced that Skinner would be appointed to the Cabinet as Minister for Health and Minister for Medical Research.External links
- Jillian Skinner Official Website
- The Hon. Jillian Gell SKINNER, MP - Parliament of New South WalesParliament of New South WalesThe Parliament of New South Wales, located in Parliament House on Macquarie Street, Sydney, is the main legislative body in the Australian state of New South Wales . It is a bicameral parliament elected by the people of the state in general elections. The parliament shares law making powers with...