Sharon Joy Grierson 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, has been an 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 of the Australian House of Representatives

Australian House of Representatives

The House of Representatives is one of the two houses of the Parliament of Australia; it is the lower house; the upper house is the Senate. Members of Parliament serve for terms of approximately three years....

 since November 2001, representing the Division of Newcastle

Division of Newcastle

The Division of Newcastle is an Australian Electoral Division in the state of New South Wales. The Division is centred around the city of Newcastle, after which it is named....

. She was born in Newcastle, New South Wales

Newcastle, New South Wales

The Newcastle metropolitan area is the second most populated area in the Australian state of New South Wales and includes most of the Newcastle and Lake Macquarie Local Government Areas...

, and was educated at Newcastle Teachers College. She was a teacher and school principal before entering politics.

She is currently the only Labor MP to sign the Australian Marriage Equality Charter, voting in favour for legislation to legalise same-sex marriage in Australia

Same-sex marriage in Australia

Same-sex marriages are currently not permitted under Australian federal law. In 2004 the Marriage Act 1961 was amended in federal parliament to expressly state that marriage is considered a union between a man and a woman only and that any existing same-sex marriage from a foreign country is not to...

 when it is presented in parliament.

External links

• Official website
• Sharon Grierson on 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...
  
   website