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Rachel Siewert

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Rachel Siewert
Co-Deputy Leader of the Australian Greens
In office
21 July 2017 – 4 December 2018
Serving with Adam Bandt (Acting)
LeaderRichard Di Natale
Preceded byScott Ludlam and
Larissa Waters
Succeeded byLarissa Waters
Senator for Western Australia
In office
1 July 2005 – 6 September 2021
Preceded byBrian Greig
Succeeded byDorinda Cox
Personal details
Born (1961-11-04) 4 November 1961 (age 62)
Sydney, New South Wales, Australia
Political partyAustralian Greens
OccupationConservationist
WebsiteOfficial website

Rachel Mary Siewert (born 4 November 1961) is an Australian politician. She was a senator for Western Australia from 2005 to 2021, representing the Australian Greens, and served as the party's co-deputy leader from 2017 to 2018. She previously worked as coordinator of the Conservation Council of Western Australia.

Early life

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Siewert was born in Sydney on 4 November 1961.[1] Her family moved to Perth when she was 13.[2] She completed a Bachelor of Science in agriculture at the University of Western Australia.[1] At university she became involved in the anti-nuclear movement.[3] She subsequently worked as a research officer with the state Department of Agriculture from 1984 to 1987,[1] studying salinity and soil conservation in Jerramungup.[4]

Siewert was the coordinator of the Conservation Council of Western Australia from 1987 to 2004, initially as the organisation's only paid staff member.[3] In 2003 she was awarded the Bessie Rischbieth Conservation Award.[1]

Siewert was co-convener of The Greens (WA) from 2002 to 2004.[5]

Political career

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Siewert was first elected to the Senate at the 2004 federal election, to a term beginning on 1 July 2005. She was re-elected to a second term at the 2010 election.[1] She was placed second on her party's Senate ticket in Western Australia at the 2016 election, which followed a double dissolution, and was originally elected to a three-year term.[6] However, following Scott Ludlam's disqualification during the parliamentary eligibility crisis she was declared elected to his six-year term expiring in 2022.[citation needed]

Siewert is the Australian Greens Whip, chairs the Senate Community Affairs References Committee and is a member of the Expert Panel on Constitutional Recognition of Indigenous Australians.[7][8] She served as co-deputy leader of the parliamentary Greens from November 2017 to December 2018, alongside Adam Bandt.[1]

As of 2020, Siewert acts as the Greens' spokeswoman for the portfolios of health; mental health; family, ageing and community services; and gambling.[9]

Siewart has served on the "Inquiry into the destruction of 46,000 year old caves at the Juukan Gorge in the Pilbara region of Western Australia", which delivered its interim report in December 2020.[10]

In July 2020, Siewert announced that she would not recontest her seat at the 2022 federal election.[11] In August 2021, she announced she would resign from the Senate in September 2021, creating a casual vacancy.[12] In September 2021, Siewart formally resigned from the Senate.[13] A joint sitting of the Parliament of Western Australia appointed Dorinda Cox to fill the vacancy on 14 September 2021.[14]

Personal life

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Siewert is divorced and has one son.[3]

References

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  1. ^ a b c d e f "Senator Rachel Siewert". Parliament of Australia. Retrieved 16 May 2021.
  2. ^ "Senator Rachel Siewert". Australian Broadcasting Corporation.
  3. ^ a b c Lambert, Judy. "Siewert, Rachel Mary". The Encyclopedia of Women & Leadership in Twentieth-Century Australia. Retrieved 16 May 2021.
  4. ^ "Maiden speech". Hansard. Parliament of Australia. 11 August 2005. Retrieved 16 May 2021.
  5. ^ "Senator Rachel Siewert".
  6. ^ Burrell, Andrew (1 August 2016). "Greens' Rachel Siewert wins final WA Senate seat". The Australian. Retrieved 1 August 2016.
  7. ^ "Senator Rachel Siewert". Archived from the original on 14 March 2013.
  8. ^ Graham, Chris. "A poor man's treaty". Chris Graham at Large. Archived from the original on 22 December 2015. Retrieved 11 December 2015.
  9. ^ "Greens announce new party room lineup to push for Green New Deal and compassionate pandemic recovery". adam-bandt.greensmps.org.au. Retrieved 9 September 2020.
  10. ^ Joint Standing Committee on Northern Australia (December 2020). Never again: Inquiry into the destruction of 46,000 year old caves at the Juukan Gorge in the Pilbara region of Western Australia - Interim Report. Commonwealth of Australia. ISBN 978-1-76092-197-2. Archived from the original on 24 June 2021. Retrieved 23 June 2021. PDF
  11. ^ Curtis, Katina (28 August 2020). "Greens WA senator announces retirement at next election". WAToday. Retrieved 16 May 2021.
  12. ^ Siewert, Rachel. "I will be speaking in the Senate for the final time at the beginning of September. I'll be posting a link very soon so you can watch it live once we have a time and date confirmed by the Senate". Twitter. Retrieved 11 August 2021.
  13. ^ Ryan, Scott (6 September 2021). ""I have received a letter of resignation from Rachel Siewart as a senator for Western Australia. The resignation takes effect immediately."". Twitter. Archived from the original on 14 September 2021. Retrieved 6 September 2021.
  14. ^ Cloos, Teisha (14 September 2021). "Dorinda Cox becomes WA Green's first female Aboriginal Senator". National Indigenous Times. Retrieved 14 September 2021.
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Party political offices
New title Federal parliamentary whip of the Australian Greens
2008–2021 		Succeeded by
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