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Home | Office Holder | Christine Milne
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Christine Milne first came to public attention for her role in opposing the building of the Wesley Vale pulp mill near Bass Strait in North Western Tasmania on the basis of its allegedly harmful environmental impact. She also participated in the blockade opposing the Franklin Dam, in the ultimately successful campaign to save the Franklin River, when she was arrested and jailed in 1983. She was first elected to the Tasmanian House of Assembly in 1989 as a member of the Tasmanian Greens in the electorate of Lyons, one of five Green politicians elected at that election. She was part of the Labor � Green Accord, a political agreement between the Australian Labor Party and the Tasmanian Greens to form government after the 1989 general election had resulted in a hung parliament. When Bob Brown stood down in 1993 to contest the federal election, she became leader of the Greens in the Tasmanian Parliament and the first female leader of a political party in Tasmania. She oversaw a loose alliance between the Greens and Liberals after the 1996 general election, allowing the Liberals to govern in a minority until 1998 when the major parties voted to restructure the House of Assembly (from 35 to 25 seats), a move the Greens claimed was deliberately aimed at removing their influence in parliament. Liberal Premier Tony Rundle immediately called an election, which his party subsequently lost. Milne lost her seat, leaving the Greens with only one seat. After her career in state politics, she was an advisor to Senator Bob Brown from 2000 until she was elected to represent Tasmania in the Federal Senate at the 2004 federal election. Preferences to Family First from the Australian Labor Party almost prevented her from being elected, however she managed to reach a quota mostly due to the high level of below the line voting in Tasmania. The other Green elected at that election was Rachel Siewert from Western Australia. Christine Milne was Vice President of the IUCN (also known as World Conservation Union) from 2005 � 2008. She became Deputy Leader of the Australian Greens on 10 November 2008. |
