Lee Rhiannon MLC

Bio

1960s

Lee was active as a school student against the war in Vietnam, organising the cavalcade of buses that took hundreds of school students to Canberra to protest at the US Embassy and Australian Parliament. In the late 1960s she began work as a zoo keeper at Taronga Zoo and then worked at the Regent Park Zoo in London.

1970s

Lee was involved in anti-apartheid protests and arrested. She also began her involvement in the women’s movement and graduated from the University of NSW with Science Honours.

1980s

During this period Lee had major involvement in the women’s movement. She was:

• a member of NSW Women’s Advisory Council to State Government.
• an organiser of the Pine Gap women’s peace camp, where 700 women camped outside the US military base in central Australia.
• a journalist for various trade unions including the Seamens Union (now MUA) and the printing union (now AMWU).
• founder of the Coalition for Gun Control in 1988, where she regularly debated gun lobbyists in the media and championed the call for all guns out of urban areas.

1990s

Lee’s work included:

• Campaigning with the Rainforest Information Centre, where she helped to develop a campaign for the banning of imports of rainforest timbers.
• Public relations officer with the Ideas Centre, a resource centre on low income countries.
• Establishing the AWARE environment education program, funded by the Federal Government.
• Initiating Pactok, a program designed to provide people from low income countries with information technologies.

Lee joined The Greens Party in 1991.

1993

Lee co-founded AID/WATCH, an international monitoring body of Australia’s overseas aid program. Lee was Director of this group for six years and instrumental in establishing this independent organisation. It is now widely respected for its vigorous scrutiny of projects undertaken by the World Bank and AusAID.

1998

Lee won pre-selection for The Greens 1999 NSW State election campaign.

1999

Lee won a position in the NSW Legislative Council (Upper House) in March 1999. Her term expires in March 2007.

1999-2005

During the past 6 years, Lee has made a name for herself through her campaigns to:

• Reform public education funding
  Lee introduced two private members bills to reduce the financial assitance given to wealthy non-government schools and make education funding for public schools and TAFE more equitable
• Ban corporate donations to political parties
  Lee has driven the creation of a comprehensive Greens research project on political donations and other campaign materials, and proposed a private members' bill that would have banned donations from developers.
• Clean up politicians' pay and entitlements
  Through Parliament and the media, Lee has constantly highlighted the overly generous MP pension scheme and the black box of allowances and perks.
• Protect workers' rights
  Lee worked closely with the union movement when the Labor Government moved to dismantle the hard-won right to worker's compensation. She is now campaigning for the introduction of legislation outlawing industrial manslaughter.
• Advocate for more sustainable public transport
  The Greens have lobbied for a better funded train network, restoring rural branchlines and CountryLink services, integrated fares across Sydney, more bicycle paths, a robust light rail system for inner Sydney and an end to motorway madness.
• Fight overdevelopment in our cities, towns and suburbs
  Lee played a key role in the successful campaign to save Callan Park, and has helped the Greens set the agenda on sustainable development.
• Promote animal welfare
  High-profile campaigns have included opposing the import of Asian elephants to Australian zoos, exposing cruel practices at NSW's piggeries, and preventing moves to open up our forests to more hunting.
• Champion gay, lesbian and transgender rights
  Lee campaigned hard to lower the age of consent for gay males, and has now launched a bill to prevent discrimination at private schools and small businesses.
• Oppose inappropriate mining projects
  Lake Cowal gold mine, polluting coal projects in the Hunter Valley and BHP Billiton's damaging longwall mining in the Sydney Illawarra water catchment areas have all been targeted.

Lee, like other Greens MPs, has maintained close connection with a range of community groups. This reflects her strong personal belief that social change comes from social movements, not politicians.

In 2000, Lee initiated the annual Juanita Nielsen memorial lecture in memory of Juanita, a community activist murdered in the 1970s for her stand against overdevelopment in Kings Cross.

Contact

Lee Rhiannon MLC (NSW Legislative Council)
Parliament House
Macquarie St
Sydney NSW 2000
Ph: (02) 9230 3551
Fax: (02) 9230 3550
lee.rhiannon@parliament.nsw.gov.au
www.lee.greens.org.au

Resources

Lee Rhiannon via Google News