Belinda Neal

Belinda Jane Neal (born 10 January 1963) is a former Australian federal politician. She was a Member of the House of Representatives representing the electorate of Robertson between 2007 and 2010; and representing the state of New South Wales in the Senate from 1994 to 1998, both on behalf of the Australian Labor Party.

Belinda Neal
Senator for New South Wales
In office
8 March 1994 – 3 September 1998
Preceded byKerry Sibraa
Succeeded bySteve Hutchins
Member of the Australian Parliament
for Robertson
In office
24 November 2007 – 19 July 2010
Preceded byJim Lloyd
Succeeded byDeborah O'Neill
Personal details
Born (1963-01-10) 10 January 1963
Brisbane, Queensland, Australia
NationalityAustralian
Political partyLabor (until 2017, expelled)
Spouse(s)John Della Bosca
ChildrenTwo
ResidencePhegans Bay, NSW
Alma materUniversity of Sydney
ProfessionLawyer
WebsiteALP web page

Political career

She was a senator for New South Wales from 1994 to 1998. She was chosen on 8 March 1994 under s.15 of the Constitution to fill the casual vacancy in the Senate created by the resignation of Kerry Sibraa. She resigned on 3 September 1998 to contest the House of Representatives seat of Robertson at the 1998 general election in which she was defeated by the incumbent, Jim Lloyd of the Liberal Party.

In the 2007 federal election she was again preselected as the Labor candidate for Robertson, and won the seat in a very tight contest, claiming victory on 5 December.[1]

She lost preselection for the seat of Robertson on 6 March 2010, to challenger Deborah O'Neill,[2][3] who lost the seat in the following election. On 29 July 2010 Neal announced that she would not recontest the seat at the 2010 federal election, but did not rule out a future in politics, saying that the Labor Party still had her full support.[4] Her husband, John Della Bosca, announced on the same day that he was resigning from the New South Wales Legislative Council to become a campaign director for the National Disability and Carers Alliance, and assist in the establishment of a national disability insurance scheme.[5]

In 2015 Neal attempted a comeback to Robertson but was defeated in the ALP preselection by Ann Charlton who was chief of staff to O'Neill.

Incident at Iguana Joe's
See also: John Della Bosca § Parliamentary career

In June 2008, Neal and her husband John Della Bosca were dining in a bistro called Iguana Joe's when they were reportedly involved in an incident which resulted in their being ejected by staff of the premises.[6][7][8] This was never substantiated. The Premier of New South Wales, Morris Iemma, asked the New South Wales Police Force to start an investigation into his Minister. The police sought advice from the New South Wales Director of Public Prosecutions whether any crime was committed from the facts. The DPP advised that nothing that occurred constituted a crime.

Comment to Sophie Mirabella

A fortnight before the Iguana Joe's incident, Neal had apologised to a Liberal MP, Sophie Mirabella, over a partially disputed comment to the effect that Mirabella's unborn child would be affected by her sour demeanour as a result of Mirabella's "evil thoughts".

Expulsion from NSW Labor

On 24 July 2017, officers of the ALP NSW branch adopted the decision of the party's Internal Appeals Tribunal to expel Neal from the party, after the tribunal determined that she had engaged in "unworthy conduct" in a form of branch stacking called "walking the books", which was prohibited under Labor rules.[9]

References
  1. "Labor takes seat of Robertson". Australian Broadcasting Corporation. 5 December 2007. Archived from the original on 7 December 2007. Retrieved 7 December 2007.
  2. "Neal loses preselection challenge". ABC News. Australian Broadcasting Corporation. Archived from the original on 8 March 2010. Retrieved 6 March 2010.
  3. Morello, Vincent (7 March 2010). "Belinda Neal dumped from Central Coast seat in landslide pre-selection vote". news.com.au. News Limited. Archived from the original on 7 March 2010. Retrieved 7 March 2010.
  4. "I won't stand as independent in Robertson: Belinda Neal". Sydney Morning Herald. Fairfax Media. 29 July 2010. Archived from the original on 1 August 2010. Retrieved 29 July 2010.
  5. "Della Bosca confirms he's quitting". Sydney Morning Herald. Fairfax Media. 29 July 2010. Archived from the original on 1 August 2010. Retrieved 29 July 2010.
  6. "Club offers apology after NSW MP flags legal action". The Sydney Morning Herald. Fairfax Media. 8 June 2008. Retrieved 8 June 2008.
  7. "'She spat in my face': Iguana Joe's manager speaks out". Livenews.com.au. 1 July 2008. Archived from the original on 25 October 2009. Retrieved 2 July 2008.
  8. Hall, Louise (8 June 2008). "Della Bosca and MP wife in scrap with restaurant". The Sydney Morning Herald. Fairfax Media.
  9. Nicholls, Sean (24 July 2017). "Former MP Belinda Neal expelled from Labor for 'unworthy conduct'". The Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved 24 July 2017.
Parliament of Australia
Preceded by
Jim Lloyd		 Member for Robertson
2007–2010		 Succeeded by
Deborah O'Neill
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.