Sylvia Hale

Hale graduated from The University of Sydney in 1964 with a Bachelor of Arts and Diploma in Education; and graduated from the University of NSW in 1998 with a LLB.[1] In 1961, while at Sydney University, Hale was the President of the Sydney University Labor Club.[2] In 1970, Hale was involved in the Socialist Review Group, a Trotskyist group which was the precursor to the Socialist Workers Party.[3] However, she left due to the "Group's opposition to "deep entry" into the Australian Labor Party".[3]

In 1965 she and her husband, Roger Barnes, established specialist book printers, Southwood Press. In 1977 she, Barnes and John Iremonger started the independent publishing company, Hale and Iremonger.[4]

After the proposed construction of the third runway at Sydney Airport in 1994, she became a member of No Aircraft Noise Party. She was later elected a councillor on Marrickville Council in 1995 for No Aircraft Noise. She joined the Greens in 2000 and continued to serve on Marickville Council until 2004.

She was elected to the upper house of the New South Wales parliament in 2003.

In 2010, Hale announced that she would be retiring from the Upper House at the next year's state election to seek preselection for the state seat of Marrickville. She however failed to win her party's endorsement, losing 15–14 to local councillor Fiona Byrne.[5] She eventually resigned her seat in September 2010 to allow her preselected replacement, David Shoebridge, to contest the upcoming election as a sitting MP.[6]

After leaving politics, Hale became a spokeswoman for Welcome to Palestine, and was briefly detained by Israeli authorities at Tel Aviv airport.[7]

• Sylvia Hale MLC