Lee Rhiannon

Lee Rhiannon (born 30 May 1951) is an Australian politician. She joined the Greens New South Wales in 1991 and was elected to the New South Wales Legislative Council in 1999. She was re-elected to the Legislative Council at the 2007 state election along with John Kaye, bringing Greens numbers in the Council to four. Her mother is Freda Yetta Brown, a former political activist.

Community Activity

Social Justice

In the 1960s, Lee was active as a school student against the war in Vietnam, travelling to Canberra to protest at the US Embassy and Australian Parliament. In the 1970s, Lee was involved in anti-apartheid protests and arrested. She was a 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. In the 1990s, her attention moved towards overseas aid. In this period, she was public relations officer with the Ideas Centre, a resource centre on low income countries. She also initiated 'Pactok', a program designed to provide people from low income countries with information technologies. One of her greatest achievements was the founding of AID/WATCH, an international monitoring body of Australia’s overseas aid program. The organisation is now widely respected for its vigorous scrutiny of projects undertaken by the World Bank and AusAID.

Environmental Issues

In the late 1960s, Lee began work as a zoo-keeper at Taronga Zoo, and then at the Regent Park Zoo in London. She later graduated from the University of New South Wales in 1975 with a Bachelor of Science, majoring in botany and zoology with Honours in botany. In the 1990s, Lee began campaigning with the Rainforest Information Centre, where she helped to develop a campaign for the banning of imports of rainforest timbers.

Women's Rights

In the 1970s, Lee began her involvement in the women’s movement, and during the 1980s was a member of NSW Women’s Advisory Council to State Government and an organiser of the Pine Gap women’s peace camp, where 700 women camped outside the US military base in central Australia.

Current Parliamentary Activity

She currently serves on the following committees:
* Joint Select Committee on the Cross City Tunnel
* General Purpose Standing Committee No. 3
* Committee on the Office of the Ombudsman and Police Integrity Commission
* Standing Committee on Law and Justice

References

External links

* [http://www.lee.greens.org.au/ Lee Rhiannon MLC]