Louise Markus

Infobox MP


| honorific-prefix =
name = Louise Markus
honorific-suffix = MP
caption =
constituency_MP = Greenway
parliament = Australian
term_start = 9 October 2004
term_end = present
predecessor = Frank Mossfield
successor = Incumbent
birth_date = birth date and age|1958|9|6|df=yes
birth_place = Sydney, New South Wales, Australia
death_date =
death_place =
nationality = Australian
party = Liberal Party of Australia
spouse = Jim Markus
relations =
children = Joshua and Hannah
residence =
alma_mater = University of New South Wales
occupation =
profession = Social worker
religion = Assemblies of God in Australia


website = [http://www.louisemarkus.com.au/ www.louisemarkus.com.au]
footnotes =

Louise Elizabeth Markus (born 6 September 1958 in Sydney, New South Wales) is an Australian politician who was elected to the House of Representatives as member for the Division of Greenway, New South Wales for the Liberal Party of Australia at the 2004 federal election, in a very close result. [ [http://www.aec.gov.au/Elections/federal_elections/2004/Profiles/g/greenway.htm Greenway ] ]

She was educated at the University of New South Wales, graduating in social work, and was a community worker running the Hillsong Church's drug and alcohol outreach service in Blacktown prior to entering politics. [ [http://www.aph.gov.au/house/members/biography.asp?id=E07 Parliament of Australia: House of Representatives - Members ] ]

Subsequent to the 2004 election, allegations were made in the NSW State Parliament that Mrs Markus had directly benefited from unauthorised campaign materials containing false statements in an attempt to capture racist voter sentiment against her Labor opponent, and that this was consistent with a broader sentiment held by parts of the Liberal hard right. [ [http://www.parliament.nsw.gov.au/prod/PARLMENT/hansArt.nsf/V3Key/LC20041027043 Religious Freedom - 27/10/2004 - ADJ - NSW Parliament ] ] These allegations were subsequently reported in the media. [ [http://www.smh.com.au/articles/2004/10/28/1098667910937.html Husic victim of slur on Islam, says MP - National - www.smh.com.au ] ]

The situation was very similar to the later 2007 Lindsay pamphlet scandal, in which unauthorised election materials were distributed in an apparent attempt to stir up anti-muslim sentiment. This was traced back to members of the Liberal party campaign. [ [http://www.news.com.au/dailytelegraph/story/0,22049,22799667-5001021,00.html Howard condemns bogus flyer scam | The Daily Telegraph ] ]

Markus retained the seat of Greenway with a comfortable margin in the 2007 election, although with a nominal swing of 6.85% against her on a two-party preferred basis. [ [http://results.aec.gov.au/13745/website/HouseDivisionFirstPrefs-13745-122.htm House of Representatives Division First Preferences ] ]

Following the 2007 election, she was made Shadow Parliamentary Secretary for Immigration and Citizenship. [ [http://www.aph.gov.au/Library/parl/42/Shadow/index.htm Department of the Parliamentary Library - Shadow Ministry ] ]

She lives in Riverstone, in the south of her electorate. At the time of the 2004 election she did not live in the Greenway electorate. A September 2006 redistribution of boundaries saw her residence included in the electorate. [http://www.aph.gov.au/House/members/pics/electrts/Greenway.pdf] The northward shift in electorate boundaries also saw her seat change from marginal to safe.

She is married with two children.

References

External links

* [http://www.louisemarkus.com.au/ Official website]

Persondata
NAME=Markus, Louise
ALTERNATIVE NAMES=
SHORT DESCRIPTION=Australian politician
DATE OF BIRTH=6 September 1958
PLACE OF BIRTH=Sydney, New South Wales, Australia
DATE OF DEATH=
PLACE OF DEATH=