Alison Anderson

Alison Anderson is an Australian politician and member of the Australian Labor Party. She has been a member of the Northern Territory Legislative Assembly since 2005, representing the electorate of MacDonnell, and is a prominent indigenous activist and former Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Commission (ATSIC) Central Zone Commissioner. She was one of the party's star candidates at the 2005 election.

Anderson was born in the remote community of Haasts Bluff and was raised in a number of other communities, including Hermannsburg and Papunya. She moved to Alice Springs to attend school, studying at Traeger Park School, Alice Springs High School, and St Phillips College. She subsequently received a Diploma of Community Management from the Batchelor Institute of Indigenous Tertiary Education. [" [http://www.nt.alp.org.au/people/nt/anderson_alison.php|"Member for MacDonnell: Alison Anderson"] . "nt.alp.org.au". Accessed 26 June 2007.]

Returning to Papunya, she was elected Chief Executive Officer of the Papunya Community Council in 1985, a role which she fulfilled until handing it over to her husband, Steve Handley, in 2000. [Skelton, Russell. "Couple's rift exposes years of corruption". "The Age", 16 October 2005.] She thereby became a prominent representative for the town, then as now one of the country's most impoverished communities, where basic services failed entirely at times. In this role, Anderson was heavily involved throughout the 1990s in conflicts with successive Country Liberal Party territory governments over the provision of electricity, education, and health services. [Slattery, Luke. "Papunya Blacks Face Winter Without Power". "The Age", 8 June 1992.] [Alexander, Paul. "Aborigine Community a Symbol of Neglect". "Associated Press", 14 February 1993.] [Jopson, Deborah. "Black Call For Silent Moment". "Associated Press", 11 November 1995.]

Anderson was first elected as the ATSIC Commissioner for the Northern Territory Central Zone in November 1999. [Shandley, Jacqueline. "New ATSIC boss gives women voice". "Centralian Advocate", 30 November 1999.] She developed a reputation as an advocate for women's rights within the organisation, and in 2003, was involved in the creation of ATSIC's women's advisory board. [Shaw, Meaghan. "ATSIC vows to tackle black domestic violence". "The Age", 27 March 2003.] She became seen as a leading contender for chairperson of the organisation, and in 2002, unsuccessfully challenged veteran leader Geoff Clark. [Taylor, Kerry. "Who's who on the ATSIC board". "The Age", 20 June 2001.] [Jopson, Debra. "No change at ATSIC top as Clark lays on the charm". "Sydney Morning Herald", 20 December 2002.] Eight months later, she nominated for the position of deputy chairperson after the resignation of Ray Robinson, but was defeated by one vote despite Robinson's endorsement. [Schubert, Misha and Rintoul, Stuart. "Clark ally elected to chair ATSIC". "The Australian", 19 August 2003.] She supported the federal government's decision to abolish ATSIC in 2004, declaring that reform of the organisation was overdue, but was sharply critical of their decision to replace it with only a consultative committee. [Kirk, Alexandra. "ATSIC abolished to silence Indigenous voice: Alison Anderson". " [http://www.abc.net.au/worldtoday/content/2004/s1088994.htm ABC Local Radio] ", 16 April 2004.] She was nevertheless appointed by the federal government as a Central Australian representative to their Round Table on indigenous issues later that year. [" [http://www.nt.alp.org.au/people/nt/anderson_alison.php|"Member for MacDonnell: Alison Anderson"] . "nt.alp.org.au". Accessed 26 June 2007.]

In late 2004, Anderson announced her intention to contest Labor preselection for the seat of MacDonnell, traditionally a safe Labor seat, but then held by two-term CLP member John Elferink. She had previously been preselected by the party to stand at the 2001 election, but had withdrawn. ["Rivals brace for tussle ahead". "Northern Territory News", 11 December 2004.] She subsequently resigned from the ATSIC board, and was confirmed as the Labor candidate in March. ["Election shuffle". "Northern Territory News", 5 March 2005.] She was widely seen as a star candidate during the campaign, due to her high profile in Central Australia, stemming from her work as an ATSIC Commissioner. ["Fingers point on both sides". "Northern Territory News", 4 June 2005.] [Murdoch, Lindsay. "This is Labor's Territory, in a landslide". "Sydney Morning Herald", 20 June 2005.] [Michelmore, Karen. "'Political tsunami' almost wipes out CLP". "Gold Coast Bulletin", 20 June 2005.] Her campaign suffered an early blow when her husband was charged with stealing offences in February. [Falconer, Rebecca. "Cloud circles Labor hopeful". "Northern Territory News", 19 February 2005.] She suffered a further blow when, through April and May, the "Alice Springs News" and "The Age" aired sweeping allegations of corruption and mismanagement during her husband's administration of Papunya. [Chlanda, Erwin. "ALP candidate is in more hot water". "Alice Springs News", 27 April 2005.] [Skelton, Russell. "In the Centre, a community is seeing red". "The Sunday Age", 15 May 2005.] She resisted calls from the opposition to stand aside as the candidate, dismissing the claims as a smear campaign. [Dyer, Paul. "Call for candidate to stand down". "Northern Territory News", 23 May 2005.] ["MLA claims NT smear campaign". "Northern Territory News", 5 July 2005.] In spite of the allegations, she was easily elected in June, defeating Elferink with a swing of more than 30%. [Murdoch, Lindsay. "NT makes it perfectly Clare". "Northern Territory News", 19 June 2005.]

The Papunya scandal continued to afflict Anderson in her first months in parliament, as the Commonwealth government launched an investigation into allegations of misuse of government funds by the town administration. [McLean, Greg. "Hunt for missing cash". "Northern Territory News", 5 July 2005.] This escalated in September, when her now-estranged husband, against whom she had taken out a restraining order, filed a statutory declaration with police alleging that Anderson was responsible for corrupt activities during his administration, and had attempted to bribe elders during her campaign. [Skelton, Russell. "Elders 'bribed for votes' in NT". "The Sunday Age", 25 September 2005.] She was subsequently cleared of any wrongdoing in the police investigation. [Adlam, Nigel. "Police probe clears MP of wrongdoing". "Northern Territory News", 14 October 2005.] The Commonwealth investigation, while reporting widespread missing funds, did not attribute responsibility for this to Anderson. [Adlam, Nigel. "Call to release Papunya report". "Northern Territory News", 28 October 2005.] However, allegations of mismanagement persisted in the media for months afterwards. [Skelton, Russell. "Footy and a donated music studio - the children of Papunya rise again". "Northern Territory News", 27 May 2006.]

As her electorate represents much of Central Australia, Anderson has often acted as a spokesperson on issues affecting the communities in the area. [Squires, Nick. "Vapourless fuel wins petrol-sniffing war". "South China Morning Post", 30 March 2005.] [Williams, Kylie and Wright, Shane. "Govt confronts indigenous violence again". "Australian Associated Press", 25 June 2006.] ["Community rises from ashes". "Northern Territory News", 4 November 2006.] In May 2007, she risked expulsion from the party by joining Barbara McCarthy and Karl Hampton in crossing the floor to vote against a government bill to allow the continuation of mining at the McArthur River Mine, near Borroloola. [Calacouras, Nick. "Revolting MLAs cause hole lot of headaches". "Northern Territory News", 5 May 2007.]

Anderson speaks six indigenous languages, Anmatyerre, Luritja, Pitjantjatjara, Warlpiri, Western Arrernte and Yankunytjatjara. She is also an accomplished artist. [Jopson, Deborah. "Desert Politician At The Centre". "The Age", 2 August 2003.]

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