Belinda Jane Neal (born 10 January 1963) is a former Australian federal politician. She was a Member of the

House of Representatives House of Representatives is the name of legislative bodies in many countries and sub-national entitles. In many countries, the House of Representatives is the lower house of a bicameral legislature, with the corresponding upper house often c ...

representing the electorate of

Robertson Robertson may refer to: People * Robertson (surname) (includes a list of people with this name) * Robertson (given name) * Clan Robertson, a Scottish clan * Robertson, stage name of Belgian magician Étienne-Gaspard Robert (1763–1837) Places ...

between 2007 and 2010; and representing the state of

New South Wales ) , nickname = , image_map = New South Wales in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of New South Wales in AustraliaCoordinates: , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = Australia , established_title = Before federation , es ...

in the

Senate A senate is a deliberative assembly, often the upper house or chamber of a bicameral legislature. The name comes from the ancient Roman Senate (Latin: ''Senatus''), so-called as an assembly of the senior (Latin: ''senex'' meaning "the el ...

from 1994 to 1998, both on behalf of the

Australian Labor Party The Australian Labor Party (ALP), also simply known as Labor, is the major centre-left political party in Australia, one of two major parties in Australian politics, along with the centre-right Liberal Party of Australia. The party forms the f ...

Early life

Neal was born in

Brisbane Brisbane ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the states and territories of Australia, Australian state of Queensland, and the list of cities in Australia by population, third-most populous city in Australia and Oceania, with a populati ...

on 10 January 1963. She graduated

Bachelor of Laws Bachelor of Laws ( la, Legum Baccalaureus; LL.B.) is an undergraduate law degree in the United Kingdom and most common law jurisdictions. Bachelor of Laws is also the name of the law degree awarded by universities in the People's Republic of Chi ...

from the

University of Sydney The University of Sydney (USYD), also known as Sydney University, or informally Sydney Uni, is a public research university located in Sydney, Australia. Founded in 1850, it is the oldest university in Australia and is one of the country's si ...

, where she was president of the

Students' Representative Council {{Unreferenced, date=July 2014A students' representative council, also known as a students' administrative council, represents student interests in the government of a university, school or other educational institution. Generally the SRC forms par ...

. Prior to entering parliament she worked as a legal officer for the

Federated Ironworkers' Association of Australia The Federated Ironworkers' Association of Australia (FIA) was an Australian trade union which existed between 1911 and 1991. It represented labourers and semi-skilled workers employed in the steel industry and ironworking, and later also the che ...

from 1986 to 1987 and then as a solicitor in

Gosford, New South Wales Gosford is the city and administrative centre of the Central Coast Council (New South Wales), Central Coast Council local government area in the heart of the Central Coast (New South Wales), Central Coast region, about north of Sydney central ...

, from 1987 to 1994.

Politics

Neal joined the ALP in 1980. She was a delegate to state conference in New South Wales from 1983 and to national conference from 1984. In July 1989, aged 26, she contested ALP

preselection Preselection is the process by which a candidate is selected, usually by a political party, to contest an election for political office. It is also referred to as candidate selection. It is a fundamental function of political parties. The presele ...

for the federal seat of

with the support of her husband, assistant ALP state secretary John Della Bosca. She lost by only four votes to veteran state MP Frank Walker. Neal served on the

Gosford City Council The City of Gosford is a former local government area located on the Central Coast region, in the state of New South Wales, Australia. The incorporation of Gosford dates back to 1886 when the Town of Gosford was proclaimed as the ''Borough of G ...

from 1992 to 1994. In February 1994, she was nominated by the ALP to fill the

casual vacancy In politics, a casual vacancy (''casual'' in the sense of "by chance") is a situation in which a seat in a deliberative assembly becomes vacant during that assembly's term. Casual vacancies may arise through the death, resignation or disqualifi ...

caused by the resignation of former senate president Kerry Sibraa. Although she was ultimately endorsed unanimously, the preselection process was controversial amid claims that her husband had unfairly interfered in the ballot. One of her competitors Franca Arena said that the preselection had "developed into a farce". After her appointment, Neal served as a senator until her resignation 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 James Eric Lloyd (born 17 July 1954) is an Australian former politician who served with the Liberal Party of Australia member of the Australian House of Representatives from the March 1996 election until the November 2007 election, representin ...

of the

Liberal Party The Liberal Party is any of many political parties around the world. The meaning of ''liberal'' varies around the world, ranging from liberal conservatism on the right to social liberalism on the left. __TOC__ Active liberal parties This is a li ...

. 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. She lost preselection for the seat of Robertson on 6 March 2010, to challenger Deborah O'Neill, 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. Her husband,

John Della Bosca John Joseph Della Bosca (born 18 July 1956) is an Australian former politician, representing the Labor Party in the New South Wales Legislative Council. From 1999 to 2009, Della Bosca served a range of ministerial portfolios, including Ministe ...

, announced on the same day that he was resigning from the

New South Wales Legislative Council The New South Wales Legislative Council, often referred to as the upper house, is one of the two chambers of the parliament of the Australian state of New South Wales. The other is the Legislative Assembly. Both sit at Parliament House in th ...

to become a campaign director for the National Disability and Carers Alliance, and assist in the establishment of a national disability insurance scheme. 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

In June 2008, Neal and her husband

were dining in a bistro called Iguana Joe's when they were reportedly involved in an incident with staff of the premises. Statements witnessed by Chris Spence, a political rival of Neal's, suggested Neal and her husband had been abusive to restaurant staff. The Premier of New South Wales,

Morris Iemma Morris Iemma (; born 21 July 1961) is a former Australian politician who was the 40th Premier of New South Wales. He served from 3 August 2005 to 5 September 2008. From Sydney, Iemma attended the University of Sydney and the University of Techno ...

, asked the

New South Wales Police Force The New South Wales Police Force (NSW Police Force; previously the New South Wales Police Service and New South Wales Police) is the primary law enforcement agency of the state of New South Wales, Australia. Divided into Police Area Commands (P ...

to assess the allegations, but the matter lapsed when the New South Wales

Director of Public Prosecutions The Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) is the office or official charged with the prosecution of criminal offences in several criminal jurisdictions around the world. The title is used mainly in jurisdictions that are or have been members o ...

advised that nothing that occurred could have constituted a crime.

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 A branch, sometimes called a ramus in botany, is a woody structural member connected to the central trunk of a tree (or sometimes a shrub). Large branches are known as boughs and small branches are known as twigs. The term '' twig'' usuall ...

called "walking the books", which was prohibited under Labor rules.

References

External links

Belinda Neal, Senate biography.
{{DEFAULTSORT:Neal, Belinda 1963 births Living people Lawyers from Sydney Members of the Australian Senate for New South Wales Members of the Australian Senate Members of the Australian House of Representatives for Robertson Members of the Australian House of Representatives Australian Labor Party members of the Parliament of Australia Women members of the Australian House of Representatives Women members of the Australian Senate Spouses of Australian politicians 21st-century Australian politicians 21st-century Australian women politicians 20th-century Australian politicians 20th-century Australian women politicians