Carolyn Anne Jakobsen (born 11 September 1947) is a former Australian politician. She served in the House of Representatives from 1984 to 1993, representing the

Division of Cowan The Division of Cowan is an Australian Electoral Division in Western Australia. Cowan is an inner-northern Perth seat lying generally between Morley Drive and Hepburn Avenue, extending from the Mitchell Freeway in the west to the Tonkin Freew ...

for 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 ...

(ALP).

Early life

Jakobsen was born on 11 September 1947 in

Auckland Auckland (pronounced ) ( mi, Tāmaki Makaurau) is a large metropolitan city in the North Island of New Zealand. The List of New Zealand urban areas by population, most populous urban area in the country and the List of cities in Oceania by po ...

, New Zealand. She did not renounce her New Zealand citizenship until January 1990, following media attention given to the parliamentary eligibility requirements of section 44(i) of the constitution. Prior to entering parliament herself she worked as a political staffer. She was active in the Australian Labor Party (Western Australian Branch) and served as president of the ALP's Manning branch.

Parliament

Jakobsen was elected to the newly created

at the 1984 federal election. She was re-elected at the

1987 File:1987 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: The MS Herald of Free Enterprise capsizes after leaving the Port of Zeebrugge in Belgium, killing 193; Northwest Airlines Flight 255 crashes after takeoff from Detroit Metropolitan Airport, k ...

and 1990 elections before being defeated by the

Liberal Liberal or liberalism may refer to: Politics * a supporter of liberalism ** Liberalism by country * an adherent of a Liberal Party * Liberalism (international relations) * Sexually liberal feminism * Social liberalism Arts, entertainment and m ...

candidate Richard Evans at the 1993 election. In parliament, Jakobsen served on a number of standing and select committees. She was elected chair of the

Australian Labor Party Caucus The Australian Labor Party Caucus comprises all the elected members of the Australian Labor Party (ALP) in both Houses of the national Parliament. The Caucus determines some matters of policy, parliamentary tactics, and disciplinary measures agai ...

in 1990, the first woman to hold the position. She also led parliamentary delegations to New Zealand in 1988 and to Scandinavia in 1990. Jakobsen was a member of the party's

left faction The Left Faction ( he, סיעת שמאל, ''Siat Smol'') was a short-lived political party in Israel. History The Left Faction was formed on 20 February 1952 (during the second Knesset) as a breakaway from Mapam in the aftermath of the Prague Tr ...

. She opposed Australian involvement in the 1991 Gulf War, and was one of ten MPs censured by the ALP National Executive for walking out on a pro-war speech by Prime Minister

Bob Hawke Robert James Lee Hawke (9 December 1929 – 16 May 2019) was an Australian politician and union organiser who served as the 23rd prime minister of Australia from 1983 to 1991, holding office as the leader of the Australian Labor Party (A ...

Later activities

Jakobsen has served on the

Murdoch University Murdoch University is a public university in Perth, Western Australia, with campuses also in Singapore and Dubai. It began operations as the state's second university on 25 July 1973, and accepted its first undergraduate students in 1975. Its n ...

senate, the

Swan River Trust The Swan River Trust was a Western Australian state government statutory authority defined by the Swan and Canning Rivers Management Act 2006. The Trust reported to the Minister for Environment. It was preceded by the Swan River Management A ...

, the Waste Management Board, and the board of Waste Smart WA.

References

Australian Labor Party members of the Parliament of Australia Labor Left politicians Members of the Australian House of Representatives for Cowan Members of the Australian House of Representatives 1947 births Living people Women members of the Australian House of Representatives 20th-century Australian politicians New Zealand emigrants to Australia People who lost New Zealand citizenship 20th-century Australian women politicians {{Australia-Labor-representative-stub