Claire Chandler (born 1 June 1990) is an Australian politician who was elected as a

Senator 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 ...

for

Tasmania ) , nickname = , image_map = Tasmania in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of Tasmania in AustraliaCoordinates: , subdivision_type = Country , subdi ...

at the

2019 Australian federal election The 2019 Australian federal election was held on Saturday 18 May 2019 to elect members of the 46th Parliament of Australia. The election had been called following the dissolution of the 45th Parliament as elected at the 2016 double dissolut ...

. She is a member 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 ...

Personal life

Chandler grew up in the

Huon Valley The Huon Valley, or simply the Huon, is a valley and geographic area located in southern Tasmania, Australia. The largest town is Huonville, with other smaller towns spread across the area. It includes Australia's most southern permanent settle ...

and attended St Michael's Collegiate, a

Hobart Hobart ( ; Nuennonne/Palawa kani: ''nipaluna'') is the capital and most populous city of the Australian island state of Tasmania. Home to almost half of all Tasmanians, it is the least-populated Australian state capital city, and second-small ...

private school for girls. She studied Arts/Law at the

University of Tasmania The University of Tasmania (UTAS) is a public research university, primarily located in Tasmania, Australia. Founded in 1890, it is Australia's fourth oldest university. Christ College, one of the university's residential colleges, first pro ...

where her interest in politics was furthered. At university she was a member of the

University of Tasmania Liberal Club The University of Tasmania Liberal Club (TULC) is a politically affiliated club based at the University of Tasmania. The club is closely tied with the Liberal Party of Australia and at times through its history has been a constitutional branch of ...

where she met her future husband Chris Edwards. Chandler later joined the Young Liberals and served as both the Tasmanian Division President, and Federal President.

Politics

As Young Liberal President, Chandler led an internal review of the Tasmanian Division of the Liberal Party gender imbalance. Following the report, Chandler described the party's engagement with women as "sobering", but rejected the idea of gender quotas as a solution to fix the divide. Chandler stood as a candidate for the seat of Franklin at the

2018 Tasmanian state election The 2018 Tasmanian state election was held on 3 March 2018 to elect all 25 members of the Tasmanian House of Assembly. The four-year incumbent Liberal government, led by Premier Will Hodgman, won a second consecutive term. It defeated the Labor ...

. She was preselected in the second position on the Liberal Party's Senate ticket in Tasmania on 9 September 2018, and was elected to the Senate at the 2019 federal election, for a term beginning on 1 July 2019. At the time, aged 29, Chandler was Australia's youngest female senator.

Political positions

Chandler is a member of the National Right faction of the Liberal Party. Chandler has been described as a conservative. She is a supporter of a conscience vote for members of parliament on

euthanasia Euthanasia (from el, εὐθανασία 'good death': εὖ, ''eu'' 'well, good' + θάνατος, ''thanatos'' 'death') is the practice of intentionally ending life to eliminate pain and suffering. Different countries have different eut ...

, but does not support any changes to the law as it currently stands in Tasmania. Chandler also campaigns against the use of

anti-discrimination laws Anti-discrimination law or non-discrimination law refers to legislation designed to prevent discrimination against particular groups of people; these groups are often referred to as protected groups or protected classes. Anti-discrimination laws ...

and tax-payer funds to suppress

free speech Freedom of speech is a principle that supports the freedom of an individual or a community to articulate their opinions and ideas without fear of retaliation, censorship, or legal sanction. The rights, right to freedom of expression has been ...

by those she calls " the woke". Chandler is against the expansion of

transgender rights A transgender person is someone whose gender identity is inconsistent or not culturally associated with the sex they were assigned at birth and also with the gender role that is associated with that sex. They may have, or may intend to establi ...

. As an ardent campaigner for women's " sex-based rights", she advocates that

women's sports The participation of women and girls in sports, physical Physical fitness, fitness and exercise, has been recorded to have existed throughout history. However, participation rates and activities vary in accordance with nation, era, geography, ...

, women's toilets, and women's change rooms are designed for, and should be reserved for, people of the female sex. In June 2021, Chandler appeared at an online event alongside Walt Heyer, an American de-transitioned activist who has called gender reassignment surgery a "modern-day frontal lobotomy". Chandler criticised the attendance of 43 year old transgender weightlifter

Laurel Hubbard Laurel Hubbard (born 9 February 1978) is a New Zealand weightlifter. Selected to compete at the 2020 Summer Olympics, she was the first openly transgender woman to compete in the Olympic Games. Prior to making her Olympic debut, Hubbard achieved ...

at the

2020 Summer Olympics The , officially the and also known as , was an international multi-sport event held from 23 July to 8 August 2021 in Tokyo, Japan, with some preliminary events that began on 21 July. Tokyo was selected as the host city during the ...

. Chandler argued that the

International Olympic Committee The International Olympic Committee (IOC; french: link=no, Comité international olympique, ''CIO'') is a non-governmental sports organisation based in Lausanne, Switzerland. It is constituted in the form of an association under the Swiss ...

's decision to allow Hubbard to compete in women's events had displaced 18 year old Roviel Detenamo who had stood to become the first female Nauruan Olympian in 20 years and exemplified "why it's so unfair to female athletes to allow males into their categories". In February 2022, Chandler introduced the ''Sex Discrimination and Other Legislation Amendment (Save Women's Sport) Bill 2022'' to the

Parliament of Australia The Parliament of Australia (officially the Federal Parliament, also called the Commonwealth Parliament) is the legislature, legislative branch of the government of Australia. It consists of three elements: the monarch (represented by the ...

References

External links

Australian Parliament House biography
{{DEFAULTSORT:Chandler, Claire 1990 births Living people University of Tasmania alumni 21st-century Australian politicians 21st-century Australian women politicians Women members of the Australian Senate Liberal Party of Australia members of the Parliament of Australia Members of the Australian Senate for Tasmania Members of the Australian Senate