Catherine McGowan
AO (born 29 November 1953) is a former Australian politician who was the
independent
Independent or Independents may refer to:
Arts, entertainment, and media Artist groups
* Independents (artist group), a group of modernist painters based in the New Hope, Pennsylvania, area of the United States during the early 1930s
* Independ ...
MP for the rural
Victorian seat of
Indi from the
2013 federal election, when she defeated
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 ...
MP
Sophie Mirabella
Sophie Mirabella (née Panopoulos; born 27 October 1968) is an Australian lawyer and former politician who currently serves as a Commissioner on the Fair Work Commission since 24 May 2021. She was previously a Liberal Party member of the Austra ...
, until her retirement before the
2019 federal election.
In 2004 she was made an
Officer of the Order of Australia
The Order of Australia is an honour that recognises Australian citizens and other persons for outstanding achievement and service. It was established on 14 February 1975 by Elizabeth II, Queen of Australia, on the advice of the Australian Gov ...
"for service to the community through raising awareness of and stimulating debate about issues affecting women in regional, rural and remote areas." McGowan was also a recipient of the
Centenary Medal
The Centenary Medal is an award which was created by the Australian Government in 2001. It was established to commemorate the centenary of the Federation of Australia and to recognise "people who made a contribution to Australian society or gov ...
in 2001.
McGowan has a Masters Degree in Applied Science in Agricultural and Rural Development from the
University of Western Sydney
Western Sydney University, formerly the University of Western Sydney, is an Australian multi-campus university in the Greater Western region of Sydney, Australia. The university in its current form was founded in 1989 as a federated network u ...
.
Politics
Early politics and lobbyist work
McGowan worked as a staffer for Indi's
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 ...
MP
Ewen Cameron during the late 1970s and early 1980s. McGowan also worked as a regional councillor for the
Victorian Farmers' Federation and is a former President of Australian Women in Agriculture.
Member for Indi
McGowan ran as an
independent
Independent or Independents may refer to:
Arts, entertainment, and media Artist groups
* Independents (artist group), a group of modernist painters based in the New Hope, Pennsylvania, area of the United States during the early 1930s
* Independ ...
for the
Division of Indi
The Division of Indi (pronounced ) is an Australian electoral division in the state of Victoria. The division is located in the north-east of the state, adjoining the border with New South Wales. The largest settlements in the division are the ...
at the
2013 Australian federal election
The 2013 Australian federal election to elect the members of the 44th Parliament of Australia took place on 7 September 2013. The centre-right Liberal/National Coalition opposition led by Opposition leader Tony Abbott of the Liberal Party of ...
, against 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 ...
incumbent
Sophie Mirabella
Sophie Mirabella (née Panopoulos; born 27 October 1968) is an Australian lawyer and former politician who currently serves as a Commissioner on the Fair Work Commission since 24 May 2021. She was previously a Liberal Party member of the Austra ...
. The seat had long been believed to be a conservative stronghold; it had been held by a conservative party for all but nine years since Federation, and without interruption since 1931. However, a number of area residents felt Mirabella had taken them for granted. They formed a grassroots organisation,
Voices for Indi
The Voices for or Voices of groups are a series of loosely related political community engagement groups in Australia. Some of the groups have endorsed candidates to run as candidates in federal elections. The independence of some of the candidate ...
, that eventually decided to draft an independent to run against Mirabella. After numerous prominent locals turned down the offer, McGowan finally accepted.
[ Cassidy, Barrie]
The story of how Cathy McGowan stormed Indi
ABC News
ABC News is the journalism, news division of the American broadcast network American Broadcasting Company, ABC. Its flagship program is the daily evening newscast ''ABC World News Tonight, ABC World News Tonight with David Muir''; other progra ...
, 2013-09-13. After eleven days of counting, on 18 September, Mirabella conceded defeat and McGowan claimed victory, winning the seat with a final margin of 431 votes, a
two-candidate preferred vote of 50.25 percent.
Mirabella was the only Liberal incumbent to lose her seat at the 2013 election. The
ABC's
Barrie Cassidy
Barrie Cassidy (born 4 March 1950) is an Australian political journalist, as well as a radio and television host and presenter and commentator for the Australian Broadcasting Corporation. He was the long-running host of the Sunday morning poli ...
described McGowan's candidacy as "a warning to the occupants of safe seats everywhere on both sides of politics."
[
It was claimed in October 2014 that 20 McGowan supporters who formerly lived in Indi changed their electoral roll details back to Indi. The Commonwealth Department of Public Prosecutions pursued charges against two young voters. Their defence lawyers successfully argued the charges were "scurrilous" and that they had followed the Australian Electoral Commission's published advice in enrolling at their home address; on 5 April 2016 a Melbourne Magistrate dismissed all charges against the two voters and ordered the Crown to pay their court costs.
Mirabella gained Liberal party preselection in late June 2015 to run for Indi in the 2016 federal election, However, McGowan retained Indi against Mirabella with an increased 54.8% (+4.6) ]two-candidate-preferred vote
In Australian politics, the two-party-preferred vote (TPP or 2PP) is the result of an election or opinion poll after preferences have been distributed to the highest two candidates, who in some cases can be independents. For the purposes of TPP, ...
. Mirabella conceded to McGowan on 3 July 2016. Notably, the Liberal two-party-preferred vote
In Australian politics, the two-party-preferred vote (TPP or 2PP) is the result of an election or opinion poll after preferences have been distributed to the highest two candidates, who in some cases can be independents. For the purposes of TPP, ...
in a "traditional" two-party contest against Labor was reduced to 54.4% (–4.7) against Labor's 45.6% (+4.7), a marginal two-party result not seen since the 1929 election.
McGowan gave the Coalition government confidence and supply
In a parliamentary democracy based on the Westminster system, confidence and supply are required for a ruling cabinet to retain power in the lower house.
A confidence-and-supply agreement is one whereby a party or independent members of par ...
support in the event of a hung parliament
A hung parliament is a term used in legislatures primarily under the Westminster system to describe a situation in which no single political party or pre-existing coalition (also known as an alliance or bloc) has an absolute majority of legisl ...
.
In the lead-up to the 2016 Federal election, McGowan was present at a function at a Benalla nursing home along with Sophie Mirabella. Both were candidates for the Division of Indi. It was subsequently reported on 20 April 2016 by journalist Libby Price in the '' Benalla Ensign'' that Mirabella had pushed McGowan at this meeting. McGowan was interviewed soon after the event and refused to confirm or deny the allegation. She was interviewed by ''The Border Mail
''The Border Mail'' is a daily newspaper and online news brand published in Albury-Wodonga, Australia, serving the twin cities and the surrounding region. It was originally published as ''The Border Morning Mail and Riverina Times'' and later a ...
'' and refused on four occasions to answer as to whether she had been pushed or not. The ''Benalla Ensign'' issued an apology on 26 October 2016 and stated that Mirabella did not push McGowan. Mirabella launched defamation proceedings against the ''Benalla Ensign'' and its editor Libby Price. The case was heard in the Victorian County Court in Wangaratta in early May 2018. McGowan was called as a witness in the case and gave evidence that Mirabella did not push her. The court found in favour of Mirabella that she had been defamed by the ''Benalla Ensign'' and its editor Libby Price.
On 14 January 2019 McGowan announced she would not be recontesting Indi at the next election. On 18 May 2019, her preferred independent candidate, Helen Haines
Helen Mary Haines (born 21 September 1961) is an Australian politician who has served as the independent MP for the Victorian seat of Indi since the 2019 federal election.
Early life and education
Haines grew up on a dairy farm in Colac in ...
, claimed victory in the federal election.
See also
* List of grassroots political engagement groups in Australia
* Voices for Indi
The Voices for or Voices of groups are a series of loosely related political community engagement groups in Australia. Some of the groups have endorsed candidates to run as candidates in federal elections. The independence of some of the candidate ...
References
Further reading
*
External links
CathyMcGowan.com.au official site
Cathy McGowan they vote for YOU
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:McGowan, Cathy
1953 births
Living people
Australian consultants
Australian schoolteachers
Independent members of the Parliament of Australia
Members of the Australian House of Representatives for Indi
Members of the Australian House of Representatives
Monash University alumni
Officers of the Order of Australia
Recipients of the Centenary Medal
University of Melbourne alumni
Western Sydney University alumni
Women members of the Australian House of Representatives
21st-century Australian politicians
21st-century Australian women politicians
People from Albury, New South Wales