Christabel Marguerite Alain Chamarette, sometimes Christabel Bridge (born 1 May 1948) was a Greens

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

Western Australia Western Australia (commonly abbreviated as WA) is a state of Australia occupying the western percent of the land area of Australia excluding external territories. It is bounded by the Indian Ocean to the north and west, the Southern Ocean to th ...

from 1992 to 1996.

Personal life

Born in

Hyderabad, India Hyderabad ( ; , ) is the capital and largest city of the Indian state of Telangana and the '' de jure'' capital of Andhra Pradesh. It occupies on the Deccan Plateau along the banks of the Musi River, in the northern part of Southern In ...

in 1948, Chamarette is of

Anglo-Indian Anglo-Indian people fall into two different groups: those with mixed Indian and British ancestry, and people of British descent born or residing in India. The latter sense is now mainly historical, but confusions can arise. The ''Oxford English ...

and

French Huguenot The Huguenots ( , also , ) were a religious group of French Protestants who held to the Reformed, or Calvinist, tradition of Protestantism. The term, which may be derived from the name of a Swiss political leader, the Genevan burgomaster Bez ...

ancestry. She has worked as a community worker in

Bangladesh Bangladesh (}, ), officially the People's Republic of Bangladesh, is a country in South Asia. It is the eighth-most populous country in the world, with a population exceeding 165 million people in an area of . Bangladesh is among the mos ...

and later as a clinical psychologist at

Fremantle Prison Fremantle Prison, sometimes referred to as Fremantle Gaol or Fremantle Jail, is a former Australian prison and World Heritage Site in Fremantle, Western Australia. The site includes the prison cellblocks, gatehouse, perimeter walls, cottage ...

Politics

Chamarette was appointed to the Senate in 1992, following the resignation of

Jo Vallentine Josephine Vallentine (born 30 May 1946) is an Australian peace activist and politician, a former senator for Western Australia. She entered the Senate on 1 July 1985 after election as a member of the Nuclear Disarmament Party but sat as an ind ...

. She was opposed to privatising

Telstra Telstra Group Limited is an Australian telecommunications company that builds and operates telecommunications networks and markets voice, mobile, internet access, pay television and other products and services. It is a member of the S&P/ASX 20 ...

and delayed the Mabo legislation by demanding the inclusion of mineral rights in the compensation package for native title holders. She was defeated at the 1996 general election; her term ending several months later on 30 June 1996. Chamarette said that when working in the Senate, she thought it was the most important work of her life, but she now refers to it as simply "useful experience".

After politics

She was an expert consultant to the Department of Justice and was appointed to the Western Australian

parole Parole (also known as provisional release or supervised release) is a form of early release of a prison inmate where the prisoner agrees to abide by certain behavioral conditions, including checking-in with their designated parole officers, or ...

board in 2002. She was one of four members who resigned in 2005 in protest against the State Government's response to the Mahoney inquiry.Mahoney, Hon. Denni
Inquiry into the Management of Offenders in Custody and in the Community
Parliament of Western Australia, November 2005

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Chamarette, Christabel 1948 births Living people Greens Western Australia members of the Parliament of Australia Indian emigrants to Australia Members of the Australian Senate Members of the Australian Senate for Western Australia Australian people of Anglo-Indian descent Australian people of French descent Anglican pacifists Australian Anglicans Women members of the Australian Senate 20th-century Australian politicians 20th-century Australian women politicians