Denise Margaret Allen (29 March 1953 – 22 January 2022) was an Australian politician, political strategist, social commentator and disability advocate.

Life and career

Allen was born on 29 March 1953 in

Alexandra Alexandra () is the feminine form of the given name Alexander (, ). Etymologically, the name is a compound of the Greek verb (; meaning 'to defend') and (; GEN , ; meaning 'man'). Thus it may be roughly translated as "defender of man" or "prot ...

Victoria Victoria most commonly refers to: * Victoria (Australia), a state of the Commonwealth of Australia * Victoria, British Columbia, provincial capital of British Columbia, Canada * Victoria (mythology), Roman goddess of Victory * Victoria, Seychelle ...

, to Jack Donald Boote and Bette Doreen Boote. She attended Alexandra Primary School and

Alexandra High School Alexandra High School also known as AHS is a semi-private public high school in Pietermaritzburg Pietermaritzburg (; Zulu: umGungundlovu) is the capital and second-largest city in the province of KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa. It was fou ...

, receiving her leaving certificate in 1970. Prior to entering politics, Allen was a life skills and motivational tutor. She also owned a modelling agency, beauty therapy studio and retail fashion store. In 2000, Allen was the Labor Party candidate in the by-election for the seat of Benalla in the

Victorian Legislative Assembly The Victorian Legislative Assembly is the lower house of the bicameral Parliament of Victoria in Australia; the upper house being the Victorian Legislative Council. Both houses sit at Parliament House in Spring Street, Melbourne. The presiding ...

, which was being vacated by former deputy premier and state Nationals leader Pat McNamara. On paper, Allen faced daunting odds. Benalla was a staunchly conservative division in rural north-eastern Victoria and had been in National hands for all but nine years since 1920. However, she won a surprise victory by 237 votes over new Nationals' candidate

Bill Sykes William Everett Sykes (born 3 October 1948) is an Australian politician. He was the Nationals member of the Victorian parliament, representing Benalla, from 2002 to 2014, after a career as a veterinarian and businessman. Sykes was also a Vi ...

. She was the first-ever Labor member to win the division. A

Buddhist Buddhism ( , ), also known as Buddha Dharma and Dharmavinaya (), is an Indian religion or philosophical tradition based on teachings attributed to the Buddha. It originated in northern India as a -movement in the 5th century BCE, and ...

, she was the inaugural chairperson of the Parliamentary Friends of

Tibet Tibet (; ''Böd''; ) is a region in East Asia, covering much of the Tibetan Plateau and spanning about . It is the traditional homeland of the Tibetan people. Also resident on the plateau are some other ethnic groups such as Monpa people, ...

. In the 2002 state election, she was defeated by Sykes in a rematch, despite the Labor government being re-elected in a landslide. Although Allen led on the primary vote, she was defeated on the third count after the preferences of 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, Andrew Dwyer, flowed overwhelmingly to Sykes, resulting in a 52-48

two-party-preferred 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, ...

percentage of the vote in favour of the Nationals. Allen died from

cancer Cancer is a group of diseases involving abnormal cell growth with the potential to invade or spread to other parts of the body. These contrast with benign tumors, which do not spread. Possible signs and symptoms include a lump, abnormal b ...

on 22 January 2022, at the age of 68.

References

1953 births 2022 deaths 21st-century Australian politicians 21st-century Australian women politicians Australian Labor Party members of the Parliament of Victoria Members of the Victorian Legislative Assembly Australian Buddhists Australian female models People Power (Australia) politicians People from Alexandra, Victoria Women members of the Victorian Legislative Assembly {{Australia-Labor-Victoria-MP-stub