Janet May Woollard (born 13 February 1955) is an Australian former politician who served as a member for the seat of Alfred Cove in the

Western Australian Legislative Assembly The Western Australian Legislative Assembly, or lower house, is one of the two chambers of the Parliament of Western Australia, an Australian state. The Parliament sits in Parliament House, Perth, Parliament House in the Western Australian capi ...

from 2001 to 2013. Woollard successfully contested the seat in the February 2001 state election 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 ...

candidate (representing the

Liberals for Forests Liberals for Forests was an Australian political minor party. It contested both state and federal elections between 2002 and 2008, but only ever achieved one elected representative – Janet Woollard (elected as an Independent) in Western Aust ...

party). She was re-elected at the 2005 election and again at the 2008 election. In 2007 Woollard's son, Luke, crashed his family's boat whilst

drink driving Drunk driving (or drink-driving in British English) is the act of driving under the influence of alcohol. A small increase in the blood alcohol content increases the relative risk of a motor vehicle crash. In the United States, alcohol is invo ...

, seriously injuring a passenger. The injured passenger successfully sued Luke, who said he was unable to pay the 230,000 compensation and indicated he faced

bankrupt Bankruptcy is a legal process through which people or other entities who cannot repay debts to creditors may seek relief from some or all of their debts. In most jurisdictions, bankruptcy is imposed by a court order, often initiated by the debtor ...

cy. Woollard and her husband initially refused to pay the compensation on behalf of their son. However, they settled the case following intense media scrutiny. Woollard was defeated in the 2013 state election, attracting only about 10% of the primary vote. The seat was won by 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 ...

candidate, Dean Nalder.

References

Parliamentary biographical entry
1955 births Living people Independent members of the Parliament of Western Australia Members of the Western Australian Legislative Assembly 21st-century Australian politicians 21st-century Australian women politicians Women members of the Western Australian Legislative Assembly {{Australia-Independent-politician-stub

See also

References