Judith Louise Jackson (born 31 August 1947 in ) is an Australian former Labor Party politician, in

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

from 1986 to 2006. She was the first female

attorney-general of Tasmania The Attorney-General of Tasmania is a ministry of the Government of Tasmania with responsibility for the state's courts and tribunals. The Attorney General is a senior minister in the state government and the First Law Officer of the State. T ...

and also served as the Minister for Environment in the

Tasmanian Government The Tasmanian Government is the democratic administrative authority of the state of Tasmania, Australia. The leader of the party or coalition with the confidence of the House of Assembly, the lower house of the Parliament of Tasmania, is invite ...

. During her time in parliament, she was a member of the

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 ...

-based seat of Denison.

Political career

Before her entry into parliament, Jackson graduate from 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 ...

with a Bachelor of Arts, Diploma of Education and Bachelor of Laws. Jackson commenced work as a school teacher. She entered

parliament In modern politics, and history, a parliament is a legislative body of government. Generally, a modern parliament has three functions: Representation (politics), representing the Election#Suffrage, electorate, making laws, and overseeing ...

in 1986, despite not coming from a union or political family. She held a number of portfolios including; Minister for Community Services (1989), Minister for Roads and Transport (1991), Shadow Attorney-General (1996–1998) and Minister for Health and Human Services. Jackson is a committed

feminist Feminism is a range of socio-political movements and ideologies that aim to define and establish the political, economic, personal, and social equality of the sexes. Feminism incorporates the position that society prioritizes the male po ...

and has worked tirelessly to bring equal opportunity to women in Tasmania. As Attorney-General, Jackson drafted several laws including ''The Family Violence Act'' which outlawed domestic violence in Tasmania and the ''Relationships Act'' which made it possible for non-married (including

homosexual Homosexuality is romantic attraction, sexual attraction, or sexual behavior between members of the same sex or gender. As a sexual orientation, homosexuality is "an enduring pattern of emotional, romantic, and/or sexual attractions" to peop ...

) couples to register a union and obtain similar rights as married couples.

Criticism

Jackson had many critics; the Risdon prison siege in 2005 caused much controversy and she was widely blamed as not handling the situation. In 2005 the ''Family Violence Act'' she drafted was criticised by judges as one of the provisions in the legislation prevented courts from granting bail to alleged domestic violence offenders, as well as the points system used discriminating against people of different ethnic or lower socio-economic backgrounds. However Jackson remained firm about the issue and the legislation was introduced, unchanged. In 2005 the government also drafted the ''Sex Regulation Act'' which sought to further legalise and regulate

prostitution Prostitution is the business or practice of engaging in Sex work, sexual activity in exchange for payment. The definition of "sexual activity" varies, and is often defined as an activity requiring physical contact (e.g., sexual intercourse, n ...

. Under the legislation,

brothel A brothel, bordello, ranch, or whorehouse is a place where people engage in sexual activity with prostitutes. However, for legal or cultural reasons, establishments often describe themselves as massage parlors, bars, strip clubs, body rub par ...

s in Tasmania would be legal and could be owned by any individual except convicted criminals, patrons of prostitution would be required by law to wear a

condom A condom is a sheath-shaped barrier device used during sexual intercourse to reduce the probability of pregnancy or a sexually transmitted infection (STI). There are both male and female condoms. With proper use—and use at every act of in ...

. However Jackson was unable to convince the community and members of the

Tasmanian Legislative Council The Tasmanian Legislative Council is the upper house of the Parliament of Tasmania in Australia. It is one of the two chambers of the Parliament, the other being the House of Assembly. Both houses sit in Parliament House in the state capital, H ...

rejected her bill. As a result, she made a back flip; abandoning her legislation and banning brothels in Tasmania. Jackson faced criticism from both sides; sex workers and supporters fearing that prostitution will go underground and others for supporting prostitution in the first place. Jackson, in a statement, revealed how she felt that regulation of the industry was better than banning it altogether. As Environment Minister she was highly criticised by the

Tasmanian Greens The Tasmanian Greens are a political party in Australia which developed from numerous environmental campaigns in Tasmania, including the flooding of Lake Pedder and the Franklin Dam campaign. They form a part of the Australian Greens. The party ...

for inaction over the

devil facial tumour disease Devil facial tumour disease (DFTD) is an aggressive non-viral clonally transmissible cancer which affects Tasmanian devils, a marsupial native to Australia. DFTD was first described in 1996. In the subsequent decade the disease ravaged Tasmania's ...

, a

transmissible cancer A transmissible cancer is a cancer cell or cluster of cancer cells that can be transferred between individuals without the involvement of an infectious agent, such as an oncovirus. Transmission of cancer between humans is rare. The evolution of tra ...

that occurs in

Tasmanian devil The Tasmanian devil (''Sarcophilus harrisii'') (palawa kani: purinina) is a carnivorous marsupial of the family Dasyuridae. Until recently, it was only found on the island state of Tasmania, but it has been reintroduced to New South Wales in ...

Retirement

In 2005, Jackson announced she would not contest her seat during the 2006 state election and retired when her term ended on 17 March 2006.

Recognition and awards

In 2009 Jackson was inducted to the

Tasmanian Honour Roll of Women The State Government of Tasmania ) , nickname = , image_map = Tasmania in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of Tasmania in AustraliaCoordinates: , subdivision_type ...

for service to Government and to Human Rights.

References

External links

Judy Jackon's maiden speech to parliament
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Jackson, Judy Living people 1947 births Members of the Tasmanian House of Assembly Australian Labor Party members of the Parliament of Tasmania 21st-century Australian politicians 21st-century Australian women politicians Women members of the Tasmanian House of Assembly University of Tasmania alumni