Kay Selma Elson (born 25 January 1947), Australian politician, was a

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 ...

Member of the

Australian House of Representatives The House of Representatives is the lower house of the bicameral Parliament of Australia, the upper house being the Senate. Its composition and powers are established in Chapter I of the Constitution of Australia. The term of members o ...

from March 1996 until her retirement in November 2007. Kay represented the

Division of Forde The Division of Forde is an Australian Electoral Division in Queensland. Geography Since 1984, federal electoral division boundaries in Australia have been determined at redistributions by a redistribution committee appointed by the Australi ...

Queensland ) , nickname = Sunshine State , image_map = Queensland in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of Queensland in Australia , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = Australia , established_title = Before federation , establishe ...

.Elson, Kay Selma (1947 - )
The Australian Women's Register, 22 April 2009. She was born in

Brisbane Brisbane ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the Australian state of Queensland, and the third-most populous city in Australia and Oceania, with a population of approximately 2.6 million. Brisbane lies at the centre of the South ...

, and was a special events co-ordinator for a handicapped association, a shop proprietor and a financial consultant before entering politics. Elson is married to David, a beekeeper and bush poet. Elson has eight children, 24 grandchildren and four great grandchildren. Elson had contested a total of four Queensland state elections prior to her candidacy for federal parliament. She ran for Woodridge in 1983 as a Nationals candidate, Springwood in 1986 as an independent candidate, and

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and Broadwater in 1989 and 1992 respectively as a Liberal Party candidate. She ran as "Elson, Selma Kay" for the 1983 election. Elson was preselected as Liberal candidate in Forde for the 1996 election. The seat was originally a safe

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seat, but a redistribution added some Liberal-friendly territory in the Scenic Rim, which all but erased Labor's majority. Elson defeated Labor incumbent Mary Crawford on a nine-percent swing, turning Forde into a safe Liberal seat in one stroke. Her victory was part of Labor's near-total collapse in Queensland; Labor was cut down to only two seats there. In October 2006, Kay Elson announced that she would not be seeking a fifth term and retired at the 2007 Election. By this time, she had built up her majority to 12 percent. However, the seat was lost to Labor on a 14-point swing, making it one of the safest Coalition seats to be gained by Labor.

References

1947 births Living people Liberal Party of Australia members of the Parliament of Australia Members of the Australian House of Representatives Members of the Australian House of Representatives for Forde Women members of the Australian House of Representatives 21st-century Australian politicians 21st-century Australian women politicians 20th-century Australian politicians 20th-century Australian women politicians {{Australia-Liberal-politician-stub