Lara Maria Alexander (born 13 July 1967) is an Australian politician. She has been a member of the

Tasmanian House of Assembly The House of Assembly, or Lower House, is one of the two chambers of the Parliament of Tasmania in Australia. The other is the Legislative Council or Upper House. It sits in Parliament House in the state capital, Hobart. The Assembly has 25 m ...

for the division of Bass since 2022, serving as a member for 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 ...

before moving to the crossbench 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 ...

in 2023. Alexander was born in Romania. She is an accountant and holds a Bachelor of Economic Studies (Honours). She was general manager of Presbyterian Care Tasmania and in 2018 became chief executive officer of the

St Vincent de Paul Society The Society of St Vincent de Paul (SVP or SVdP or SSVP) is an international voluntary organization in the Catholic Church, founded in 1833 for the sanctification of its members by personal service of the poor. Innumerable Catholic parishes have ...

in Tasmania. She was an unsuccessful Liberal candidate for Bass at the

2021 Tasmanian state election The 2021 Tasmanian state election was held on 1 May 2021 to elect all 25 members to the Tasmanian House of Assembly. The incumbent Liberal Party of Australia (Tasmanian Division), Liberal First Gutwein Ministry, government, led by Premier of Tasm ...

, and complained during the campaign of being prevented from speaking publicly by Liberal Party headquarters. In February 2022 she filled the vacancy caused by

Sarah Courtney Sarah Jane Courtney (born 1979) is an Australian financial analyst, viticulturist and a former politician. She was elected to the Tasmanian House of Assembly for the Liberal Party in the Division of Bass at the 2014 state election. As a Senior ...

's resignation, winning a recount of votes. On 12 May 2023, ''

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'' reported that Alexander, alongside fellow Liberal John Tucker, would leave the Liberal Party to sit as an independent, in part due to concerns related to the proposed Macquarie Point Stadium project. This leaves the Liberal party in minority government and requiring 7 seats to reach a majority in the next state election.

References

1967 births Living people Members of the Tasmanian House of Assembly Liberal Party of Australia members of the Parliament of Tasmania 21st-century Australian politicians Women members of the Tasmanian House of Assembly 21st-century Australian women politicians Independent members of the Parliament of Tasmania Romanian emigrants to Australia {{Australia-Liberal-politician-stub