Natasha Marianne Maclaren-Jones (born 11 March 1976) is an Australian politician, and is a

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 ...

member of the New South Wales Legislative Council since March 2011. Maclaren-Jones has served as the

Minister for Families and Communities The New South Wales Minister for Families and Communities is a minister of the Government of New South Wales with responsibility for social policy and welfare, including matters relating to ageing, disability, multiculturalism, and veterans' a ...

and the

Minister for Disability Services Minister for Disability Services is a position in the government of Western Australia, currently held by Stephen Dawson of the Labor Party. The position was first created in 1991, for the government of Carmen Lawrence, and has existed in every g ...

since December 2021.

Career

Before Parliament, Maclaren-Jones was a senior advisor to

Helen Coonan Helen Lloyd Coonan (born 29 October 1947) is a former Australian politician who was a Senator for New South Wales from 1996 to 2011, representing the Liberal Party. She was a minister in the Howard Government, serving as Minister for Revenue ...

and Bronwyn Bishop and was the state Liberal Party President that presided over the largest Coalition win in NSW political history in the 2011 state election. Maclaren-Jones was nominated as the Liberal candidate for the President of the New South Wales Legislative Council in March 2021 after the resignation of John Ajaka. The

Labor Labour or labor may refer to: * Childbirth, the delivery of a baby * Labour (human activity), or work ** Manual labour, physical work ** Wage labour, a socioeconomic relationship between a worker and an employer ** Organized labour and the la ...

Opposition nominated

Peter Primrose Peter Thomas Primrose (born 26 September 1955) is an Australian politician. He has been a Labor Party member of the New South Wales Legislative Council since 1996. He has served in various portfolios including Shadow Minister for Local Governm ...

. Maclaren-Jones received 20 votes and Primrose 14, with eight informal votes. The clerk ruled that a majority of the 42 available votes was required for election, although the Liberal Party presented advice from the Crown Solicitor that a plurality of the votes was sufficient and congratulated Maclaren-Jones on her election. As the dispute over the presidency continued, Maclaren-Jones assumed the chair without being declared elected by the clerk on the night of 4 May 2021, before losing a vote of no confidence less than 90 minutes later. On the subsequent ballot to elect a new president, fellow Liberal Matthew Mason-Cox nominated for the role and won the election with 23 votes to Maclaren-Jones's 18 with the support of the opposition and the

crossbench A crossbencher is an independent or minor party member of some legislatures, such as the British House of Lords and the Parliament of Australia. They take their name from the crossbenches, between and perpendicular to the government and oppositi ...

. On 27 May 2021, Maclaren-Jones was appointed as Cabinet Secretary. In December 2021, she was appointed to the cabinet as Minister for Families and Communities and as Minister for Disability Services in the

Perrottet ministry The Second Perrottet ministry or Second Perrottet–Toole ministry is the 99th ministry of the Government of New South Wales, and is led by Dominic Perrottet, the state's 46th Premier. The Liberal– National coalition ministry was formed on ...

. In December 2022, it was announced that Maclaren-Jones would resign mid-term and recontest the Legislative Council for a new 8-year term at the 2023 state election. On 6 March 2023, she resigned from the Legislative Council.

References

1976 births Living people Liberal Party of Australia members of the Parliament of New South Wales Members of the New South Wales Legislative Council University of Sydney alumni University of Technology Sydney alumni Australian monarchists 21st-century Australian politicians Women members of the New South Wales Legislative Council 21st-century Australian women politicians {{Australia-Liberal-politician-stub