Patrice Lesley Newell (born 2 September 1956) is an Australian former model, television presenter turned author, and biodynamic farmer.

Career

In 1986 Newell gave up a high-profile career with the

Special Broadcasting Service The Special Broadcasting Service (SBS) is an Australian hybrid-funded public service broadcaster. About 80 percent of funding for the company is derived from the Australian Government. SBS operates six TV channels ( SBS, SBS Viceland, SBS World ...

(SBS) and the Nine Network where she co-hosted ''

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'', to live on the land and run a 4,000 hectare (40 km²) property, known as Elmswood, in the

Hunter Valley The Hunter Region, also commonly known as the Hunter Valley, is a region of New South Wales, Australia, extending from approximately to north of Sydney. It contains the Hunter River and its tributaries with highland areas to the north and ...

New South Wales ) , nickname = , image_map = New South Wales in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of New South Wales in AustraliaCoordinates: , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = Australia , established_title = Before federation , es ...

. She is an advocate for

sustainable agriculture Sustainable agriculture is farming in sustainable ways meeting society's present food and textile needs, without compromising the ability for current or future generations to meet their needs. It can be based on an understanding of ecosystem ser ...

which she talks about in her books ''The Olive Grove'', ''The River'', ''Ten Thousand Acres – A Love Story'', ''Tree to Table: Cooking with Australian Olive Oil'' and ''Who’s Minding the Farm? In this Climate Emergency'', released via

Penguin Random House Penguin Random House LLC is an Anglo-American multinational conglomerate publishing company formed on July 1, 2013, from the merger of Penguin Group and Random House. On April 2, 2020, Bertelsmann announced the completion of its purchase ...

in June 2019. She is a founding member and president of the Hunter Olive Association. Newell was the subject of ''A Place in the Country'', the 4 October 2001 edition of the ABC-Television biography program, ''

Australian Story ''Australian Story'' is a national weekly current affairs and documentary style television series which is broadcast on ABC Television. It is produced specifically by the ABC News and Current Affairs Department. The program first aired on 29 ...

''. In December 2006, she announced that she would be running for a seat on the New South Wales Legislative Council in the

2007 New South Wales state election Elections for the 54th Parliament of New South Wales were held on Saturday, 24 March 2007. The entire Legislative Assembly and half of the Legislative Council was up for election. The Labor Party led by Morris Iemma won a fourth four-year te ...

as an independent candidate, endorsed by the Climate Change Coalition. Her policy platform was to put pressure on the Government to acknowledge that climate change is "the greatest crisis in human history" and that it should be recognised and taken into account in all Government policy. Although she did not win a seat, Newell was the lead candidate on the New South Wales Senate group ticket for the Climate Change Coalition in the 2007 Australian federal election. In 2015 Newell earned a doctorate at the University of Newcastle in Environmental Science: A strategic assessment of the potential for a new pyrolysis industry in the Hunter Valley. Newell is a regular speaker and advocate for climate change within the agriculture sector. As of 2021, she is an Adjunct Associate Lecturer at University of Newcastle. In the 2021 Queen's Birthday Honours Newell was appointed a

Member of the Order of Australia The Order of Australia is an Order (distinction), honour that recognises Australian citizens and other persons for outstanding achievement and service. It was established on 14 February 1975 by Elizabeth II, Monarchy of Australia, Queen of Aus ...

for "significant service to the environment, and to sustainable farming practices".

Personal life

Newell is married to

Phillip Adams Phillip Adams, Philip Adams, or Phil Adams may refer to: Sports * Phillip Adams (American football) (1988–2021), American football cornerback * Phillip Adams (sport shooter) (born 1945), Australian pistol shooter * Phil Adams (cricketer) (born 1 ...

and they have one daughter.

Bibliography

*''A Place in the Country'' *''The Olive Grove'', (2000; written in the form of diary entries) *''A Place on Earth'' *''The River'' *''Ten Thousand Acres – A Love Story'' *''Who's Minding the Farm? In This Climate Emergency'' (2019) With her partner Phillip Adams, she is the compiler of several books of jokes: *''The Penguin Book of Australian Jokes'' (1994) *''The Penguin Book of Jokes from Cyberspace'' (1995) *''The Penguin Book of More Australian Jokes'' (1996) *''The Penguin Book of Schoolyard Jokes'' (1997)

References

External links

*
A Place in the Country
''

'', 4 October 2001
Stories from Elmswood Farm
– Interview with Sarah Kanowski on ABC Radio's ''

Conversations Conversation is interactive communication between two or more people. The development of conversational skills and etiquette is an important part of socialization. The development of conversational skills in a new language is a frequent focus ...

'' {{DEFAULTSORT:Newell, Patrice Living people People from New South Wales People from Adelaide 1956 births