Henrike "Ricky" Johnston (; born 29 September 1943) is a former Australian politician. A member of 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 ...

, she represented the

Western Australia Western Australia (commonly abbreviated as WA) is a state of Australia occupying the western percent of the land area of Australia excluding external territories. It is bounded by the Indian Ocean to the north and west, the Southern Ocean to th ...

n seat of

Canning Canning is a method of food preservation in which food is processed and sealed in an airtight container (jars like Mason jars, and steel and tin cans). Canning provides a shelf life that typically ranges from one to five years, although u ...

in the

House of Representatives House of Representatives is the name of legislative bodies in many countries and sub-national entitles. In many countries, the House of Representatives is the lower house of a bicameral legislature, with the corresponding upper house often c ...

from 1996 to 1998.

Early life

Johnston was born on 29 September 1943 in

Meissen Meissen (in German orthography: ''Meißen'', ) is a town of approximately 30,000 about northwest of Dresden on both banks of the Elbe river in the Free State of Saxony, in eastern Germany. Meissen is the home of Meissen porcelain, the Albrecht ...

, Germany (

East Germany East Germany, officially the German Democratic Republic (GDR; german: Deutsche Demokratische Republik, , DDR, ), was a country that existed from its creation on 7 October 1949 until its dissolution on 3 October 1990. In these years the state ...

after 1949). She is the daughter of Maya and Henry Heppekausen. She and her family immigrated to Australia in 1954. Johnston completed a diploma of nursing at

Fremantle Hospital Fremantle Hospital is an Australian public hospital situated on South Terrace in central Fremantle, southwest of Perth, Western Australia. It was formerly the major hospital in its region; however, with the opening of Fiona Stanley Hospi ...

and was the director of a nursing employment agency from 1975 to 1981. She later worked as marketing manager for a food processing company (1987–1989), divisional manager with the

Australian Bureau of Statistics The Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) is the independent statutory agency of the Australian Government responsible for statistical collection and analysis and for giving evidence-based advice to federal, state and territory governments ...

for the 1991 census, and human resources manager at an aged care company (1994–1996).

Politics

Johnston was introduced to the Liberal Party by her father-in-law Fred Johnston, a former state president. She served several terms on the party's state council and was also a member of its policy committee. She served on the Canning City Council from 1983 to 1986. Johnston was an unsuccessful candidate in the

Division of Canning The Division of Canning is an Australian Electoral Division in Western Australia. History The division was created in 1949 and is named for Alfred Canning, the Western Australian government surveyor who surveyed the Canning Stock Route. It ...

at the

1984 Events January * January 1 – The Bornean Sultanate of Brunei gains full independence from the United Kingdom, having become a British protectorate in 1888. * January 7 – Brunei becomes the sixth member of the Association of Southeast A ...

1987 File:1987 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: The MS Herald of Free Enterprise capsizes after leaving the Port of Zeebrugge in Belgium, killing 193; Northwest Airlines Flight 255 crashes after takeoff from Detroit Metropolitan Airport, k ...

1990 File:1990 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The 1990 FIFA World Cup is played in Italy; The Human Genome Project is launched; Voyager I takes the famous Pale Blue Dot image- speaking on the fragility of Humankind, humanity on Earth, Astroph ...

and 1993 federal elections. She also contested Liberal

preselection Preselection is the process by which a candidate is selected, usually by a political party, to contest an election for political office. It is also referred to as candidate selection. It is a fundamental function of political parties. The presele ...

for the

Division of Pearce The Division of Pearce is an Australian electoral division in the state of Western Australia. It was created at the 1989 redistribution and named after George Pearce, the longest serving member of the Australian Senate, serving from 1901 to 19 ...

prior to the 1990 election, losing to incumbent senator

Fred Chaney Frederick Michael Chaney, AO (born 28 October 1941) is a former Australian politician who was deputy leader of the Liberal Party from 1989 to 1990 and served as a minister in the Fraser Government. He was a Senator for Western Australia from ...

. Johnston was finally elected to the House of Representatives at the 1996 election, as part of a landslide victory for the

Coalition A coalition is a group formed when two or more people or groups temporarily work together to achieve a common goal. The term is most frequently used to denote a formation of power in political or economical spaces. Formation According to ''A Gui ...

. She was defeated in 1998 after a single term.

Later life

Johnston was appointed to the

Migration Review Tribunal The Migration Review Tribunal was an Australian administrative law tribunal established in 1989. Along with the Refugee Review Tribunal, the Migration Review Tribunal was amalgamated to a division of the Administrative Appeals Tribunal on 1 Jul ...

in 1999 and the

Refugee Review Tribunal The Refugee Review Tribunal was an Australian administrative law tribunal established in 1993. Along with the Migration Review Tribunal, the Refugee Review Tribunal was amalgamated to a division of the Administrative Appeals Tribunal on 1 July 201 ...

in 2004, with her term expiring in 2010. She was a part-time member based in

Brisbane Brisbane ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the states and territories of Australia, Australian state of Queensland, and the list of cities in Australia by population, third-most populous city in Australia and Oceania, with a populati ...

Personal life

Johnston had two sons with her husband Ian.

References

1943 births Living people Liberal Party of Australia members of the Parliament of Australia Women members of the Australian House of Representatives Members of the Australian House of Representatives for Canning German emigrants to Australia 20th-century Australian politicians 20th-century Australian women politicians Australian nurses {{Australia-Liberal-politician-stub