Sharman Nancy Stone (née Bawden; born 23 April 1951) is a former Australian politician who represented

Murray Murray may refer to: Businesses * Murray (bicycle company), an American manufacturer of low-cost bicycles * Murrays, an Australian bus company * Murray International Trust, a Scottish investment trust * D. & W. Murray Limited, an Australian who ...

in 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 of the ...

between March 1996 and July 2016 as 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 currently serves as the Australian Ambassador for Women and Girls after

Natasha Stott Despoja Natasha Jessica Stott Despoja AO (born 9 September 1969) is an Australian politician, diplomat, advocate and author. She is the founding Chair of the Board of Our Watch, the national foundation to prevent violence against women and their childr ...

stepped down from the role in late 2016.

Background

Stone was born in Pyramid Hill,

Victoria Victoria most commonly refers to: * Victoria (Australia), a state of the Commonwealth of Australia * Victoria, British Columbia, provincial capital of British Columbia, Canada * Victoria (mythology), Roman goddess of Victory * Victoria, Seychelle ...

, the daughter of Harvey Bawden and Nancy Chalmers. She graduated from

Monash University Monash University () is a public research university based in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. Named for prominent World War I general Sir John Monash, it was founded in 1958 and is the second oldest university in the state. The university has a ...

with a Bachelor of Arts (Hons), from

La Trobe University La Trobe University is a public research university based in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. Its main campus is located in the suburb of Bundoora. The university was established in 1964, becoming the third university in the state of Victoria an ...

with a Master of Arts, from Hawthorn College of Advanced Education with a Graduate Diploma of Education, and was awarded a PhD by Monash. She was Manager of International Development at the

University of Melbourne The University of Melbourne is a public research university located in Melbourne, Australia. Founded in 1853, it is Australia's second oldest university and the oldest in Victoria. Its main campus is located in Parkville, an inner suburb nor ...

, Director of Communications at the

Victorian Farmers Federation The Victorian Farmers Federation (VFF) is an Australian non-profit membership based advocacy and lobby group that represents farmers in Victoria. The organisation represents its members in lobbying state and federal government on policy matters th ...

, and a farmer before entering politics.

Political career

Elected to federal parliament at the 1996 federal election, Stone was appointed Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister for the Environment and Heritage in October 1998. Following the re-election of the Howard Government in October 2004, she became Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister for Finance and Administration. On 27 January 2006 she was appointed Minister for Workforce Participation, succeeding

Peter Dutton Peter Craig Dutton (born 18 November 1970) is an Australian politician who has been leader of the opposition and leader of the Liberal Party since May 2022. He has represented the Queensland seat of Dickson in the House of Representatives sinc ...

. After the defeat of the Howard Government in November 2007, Stone took up the role of Shadow Minister for Environment, Heritage, the Arts and Indigenous Affairs. Following

Malcolm Turnbull Malcolm Bligh Turnbull (born 24 October 1954) is an Australian former politician and businessman who served as the 29th prime minister of Australia from 2015 to 2018. He held office as leader of the Liberal Party of Australia. Turnbull grad ...

's defeat of Brendan Nelson for the leadership of the Liberal Party, and the retirement of Senator Chris Ellison, Stone became Shadow Minister for Immigration and Citizenship in the subsequent reshuffle. Stone announced her retirement from politics on 26 March 2016, which took effect from the

double dissolution A double dissolution is a procedure permitted under the Australian Constitution to resolve deadlocks in the bicameral Parliament of Australia between the House of Representatives (lower house) and the Senate (upper house). A double dissolution ...

of the Australian Parliament on 9 May, in advance of the 2016 federal election on 2 July.

Author

Stone is an author of numerous publications on race relations, environment and geology (with

Doug Stone Doug Stone (born Douglas Jackson Brooks; June 19, 1956) is an American country music singer and actor. He debuted in 1990 with the single "I'd Be Better Off (In a Pine Box)", the first release from his 1990 self-titled debut album for Epic Recor ...

) among others, including '' Aborigines in White Australia'' (London and Melbourne, 1974).

References

External links

La Trobe University Alumni Graduate Profiles
''

Agora The agora (; grc, ἀγορά, romanized: ', meaning "market" in Modern Greek) was a central public space in ancient Greek city-states. It is the best representation of a city-state's response to accommodate the social and political order of t ...

'' – The Magazine for

Graduates
Ministerial Website"The Hon Dr Sharman Stone MP"

Australian Parliament House Parliament House, also referred to as Capital Hill or simply Parliament, is the meeting place of the Parliament of Australia, and the seat of the legislative branch of the Australian Government. Located in Canberra, the Parliament building is ...

Personal website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Stone, Sharman 1951 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 Murray Australian non-fiction writers Monash University alumni La Trobe University alumni Women members of the Australian House of Representatives Women government ministers of Australia 21st-century Australian politicians 21st-century Australian women politicians 20th-century Australian politicians Australian diplomats Australian women diplomats 20th-century Australian women politicians