Teresa Gambaro (; born 29 November 1958) is a former Australian politician. She served as a member of 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 2007 and 2010 to 2016, representing 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 was a parliamentary secretary in the Howard government from 2004 to 2007.

Early life

Gambaro was born in

Brisbane Brisbane ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the Australian state of Queensland, and the third-most populous city in Australia and Oceania, with a population of approximately 2.6 million. Brisbane lies at the centre of the South ...

, Queensland. The daughter of an Italian immigrant, she was educated at Holy Spirit School in

New Farm New Farm is an inner northern riverside suburb in the City of Brisbane, Queensland, Australia. In the , New Farm had a population of 12,542 people. Geography The suburb is located 2 kilometres east of the Brisbane CBD on a large bend of the ...

, the

All Hallows' School , motto_translation = God and Duty , city = Brisbane , state = Queensland , postcode = 4000 , country = Australia , coordinates = , type ...

, and later at the

Queensland University of Technology Queensland University of Technology (QUT) is a public research university located in the urban coastal city of Brisbane, Queensland, Australia. QUT is located on two campuses in the Brisbane area viz. Gardens Point and Kelvin Grove. The univ ...

. She was a sales manager, account manager, marketing manager, marketing consultant and tutor in marketing at the

before entering politics.

Parliament

Gambaro was first elected to parliament as a

Liberal Liberal or liberalism may refer to: Politics * a supporter of liberalism ** Liberalism by country * an adherent of a Liberal Party * Liberalism (international relations) * Sexually liberal feminism * Social liberalism Arts, entertainment and m ...

at the 1996 federal election, in the

division of Petrie The Division of Petrie is an Australian Electoral Division in Queensland. History The division was created in 1949 and named after Andrew Petrie (1798–1872), a noted civil engineer, pioneer, and explorer, and the first free settler in Bris ...

. She was appointed Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister for Defence in July 2004, and Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade in January 2006. In 2007 she was appointed Assistant Minister for Immigration and Citizenship. Gambaro lost her seat to

Yvette D'Ath Yvette Maree D'Ath (born 26 July 1970) is an Australian politician. She is a Labor member of the Legislative Assembly of Queensland representing the seat of Redcliffe. D'Ath is currently the Minister for Health and Ambulance Services and Leader ...

of the Labor Party at the

2007 federal election This electoral calendar 2007 lists the national/federal direct elections held in 2007 in the de jure and de facto sovereign states and their dependent territories. Referendums are included, although they are not elections. By-elections are not ...

. She re-entered Federal Parliament as the member for

at the 2010 federal election, becoming the first woman to represent Brisbane since its creation in 1901. Gambaro ran under the banner of the Liberal National Party, formed in 2008 after the merger of the Queensland divisions of the Liberal and

National National may refer to: Common uses * Nation or country ** Nationality – a ''national'' is a person who is subject to a nation, regardless of whether the person has full rights as a citizen Places in the United States * National, Maryland, c ...

parties. She sat with the Liberals. In September 2010 she was appointed Shadow Parliamentary Secretary for International Development Assistance and Shadow Parliamentary Secretary for Citizenship and Settlement by Opposition leader, Tony Abbott. Gambaro retained her seat of

following the

2013 Australian federal election The 2013 Australian federal election to elect the members of the 44th Parliament of Australia took place on 7 September 2013. The centre-right Liberal/National Coalition opposition led by Opposition leader Tony Abbott of the Liberal Party of A ...

, increasing her majority to 4.5%. On 9 March 2016, she announced her retirement, stating that she would not contest Brisbane at the 2016 federal election.

Political positions

Gambaro made news in January 2012 by suggesting that immigrants are not integrating into Australian culture well enough. She stated she believes that telling them to "wear deodorant" and learning to "wait in a queue" is "teaching what are norms in Australia". After a storm of outcry on social media and in Australian newspapers, she apologised. In August 2013 Gambaro announced her support for same-sex marriage, despite party policy being against it, and said she had pressed Abbott for a conscience vote on the issue.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Gambaro, Teresa 1958 births Living people Liberal Party of Australia members of the Parliament of Australia Liberal National Party of Queensland members of the Parliament of Australia Members of the Australian House of Representatives for Brisbane Members of the Australian House of Representatives for Petrie Politicians from Brisbane Australian politicians of Italian descent Women members of the Australian House of Representatives Queensland University of Technology alumni 21st-century Australian politicians 21st-century Australian women politicians 20th-century Australian politicians People educated at All Hallows' School 20th-century Australian women politicians