Zoe Daniel is an Australian journalist, politician, columnist and broadcaster. She is the independent member of parliament for the Division of Goldstein following the

2022 Australian federal election The 2022 Australian federal election was held on Saturday 21 May 2022 to elect members of the 47th Parliament of Australia. The incumbent Liberal/National Coalition government, led by Prime Minister Scott Morrison, sought to win a fourth conse ...

, having defeated the incumbent Liberal Party member Tim Wilson.

Early life

Her father is the former

Essendon Essendon may refer to: Australia *Electoral district of Essendon *Electoral district of Essendon and Flemington *Essendon, Victoria **Essendon railway station **Essendon Airport *Essendon Football Club in the Australian Football League United King ...

footballer Peter Daniel. She moved to

Launceston, Tasmania Launceston () or () is a city in the north of Tasmania, Australia, at the confluence of the North Esk and South Esk rivers where they become the Tamar River (kanamaluka). As of 2021, Launceston has a population of 87,645. Material was copied ...

, when she was two years old, when her father was working there as a football coach.

Journalism career

Australian Broadcasting Corporation

In 2004, Daniel reported on the

Summer Olympics The Summer Olympic Games (french: link=no, Jeux olympiques d'été), also known as the Games of the Olympiad, and often referred to as the Summer Olympics, is a major international multi-sport event normally held once every four years. The inau ...

. While working in Africa she reported on the regime of Robert Mugabe in Zimbabwe, Sierra Leone civil war, the

Darfur genocide The Darfur genocide is the systematic killing of ethnic Darfuri people which has occurred during the ongoing conflict in Western Sudan. It has become known as the first genocide of the 21st century. The genocide, which is being carried out agai ...

and South Sudan. In 2009, she moved to

Phnom Penh Phnom Penh (; km, ភ្នំពេញ, ) is the capital and most populous city of Cambodia. It has been the national capital since the French protectorate of Cambodia and has grown to become the nation's primate city and its economic, indus ...

where she reported on the

Khmer Rouge tribunal The Extraordinary Chambers in the Courts of Cambodia (ECCC; french: Chambres extraordinaires au sein des tribunaux cambodgiens (CETC); km, អង្គជំនុំជម្រះវិសាមញ្ញក្នុងតុលាការ� ...

. From 2010 until 2013, Daniel took up a posting in Bangkok as the ABC's Southeast Asian correspondent. At the time, Daniel's posting while a mother of young children was unprecedented for ABC correspondents. During her time there she reported on the

2010 Thai political protests The 2010 Thai political protests were a series of political protests that were organised by the United Front for Democracy Against Dictatorship (UDD) (also known as " Red Shirts") in Bangkok, Thailand from 12 March–19 May 2010 against the D ...

and interviewed Aung San Suu Kyi. After 27 years with ABC News, Daniel decided to finish her career with the organisation, leaving in July 2020.

''The New Daily''

Daniel was writing a column for '' The New Daily''.

Politics

Daniel was endorsed by

Voices of Goldstein Voices of Goldstein is a community group that is part of the wider Voices movement in Australia. History The Voices movement began in Indi in an effort to have local voices heard by their local member of parliament. When they felt they were ...

as an independent candidate to run in the 2022 federal election in the seat of Goldstein. Her candidacy was endorsed by former member for

Indi Indi may refer to: *Mag-indi language *Division of Indi, an electoral division in the Australian House of Representatives *Indi, Karnataka, a town in the state of Karnataka, India *Instrument Neutral Distributed Interface, a distributed control sys ...

, Cathy McGowan, former leader of the Liberal Party, John Hewson, and minister in the Fraser government and former Liberal member for Goldstein, Ian Macphee. Daniel is a self-described swinging voter, as a consequence of her father's "negative experience of party politics". She describes herself as a "social progressive, economic conservative". She cast her vote for the Liberals at the

2016 Australian federal election The 2016 Australian federal election was a double dissolution election held on Saturday 2 July to elect all 226 members of the 45th Parliament of Australia, 45th Parliament of Australia, after an extended eight-week official campaign period. It ...

on the basis of what she perceived to be Malcolm Turnbull's commitment to addressing the climate crisis. During the campaign, she stated that she had campaigned for "faster and stronger action on climate change, restoration of integrity and trust in politics and real equality and safety for women." Daniel is part of a network of female community independents that campaigned in safe Liberal seats. Daniel was successful at the election, defeating the incumbent, Tim Wilson.

Personal life

Daniel is married to husband Rowan and has two children. She lives in Hampton. Daniel is a supporter and member of the

Essendon Football Club The Essendon Football Club, nicknamed the Bombers, is a professional Australian rules football club. The club plays in the Australian Football League (AFL), the game's premier competition. The club was formed by the McCracken family in their A ...

.https://openpolitics.au/member/zoe-daniel#memberships

Bibliography

* ''Storyteller: A Foreign Correspondent's Memoir'', ABC Books, 2014, ISBN 978-0733332319 * ''Angel: Through My Eyes – Natural Disaster Zones'', Allen & Unwin, 2018, ISBN 978-1760113773 * ''Greetings from Trumpland: How an unprecedented presidency changed everything'', Harper Collins, 2021, ISBN 978-0733341519

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Daniel, Zoe 1970s births Living people Australian columnists Australian women columnists Australian political journalists Australian television talk show hosts Online journalists Journalists from Melbourne ABC News (Australia) presenters Australian women journalists Independent members of the Parliament of Australia Members of the Australian House of Representatives for Goldstein Women members of the Australian House of Representatives Politicians from Launceston, Tasmania Politicians from Melbourne