Rachel Mary Siewert (born 4 November 1961) is an Australian politician. She was a

senator A senate is a deliberative assembly, often the upper house or chamber of a bicameral legislature. The name comes from the ancient Roman Senate (Latin: ''Senatus''), so-called as an assembly of the senior (Latin: ''senex'' meaning "the el ...

for

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 t ...

from 2005 to 2021, representing the

Australian Greens The Australian Greens, commonly known as The Greens, are a confederation of Green state and territory political parties in Australia. As of the 2022 federal election, the Greens are the third largest political party in Australia by vote and t ...

, and served as the party's co-deputy leader from 2017 to 2018. She previously worked as coordinator of the

Conservation Council of Western Australia The Conservation Council of Western Australia is the umbrella body for conservation groups and organisations in Western Australia. It has been the co-ordinator, publisher and guiding body for issues of woodchipping in the South West of Western Aus ...

Early life

Siewert was born in

Sydney Sydney ( ) is the capital city of the state of New South Wales, and the most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Sydney Harbour and extends about towards the Blue Mounta ...

on 4 November 1961. Her family moved to

Perth Perth is the capital and largest city of the Australian state of Western Australia. It is the fourth most populous city in Australia and Oceania, with a population of 2.1 million (80% of the state) living in Greater Perth in 2020. Perth is ...

when she was 13. She completed a

Bachelor of Science A Bachelor of Science (BS, BSc, SB, or ScB; from the Latin ') is a bachelor's degree awarded for programs that generally last three to five years. The first university to admit a student to the degree of Bachelor of Science was the University o ...

in agriculture at the

University of Western Australia The University of Western Australia (UWA) is a public research university in the Australian state of Western Australia. The university's main campus is in Perth, the state capital, with a secondary campus in Albany and various other facilitie ...

. At university she became involved in the

anti-nuclear movement The anti-nuclear movement is a social movement that opposes various nuclear technologies. Some direct action groups, environmental movements, and professional organisations have identified themselves with the movement at the local, natio ...

. She subsequently worked as a research officer with the state

Department of Agriculture An agriculture ministry (also called an) agriculture department, agriculture board, agriculture council, or agriculture agency, or ministry of rural development) is a ministry charged with agriculture. The ministry is often headed by a minister ...

from 1984 to 1987, studying salinity and soil conservation in Jerramungup. Siewert was the coordinator of the

from 1987 to 2004, initially as the organisation's only paid staff member. In 2003 she was awarded the Bessie Rischbieth Conservation Award. Siewert was co-convener of The Greens (WA) from 2002 to 2004.

Political career

Siewert was first elected to the

Senate A senate is a deliberative assembly, often the upper house or chamber of a bicameral legislature. The name comes from the ancient Roman Senate (Latin: ''Senatus''), so-called as an assembly of the senior (Latin: ''senex'' meaning "the el ...

at the 2004 federal election, to a term beginning on 1 July 2005. She was re-elected to a second term at the 2010 election. She was placed second on her party's Senate ticket in Western Australia at the 2016 election, which followed a

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 dissoluti ...

, and was originally elected to a three-year term. However, following

Scott Ludlam Scott Ludlam (born 10 January 1970) is a New Zealand-born Australian former politician. A member of the Australian Greens, he was a senator in the Australian Senate from July 2008 to July 2017 and served as deputy leader of the Greens. Ludlam re ...

's disqualification during the parliamentary eligibility crisis she was declared elected to his six-year term expiring in 2022. Siewert is the Australian Greens Whip, chairs the Senate Community Affairs References Committee and is a member of the Expert Panel on Constitutional Recognition of Indigenous Australians. She served as co-deputy leader of the parliamentary Greens from November 2017 to December 2018, alongside

Adam Bandt Adam Paul Bandt (born 11 March 1972) is an Australian politician and former industrial lawyer who is the leader of the Australian Greens and federal MP for Melbourne. Previously, he served as co-deputy leader of the Greens from 2012 to 2015 an ...

. As of 2020, Siewert acts as the Greens' spokeswoman for the portfolios of health; mental health; family, ageing and community services; and gambling. Siewart has served on the "Inquiry into the destruction of 46,000 year old caves at the

Juukan Gorge Juukan Gorge is a gorge in the Hamersley Range in the Pilbara region of Western Australia, about from Mt Tom Price. It was named by the daughter of Puutu Kunti Kurrama man Juukan, also known as Tommy Ashburton, who was born at Jukarinya (Mt B ...

in the Pilbara region of Western Australia", which delivered its interim report in December 2020.PDF
/ref> In July 2020, Siewert announced that she would not recontest her seat at the 2022 federal election. In August 2021, she announced she would resign from the Senate in September 2021, creating a casual vacancy. In September 2021, Siewart formally resigned from the Senate. A joint sitting of the Parliament of Western Australia appointed

Dorinda Cox Dorinda Rose Cox (born c. 1976) is an Australian politician and a Yamatji-Noongar woman. She is the first Indigenous woman to represent Western Australia in the Senate. In 2020 she won preselection as the Australian Greens' lead Senate candidat ...

to fill the vacancy on 14 September 2021.

Personal life

Siewert is divorced and has one son.

References

External links

* *
Summary of parliamentary voting for Senator Rachel Siewert on TheyVoteForYou.org.au
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Siewert, Rachel 1961 births Living people Australian Greens members of the Parliament of Australia Members of the Australian Senate for Western Australia Women members of the Australian Senate Members of the Australian Senate University of Western Australia alumni 21st-century Australian politicians 21st-century Australian women politicians