Reba Paige Meagher (born 11 September 1967) is a former

Australian Australian(s) may refer to: Australia * Australia, a country * Australians, citizens of the Commonwealth of Australia ** European Australians ** Anglo-Celtic Australians, Australians descended principally from British colonists ** Aboriginal A ...

politician A politician is a person active in party politics, or a person holding or seeking an elected office in government. Politicians propose, support, reject and create laws that govern the land and by an extension of its people. Broadly speaking ...

who was a member of the

New South Wales ) , nickname = , image_map = New South Wales in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of New South Wales in AustraliaCoordinates: , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = Australia , established_title = Before federation , es ...

Legislative Assembly, representing the electoral district of Cabramatta. She was a minister in various portfolios from 2003 to 2008, including

Minister for Health A health minister is the member of a country's government typically responsible for protecting and promoting public health and providing welfare and other social security services. Some governments have separate ministers for mental health. Coun ...

. On 6 September 2008 Meagher announced that she would not be seeking a ministerial appointment from new Premier

Nathan Rees Nathan Rees () (born 12 February 1968) is a former Australian politician who served as the 41st Premier of New South Wales and parliamentary leader of the New South Wales division of the Labor Party from September 2008 to December 2009. Rees wa ...

. On 13 September 2008 she announced her retirement from politics. She formally resigned on 17 September 2008.

Early life

Meagher was born in 1967 in

Caringbah, New South Wales Caringbah is a suburb in Southern Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia. Caringbah is south of the Sydney central business district in the local government area of Sutherland Shire. Caringbah once stretched from Woolooware Bay on ...

, the daughter of Les Meagher, a printer for the '' Sydney Morning Herald''. She received her Higher School Certificate from Endeavour High School in 1985. She graduated with a

Bachelor of Arts Bachelor of arts (BA or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts degree course is generally completed in three or four year ...

from the

University of Sydney The University of Sydney (USYD), also known as Sydney University, or informally Sydney Uni, is a public research university located in Sydney, Australia. Founded in 1850, it is the oldest university in Australia and is one of the country's ...

in 1989, and a Master of Labour Law and Relations in 1992.

Political career

Meagher declared on 7 November 2008 at an inquiry that, just over an hour after the Cabramatta MP John Newman had been shot in front of his fiancee on 5 September 1994, the then Labor Party head John Della Bosca, offered the seat to Reba Meagher, confirming an offer he had first made hours before the killing. Since entering Parliament, Meagher served in a number of ministerial and sub-ministerial positions: *Parliamentary Secretary Assisting the Minister for Transport and Minister for Roads on matters concerning Roads (April 1999 to March 2002) *Parliamentary Secretary Assisting the Minister for Police (March 2003 to April 2003) *Minister for Fair Trading (April 2003 to January 2005) *Minister Assisting the Minister for Commerce (April 2003 to January 2005) *Minister for Youth (January 2005 to April 2007) *Minister for Community Services (January 2005 to April 2007) *Minister for Aboriginal Affairs (November 2006 to April 2007) *Minister Assisting the Premier on Citizenship (November 2006 to April 2007) *Minister for Health (April 2007 to September 2008) She also served on a number of Parliamentary Committees: *Member, Committee on the Office of the Ombudsman and the Police Integrity Commission (May 1995 to April 1998) *Member, Legislative Assembly Standing Ethics Committee (May 1995 to March 1999) *Member, Committee on the Independent Commission Against Corruption (May 1995 to March 1999) *Member, Joint Standing Committee upon Small Business (November 1996 to March 1999) *Member, Joint Select Committee into Injecting Rooms (June 1997 to February 1998)

Personal life

Meagher lives in the eastern Sydney suburb of Coogee.

References

External links

Speeches in Hansard by Reba Meagher
{{DEFAULTSORT:Meagher, Reba 1967 births Living people Members of the New South Wales Legislative Assembly Australian Labor Party members of the Parliament of New South Wales Labor Right politicians 21st-century Australian politicians Women members of the New South Wales Legislative Assembly 21st-century Australian women politicians