Tamara Louise Lobato (born 27 June 1971) is an Australian politician for the Labor Party in the state of

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 ...

. She was a member of the

Victorian Legislative Assembly The Victorian Legislative Assembly is the lower house of the bicameral Parliament of Victoria in Australia; the upper house being the Victorian Legislative Council. Both houses sit at Parliament House in Spring Street, Melbourne. The presidin ...

, representing the electoral district of Gembrook. Lobato grew up in Tecoma, Victoria, and attended Tecoma Primary School, followed by Upwey High School. She studied for her diploma of Community Development at the

Chisholm Institute Chisholm Institute is a government-owned Technical and Further Education (TAFE) Institute located in the south-east Melbourne Australia. It provides adult education in a number of areas including the arts, hospitality, information technology, tra ...

Melbourne Melbourne ( ; Boonwurrung/Woiwurrung: ''Narrm'' or ''Naarm'') is the capital and most populous city of the Australian state of Victoria, and the second-most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Its name generally refers to a met ...

, and attained 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 ...

(Community Development) at Victoria University. Before entering politics, Lobato worked as a bookkeeper, an office administrator, and in the retail trade. She has two children, and lives in the Melbourne suburb of Berwick. Lobato was elected as the member for Gembrook at the

2002 Victorian state election The 2002 Victorian state election, held on Saturday, 30 November 2002, was for the 55th Parliament of Victoria. It was held to elect the 88 members of Victorian Legislative Assembly and 22 members of the 44-member Legislative Council. The La ...

. She was re-elected in 2006, winning by just 499 votes, but lost her seat in 2010. Lobato voted against abortion law reform in 2008. She was not targeted by right to life organisations, and her support for anti-abortion positions in parliament was unlikely to have been a factor in her defeat. Lobato was a vocal campaigner against the introduction of genetically modified crops. She questioned whether the Victorian Chief Scientist, Sir Gustav Nossal, was independent enough to advise the Government of Victoria on the subject, and has been critical of Victorian Premier

John Brumby John Mansfield Brumby (born 21 April 1953) is the current Chancellor of La Trobe University and former Victorian Labor Party politician who was Premier of Victoria from 2007 to 2010. He became leader of the Victorian Labor Party and premier ...

for approving

genetically modified canola Genetically modified canola is a genetically modified crop. The first strain, Roundup Ready canola, was developed by Monsanto for tolerance to glyphosate, the active ingredient in the commonly used herbicide Roundup. Genetic modification Glyp ...

plantations in Victoria. Said Lobato: :''"I feel that Victoria will be put into a very risky situation. I believe that our agricultural industry will be put at risk. I know for a fact that people do not want to eat genetically modified foods."''

References

1971 births Living people Australian Labor Party members of the Parliament of Victoria Members of the Victorian Legislative Assembly Victoria University, Melbourne alumni 21st-century Australian politicians Women members of the Victorian Legislative Assembly People from the City of Casey People from Yarra Ranges Politicians from Melbourne 21st-century Australian women politicians {{Australia-Labor-Victoria-MP-stub