Allison Maree Ritchie (born 28 July 1974) is an Australian politician who currently serves as Deputy Mayor of

City of Clarence Clarence City Council (or City of Clarence) is a Local government in Australia, local government body in Tasmania, and one of the five municipalities that constitutes the Hobart, Greater Hobart Area. The Clarence local government area has a po ...

. From 2001 to 2009, she was a member of the

Tasmanian Legislative Council The Tasmanian Legislative Council is the upper house of the Parliament of Tasmania in Australia. It is one of the two Chambers of parliament, chambers of the Parliament, the other being the Tasmanian House of Assembly, House of Assembly. Both ho ...

representing the electorate of Pembroke.

Early life

Ritchie grew up on Hobart's Eastern Shore and attended Mornington Primary School, Clarence High School,

Rosny College Rosny College is a government comprehensive senior secondary school located in , a suburb of Hobart, Tasmania, Australia. Established in 1973, the college caters for approximately 900 students in Years 11 and 12. The college is administered by ...

and the

University of Tasmania The University of Tasmania (UTAS) is a public research university, primarily located in Tasmania, Australia. Founded in 1890, it is Australia's fourth oldest university. Christ College (University of Tasmania), Christ College, one of the unive ...

. Coming form a family with strong political connections (an aunt, Carol Brown, is a federal senator and a great uncle was a state president of the ALP) Ritchie joined the Labor Party at age 14.

Political career

On 5 May 2001, Ritchie was elected to the Legislative Council. On 24 November 2001, Ritchie became the first MP to marry for the first time while in office with her marriage to husband, David Cowle. She also became the first woman to give birth while a member of the Legislative Council with the birth of her son in December 2002. In June 2009 Ritchie attracted controversy over the employment of family members in her office. A review by the Auditor-General found that no formal rules had been broken but that "the recommendation of her mother’s appointment, in the knowledge of a flawed assessment process, was not in accordance with the principles of openness and objectivity outlined in the Code of Conduct." Ritchie stepped down as Minister due to ill health (understood to be the diagnosis of an auto immune disease) on 24 November 2008 and resigned from Parliament entirely on 20 June 2009. In January 2013, having resigned from the ALP in 2011, Ritchie announced her intention to contest once again the upper house seat of Pembroke as an independent at the election held on Saturday 4 May—the seat was retained by the Liberal candidate and incumbent councillor

Vanessa Goodwin Vanessa Goodwin (22 April 1969 – 3 March 2018) was an Australian politician. She was the Liberal Party member for the seat of Pembroke in the Tasmanian Legislative Council from the Pembroke by-election on 1 August 2009 until her resignation ...

The Mercury Mercury most commonly refers to: * Mercury (planet), the closest planet to the Sun * Mercury (element), a chemical element * Mercury (mythology), a Roman deity Mercury or The Mercury may also refer to: Companies * Mercury (toy manufacturer), ...

Saturday 19 January 2013 page 5 At the

2022 Tasmanian local elections The 2022 Tasmanian local elections were held in October 2022 to elect the councils of the 29 local government areas (LGAs) in Tasmania, Australia. Mayoral and deputy mayoral elections were also held. For the first time in Tasmanian local electio ...

, Ritchie was elected Deputy Mayor of

Clarence City Council Clarence City Council (or City of Clarence) is a Local government in Australia, local government body in Tasmania, and one of the five municipalities that constitutes the Hobart, Greater Hobart Area. The Clarence local government area has a po ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ritchie, Allison Living people Members of the Tasmanian Legislative Council 1974 births Australian Labor Party members of the Parliament of Tasmania 21st-century Australian politicians Women members of the Tasmanian Legislative Council 21st-century Australian women politicians Politicians from Hobart Tasmanian local councillors