Andrea Gail West (; 16 September 1952 – 20 April 2010) was an Australian politician. She was a member of the

Liberal Party The Liberal Party is any of many political parties around the world. The meaning of ''liberal'' varies around the world, ranging from liberal conservatism on the right to social liberalism on the left. For example, while the political systems ...

and served a single term in the

House of Representatives House of Representatives is the name of legislative bodies in many countries and sub-national entities. In many countries, the House of Representatives is the lower house of a bicameral legislature, with the corresponding upper house often ...

, representing the Queensland seat of Bowman from 1996 to 1998.

Early life

West was born in

Brisbane Brisbane ( ; ) is the List of Australian capital cities, capital and largest city of the States and territories of Australia, state of Queensland and the list of cities in Australia by population, third-most populous city in Australia, with a ...

on 16 September 1952. She was the daughter of

Bill Kaus William Bernard Kaus (24 May 1923 – 20 December 2006) was a businessman and member of the Queensland Legislative Assembly. Biography Kaus was born at Kangaroo Point, Queensland, to parents William Rahman Kaus and his wife Doreen May (née B ...

, who was elected to the

Parliament of Queensland The Parliament of Queensland is the Unicameralism, unicameral legislature, legislative body of the States and territories of Australia, Australian state of Queensland. As provided under the Constitution of Queensland, the Parliament consists o ...

as a Liberal in 1966. She held the degree of

Bachelor of Arts A Bachelor of Arts (abbreviated B.A., BA, A.B. or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is the holder of a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the liberal arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts deg ...

from the

University of Queensland The University of Queensland is a Public university, public research university located primarily in Brisbane, the capital city of the Australian state of Queensland. Founded in 1909 by the Queensland parliament, UQ is one of the six sandstone ...

and a diploma from the Mount Gravatt Teachers' College. Prior to entering parliament she worked as a

primary school A primary school (in Ireland, India, the United Kingdom, Australia, New Zealand, Trinidad and Tobago, Jamaica, South Africa, and Singapore), elementary school, or grade school (in North America and the Philippines) is a school for primary ...

teacher. Afterwards she became a teacher at

Qatar International School Qatar International School (QIS) is a British-patterned international school which follows the IGCSE/A-level system. It is located in downtown Doha. The school provides education from reception (foundation stage) to Year 13. About the School QI ...

Politics

West served as chairman of the Liberal Party's

Cleveland Cleveland is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Cuyahoga County. Located along the southern shore of Lake Erie, it is situated across the Canada–U.S. maritime border and approximately west of the Ohio-Pennsylvania st ...

–

Ormiston Ormiston is a village in East Lothian, Scotland, near Tranent, Humbie, Pencaitland and Cranston, located on the north bank of the River Tyne at an elevation of about . The village was the first planned village in Scotland, founded in 173 ...

branch. She was elected to the

Division of Bowman The Division of Bowman is an Divisions of the Australian House of Representatives, Australian Electoral Division in Queensland. The current MP is Henry Pike of the Liberal Party of Australia, Liberal Party. Geography Since 1984, federal electo ...

in the

Coalition A coalition is formed when two or more people or groups temporarily work together to achieve a common goal. The term is most frequently used to denote a formation of power in political, military, or economic spaces. Formation According to ''A G ...

's landslide victory at the 1996 federal election, defeating the incumbent

Australian Labor Party The Australian Labor Party (ALP), also known as the Labor Party or simply Labor, is the major Centre-left politics, centre-left List of political parties in Australia, political party in Australia and one of two Major party, major parties in Po ...

(ALP) member

Con Sciacca Concetto Antonio Sciacca (13 June 1947 – 21 June 2017) was an Australian politician of the Australian Labor Party and member of the Australian House of Representatives from July 1987 to March 1996 and again from October 1998 to October 2004 ...

. In parliament, West served on the Joint Statutory Committee on the

National Crime Authority The National Crime Authority (NCA) was an Australian law enforcement agency established in 1984 and wound up on 31 December 2002. History The NCA was set up in 1984 in the wake of the Costigan Commission, which investigated tax evasion and or ...

and the House of Representatives Standing Committee on Family and Community Affairs. She spoke of the need to "safeguard the sanctity of the family" and supported reforms to

child support Child support (or child maintenance) is an ongoing, periodic payment made by a parent for the financial benefit of a child (state or parent, caregiver, guardian) following the end of a marriage or other similar relationship. Child maintenance is ...

and

Australian family law Australian family law is principally found in the federal '' Family Law Act 1975'' and the Federal Circuit and Family Court of Australia (Family Law) Rules 2021 as well as in other laws and the common law and laws of equity, which affect the fami ...

. According to

George Brandis George Henry Brandis (born 22 June 1957) is an Australian former politician. He was a Australian Senate, Senator for Queensland from 2000 to 2018, representing the Liberal Party of Australia, Liberal Party, and was a Cabinet (Australia), cabin ...

, she supported the

Howard government The Howard government refers to the Government of Australia, federal executive government of Australia led by Prime Minister John Howard between 11 March 1996 and 3 December 2007. It was made up of members of the Liberal Party of Australia, Li ...

's introduction of goods and services tax (GST) despite the impact it was likely to have on her re-election campaign in a marginal seat. Con Sciacca reclaimed Bowman for the ALP at the 1998 federal election. After her defeat, West remained active in the Liberal Party. In 2000 she unsuccessfully sought

preselection Preselection is the process by which a candidate is selected, usually by a political party, to contest an election for political office. It is also referred to as candidate selection. It is a fundamental function of political parties. The presel ...

for a

casual vacancy ''The Casual Vacancy'' is a novel written by British author J. K. Rowling, published worldwide by the Little, Brown Book Group on 27 September 2012. It was Rowling's first publication since the ''Harry Potter'' series, her first novel apart fr ...

in 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 ...

caused by the resignation of

Warwick Parer Warwick Raymond Parer, AM (6 April 193614 March 2014) was an Australian politician who served as a Senator for Queensland from 1984 to 2000. He was a member of the Liberal Party and served as Minister for Resources and Energy in the Howard gov ...

Personal life

West lived at

Wellington Point Wellington Point is a residential coastal locality in the City of Redland, Queensland, Australia. It is a popular seaside destination within the Brisbane metropolitan area and is notable for a popular walk along a sandbar to King Island which em ...

with her husband Jeremy and had three children. She died of

breast cancer Breast cancer is a cancer that develops from breast tissue. Signs of breast cancer may include a Breast lump, lump in the breast, a change in breast shape, dimpling of the skin, Milk-rejection sign, milk rejection, fluid coming from the nipp ...

on 20 April 2010, aged 57, at the

Peter MacCallum Cancer Centre The Peter MacCallum Cancer Centre, also known as the Peter MacCallum Cancer Institute and commonly abbreviated as Peter Mac, is an Australian oncology research institute, cancer treatment and professional oncologist training centre located in ...

in Melbourne.Former MP remembered
, aph.gov.au; accessed 21 June 2017.

References

1952 births 2010 deaths Liberal Party of Australia members of the Parliament of Australia Members of the Australian House of Representatives Members of the Australian House of Representatives for Bowman Women members of the Australian House of Representatives Deaths from cancer in Victoria (state) Deaths from breast cancer in Australia University of Queensland alumni Australian schoolteachers 20th-century Australian women politicians Australian MPs 1996–1998 {{Australia-Liberal-politician-stub