Anita Frances Phillips (14 March 1945 – 4 February 2023) was an Australian politician. She was a Member of the

Queensland Legislative Assembly The Legislative Assembly of Queensland is the sole chamber of the unicameral Parliament of Queensland established under the Constitution of Queensland. Elections are held every four years and are done by full preferential voting. The Assembly h ...

Early life

Phillips was born in

Melbourne Melbourne ( , ; Boonwurrung language, Boonwurrung/ or ) is the List of Australian capital cities, capital and List of cities in Australia by population, most populous city of the States and territories of Australia, Australian state of Victori ...

on 14 March 1945, the daughter of John Phillips and Anita (née Kerridge). The family lived in a housing commission estate in the outer suburbs (at that time of Melbourne). From 1952 to 1957 she attended St Michaels Catholic Primary School in Ashburton. Later, she attended St Rochs School in

Glen Iris Glen Iris may refer to: *Glen Iris, Victoria, a suburb of Melbourne **Glen Iris railway station *Glen Iris, Western Australia Glen Iris is a suburb of the City of Bunbury in the South West region of Western Australia. Glen Iris is located on ...

, Our Holy Redeemer School in

Ripponlea Ripponlea is an inner suburb in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, 7 km south-east of Melbourne's Central Business District, located within the City of Port Phillip local government area. Ripponlea recorded a population of 1,532 at the 2021 c ...

, and Presentation College, Windsor. She studied at the

University of Melbourne The University of Melbourne (colloquially known as Melbourne University) is a public university, public research university located in Melbourne, Australia. Founded in 1853, it is Australia's second oldest university and the oldest in the state ...

, receiving a Diploma of Social Studies in 1968 and a Bachelor of Arts in 1976. In 1969, she moved to

Townsville The City of Townsville is a city on the north-eastern coast of Queensland, Australia. With a population of 201,313 as of 2024, it is the largest settlement in North Queensland and Northern Australia (specifically, the parts of Australia north of ...

Queensland Queensland ( , commonly abbreviated as Qld) is a States and territories of Australia, state in northeastern Australia, and is the second-largest and third-most populous state in Australia. It is bordered by the Northern Territory, South Austr ...

and became a social worker. She studied at the

University of Canberra The University of Canberra (UC) is a public university, public research university with its main campus located in Bruce, Canberra, Australian Capital Territory. The campus is from Belconnen Town Centre, and from Canberra's Civic, Australian ...

, completing a Masters of Public Administration in 1990.

Politics

In 2001, Phillips was elected to the Legislative Assembly of Queensland as the

Labor Labour or labor may refer to: * Childbirth, the delivery of a baby * Labour (human activity), or work ** Manual labour, physical work ** Wage labour, a socioeconomic relationship between a worker and an employer ** Organized labour and the labour ...

member for Thuringowa, defeating One Nation-turned-

independent Independent or Independents may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Artist groups * Independents (artist group), a group of modernist painters based in Pennsylvania, United States * Independentes (English: Independents), a Portuguese artist ...

sitting member Ken Turner. After being elected, she thanked former

Victorian Premier The premier of Victoria is the head of government of the state of Victoria in Australia. The premier leads the Cabinet of Victoria and selects its ministers. The premier is appointed by the governor of Victoria, must be a member of the Victo ...

Joan Kirner Joan Elizabeth Kirner (née Hood; 20 June 1938 – 1 June 2015) was an Australian politician who was the 42nd Premier of Victoria, serving from 1990 to 1992. A Australian Labor Party (Victorian Branch), Labor Party member of the Parliament of ...

, for being a mentor. She also thanked the ALP's support through the

Emily's List EMILYs List is a left-leaning American political action committee (PAC) that aims to help elect Democratic female candidates in favor of abortion rights to office. It was founded by Ellen Malcolm in 1985. The group's name is an acronym for "E ...

scheme to increase female representation in parliaments around Australia. In 2004, she retired in order to contest the federal seat of

Herbert Herbert may refer to: People * Herbert (musician), a pseudonym of Matthew Herbert * Herbert (given name) * Herbert (surname) Places Antarctica * Herbert Mountains, Coats Land * Herbert Sound, Graham Land Australia * Herbert, Northern Territor ...

, held by 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 ...

Peter Lindsay Peter John Lindsay (born 4 May 1944) is an Australian former politician who served as a Liberal Party of Australia member of the Australian House of Representatives from March 1996 to July 2010, representing the Division of Herbert, Queenslan ...

, in the 2004 federal election but was unsuccessful.ELECTION OF 9 OCTOBER 2004
— Psephos. Retrieved 15 February 2015.

Later life

Phillips served in a number of roles: * ACT Public Advocate (circa 2005–2013) * advisor to federal ministers * executive roles on the Leichhardt and

Queanbeyan Queanbeyan ( ) is a city in south-eastern New South Wales, Australia, located adjacent to the Australian Capital Territory in the Southern Tablelands region. Located on the Queanbeyan River, the city is the council seat of the Queanbeyan-Pale ...

local governments * board member on the Sunshine Coast Health and Hospital Board (2017–2022) In 2012, Phillips completed a Post Graduate Diploma in Legal Studies at the University of Canberra. In 2022, Phillips completed a PhD at the University of Canberra titled "The process of policy development using the NDIS as a case study". On 4 February 2023, Phillips died after a short illness in the

Sunshine Coast University Hospital The Sunshine Coast University Hospital is a hospital on the Sunshine Coast, Queensland, Australia. It is affiliated with the University of the Sunshine Coast and Griffith University. History In July 2012, Minister for Health Lawrence Springbor ...

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Phillips, Anita 1945 births 2023 deaths Members of the Queensland Legislative Assembly Australian Labor Party members of the Parliament of Queensland 21st-century Australian politicians 21st-century Australian women politicians Women members of the Queensland Legislative Assembly Politicians from Melbourne