Patricia May Petersen is an Australian academic from Ipswich, Queensland.

Education

Petersen holds a

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 New South Wales The University of New South Wales (UNSW) is a public research university based in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. It was established in 1949. The university comprises seven faculties, through which it offers bachelor's, master's and docto ...

and was awarded a

Doctor of Philosophy A Doctor of Philosophy (PhD, DPhil; or ) is a terminal degree that usually denotes the highest level of academic achievement in a given discipline and is awarded following a course of Postgraduate education, graduate study and original resear ...

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 ...

in 2002. Petersen has been a lecturer at Central Queensland University.

Electoral history

Petersen has run unsuccessfully for political office thirteen times, and has been referred to as a serial candidate. Petersen ran as an independent candidate for the federal seat of Warringah in

2004 2004 was designated as an International Year of Rice by the United Nations, and the International Year to Commemorate the Struggle Against Slavery and Its Abolition (by UNESCO). Events January * January 3 – Flash Airlines Flight 60 ...

and

2007 2007 was designated as the International Heliophysical Year and the International Polar Year. Events January * January 1 **Bulgaria and Romania 2007 enlargement of the European Union, join the European Union, while Slovenia joins the Eur ...

. She lost both times to

Tony Abbott Anthony John Abbott (; born 4 November 1957) is an Australian former politician who served as the 28th prime minister of Australia from 2013 to 2015. He held office as the leader of the Liberal Party of Australia and was the member of parli ...

. Petersen also contested the mayoral election in Manly in 2008, and lost to Jean Hay. Petersen ran as an independent for the

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 ...

seat of Bundamba in the 2009 state election, and lost to Jo-Ann Miller. Petersen contested the seat of Blair at the 2010 federal election as an Australians Greens candidate, and lost to Shayne Neumann. Petersen contested the seat of

Ipswich Ipswich () is a port town and Borough status in the United Kingdom, borough in Suffolk, England. It is the county town, and largest in Suffolk, followed by Lowestoft and Bury St Edmunds, and the third-largest population centre in East Anglia, ...

as an independent in the

2012 Queensland state election The 2012 Queensland state election was held on 24 March 2012 to elect all 89 members of the Legislative Assembly, a unicameral parliament. The Labor Party (ALP), led by Premier Anna Bligh, was defeated by the opposition Liberal National P ...

, and lost to Ian Berry. Following her bid to be elected to the Senate for the Australian Independents, Petersen ran as an independent candidate for mayor of Noosa in late 2013. Petersen claimed to have " ent a third of my time on the coast as a child, lived in Peregian in my 20s, have been nurturing land on the coast for 12 years. 4th generation Noosa resident", yet, during her election campaigns in the Ipswich region she has also claimed to " ing a fifth generation member of the Ipswich community, I feel a strong attachment to the historical buildings and sites within the local area. Similar to the way in which aborigines have a deep connection to their land, I am emotionally tied to my home, everything and everyone in it." Previously, she had stated that she "headed off to Sydney to successfully model full-time," and whilst there "completed a BA (HONS) from the University of New South Wales." Petersen lost to Noel Playford. Petersen again contested the seat of Ipswich as an independent at the 2015 state election. Petersen lost to Jennifer Howard. After the loss to Jennifer Howard, Petersen told the local Ipswich newspaper, The Queensland Times, in an article dated 31 January 2015 that she would not run for office in the future. Petersen is quoted in the article as saying "But I am hanging my hat up after this," she said. "I have promised my partner I will not do this again." Despite quitting politics, Petersen ran for Division 3 of Ipswich City Council in 2016, and lost to Kerry Silver. The Australian Independents was deregistered in February 2016 because it did not show sufficient membership to remain as a registered political party. Petersen again ran for office at the 2016 federal election for the seat of Blair. Once again she lost, polling the second fewest votes. Petersen contested the August 2017 Ipswich mayoral by-election, receiving 3.66% of the vote. Petersen contested the seat of Bundamba at the 2017 state election. Petersen was once again unsuccessful in her attempt, finishing behind all major party candidates.

Australian Independents

In 2012 Petersen started her own political party, the Australian Independents. It was registered with the

Australian Electoral Commission The Australian Electoral Commission (AEC) is the independent statutory agency of the Australian Government responsible for the management and oversight of Australian federal elections, plebiscites, referendums and some trade union A ...

on 16 July 2013. In the 2013 federal election, the Australian Independents ran Senate candidates in every state and territory. The party also ran six candidates in the House of Representatives. In Queensland, with Petersen as lead candidate, the party placed 17th out of the 34 parties that ran, having received 0.48% of the primary vote. Nationally, its senate candidates having received a total of 45,441 first preference votes, 0.34% of the total votes cast. Its House of Representatives candidates received 4,163 first preference votes, 0.03% of votes cast. The Australian Independents was deregistered by the AEC on 4 February 2016, after failing to demonstrate the requisite 500 members to maintain registration.Australian Independents
AEC, 5 February 2016

Personal life

Petersen has written a self-published book, entitled ''Morality, Sexual Facts and Fantasies,'' and has written two plays based on her time running against Tony Abbott in 2004 and 2007. She has worked as a relationships counsellor, and has worked for Brisbane radio station B105 FM and Sydney radio station

2UE 2UE is an all-music radio station in Sydney owned by Nine Entertainment and run under a lease agreement by Ace Radio. It currently broadcasts from its studios in Pyrmont, New South Wales. History 1920s 2EU Electrical Utilities applied to the P ...

. She was a panellist on the Australian television show ''

Beauty and the Beast "Beauty and the Beast" is a fairy tale written by the French novelist Gabrielle-Suzanne Barbot de Villeneuve and published in 1740 in (''The Young American and Marine Tales''). Villeneuve's lengthy version was abridged, rewritten, and publish ...

''. Petersen has a black belt in karate.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Petersen, Patricia 1964 births University of Queensland alumni Australian women in politics Australian women writers Australian writers Living people