Diane Elizabeth "Dee" Margetts (born 5 March 1955) is a former Australian politician. She was a member of the

Australian Senate The Senate is the upper house of the Bicameralism, bicameral Parliament of Australia, the lower house being the Australian House of Representatives, House of Representatives. The powers, role and composition of the Senate are set out in Chap ...

from 1993 to 1999 and a member of the

Western Australian Legislative Council The Western Australian Legislative Council is the upper house of the Parliament of Western Australia, a state of Australia. It is regarded as a house of review for legislation passed by the Western Australian Legislative Assembly, Legislative A ...

from 2001 to 2005, representing the Greens (WA).

Early life

Margetts was born on 5 March 1955 in

Fremantle, Western Australia Fremantle () () is a port city in Western Australia located at the mouth of the Swan River (Western Australia), Swan River in the metropolitan area of Perth, the state capital. Fremantle Harbour serves as the port of Perth. The Western Australi ...

. She is the daughter of June Elaine and Ernest Joseph Margetts. Margetts attended

John Curtin Senior High School John Curtin College of the Arts, originally John Curtin High School, is an independent, public co-educational, partially selective high school, located in East Street, , a suburb of Perth, Western Australia. The school provides a general and ...

, graduating in 1972. She went on to the

University of Western Australia University of Western Australia (UWA) is a public research university in the Australian state of Western Australia. The university's main campus is in Crawley, Western Australia, Crawley, a suburb in the City of Perth local government area. UW ...

, beginning an arts degree and majoring in anthropology and English. While at university she worked part-time as a sales agent with

Qantas Qantas ( ), formally Qantas Airways Limited, is the flag carrier of Australia, and the largest airline by fleet size, international flights, and international destinations in Australia and List of largest airlines in Oceania, Oceania. A foundi ...

. In 1979, Margetts moved to England and enrolled in

development studies Development studies is an interdisciplinary branch of social science. Development studies is offered as a specialized master's degree in a number of reputed universities around the world. It has grown in popularity as a subject of study since the ...

at the

University of East Anglia The University of East Anglia (UEA) is a Public university, public research university in Norwich, England. Established in 1963 on a campus university, campus west of the city centre, the university has four faculties and twenty-six schools of ...

. She graduated

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 ...

( Hons.) in 1982, with her honours thesis exploring "the hypothesis that multinational companies invested in developing countries for their own profit". Margetts then returned to Australia to complete a Diploma in Education at the

and was a teacher and librarian at high schools until 1988, when she became Coordinator for People for Nuclear Disarmament, a position which she held until 1991.

Political career

Margetts began her political involvement with the Alternative Coalition, a precursor to the Greens, standing as a candidate in the seat of Fremantle at the

1989 Western Australian state election Elections were held in the state of Western Australia on 4 February 1989 to elect all 57 members to the Legislative Assembly and all 34 members to the Legislative Council. The Labor government, led by Premier Peter Dowding, won a third term in ...

. She then contested the federal seat of Swan as a Greens candidate in the

1990 Australian federal election The 1990 Australian federal election was held in Australia on 24 March 1990. All 148 seats in the Australian House of Representatives, House of Representatives and 40 seats in the 76-member Australian Senate, Senate were up for election. The i ...

. In 1991, she ran for mayor of Perth in local government elections, receiving 9.5% of the vote. At the

1993 Australian federal election The 1993 Australian federal election was held on 13 March 1993 to determine the members of the 37th Parliament of Australia. All 147 seats of the Australian House of Representatives and 40 seats of the 76-seat Australian Senate were up for e ...

, Margetts was elected to the

as a representative for Western Australia, serving as the Australian Greens Whip from 25 May 1996 until the end of her term. She lost her seat at the

1998 Australian federal election The 1998 Australian federal election was held to determine the members of the 39th Parliament of Australia. It was held on 3 October 1998. All 148 seats of the House of Representatives and 40 seats of the 76 seat Senate were up for election. ...

and concluded her term on 30 June 1999. In the

2001 Western Australian state election Elections were held in the state of Western Australia on 10 February 2001 to elect all 57 members to the Legislative Assembly and all 34 members to the Legislative Council. The two-term Liberal– National coalition government, led by Premier ...

, Margetts was elected to the

as a Greens WA member representing the Agricultural Region. She served one term before losing her seat at the

2005 Western Australian state election Elections were held in the state of Western Australia on 26 February 2005 to elect all 57 members to the Legislative Assembly and all 34 members to the Legislative Council. The Labor government, led by Premier Geoff Gallop, won a second term in ...

After politics

After politics, Margetts commenced a PhD at the

in early 2006 due to her concerns about a major Federal policy change on competition policy which had been pushed through the Federal Parliament in 1994. This was completed and approved in 2013, "A Critique of Australia's National Competition Policy: Assessing its outcomes in a range of major sectors". Her thesis looks at the impacts of the National Competition Policy, and she has written extensively on the area. In 2012 Margetts was interviewed by Mary Anne Jebb for the Old Parliament House oral history project.

Advocacy and activism

Before entering parliamentary politics, Margetts was actively involved in peace and environmental movements. From 1988 to 1991, she served as the Coordinator of People for Nuclear Disarmament in Western Australia, advocating for nuclear disarmament, opposing uranium mining, and campaigning against the storage and transportation of nuclear waste. She has long been an advocate for environmental sustainability, Indigenous rights, and economic justice. Margetts participated in campaigns to protect Western Australia's old-growth forests and voiced opposition to state development projects that she believed conflicted with ecological values.

References

External links

Dee Margetts, Senate BiographyGreens WA profileParliament of WA profile
1955 births Living people Alumni of the University of East Anglia Greens Western Australia members of the Parliament of Australia Members of the Australian Senate for Western Australia Members of the Western Australian Legislative Council Australian anti–nuclear weapons activists Women members of the Australian Senate 21st-century Australian politicians 21st-century Australian women politicians 20th-century Australian politicians Women members of the Western Australian Legislative Council 20th-century Australian women politicians {{Australia-activist-stub