Fiona Catherine Alison Richardson (22 November 1966 – 23 August 2017) was an Australian politician. She was a Labor Party member of the

Victorian Legislative Assembly The Victorian Legislative Assembly is the lower house of the bicameral Parliament of Victoria in Australia; the upper house being the Victorian Legislative Council. Both houses sit at Parliament House in Spring Street, Melbourne. The presidin ...

from 2006 until her death in 2017, representing the electorate of Northcote. She was Minister for Women and Minister for Prevention of Family Violence in the First Andrews Ministry from December 2014 until her death.

Early life and career

Richardson was born in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania and was educated at Methodist Ladies College, Kew and the

University of Melbourne The University of Melbourne is a public research university located in Melbourne, Australia. Founded in 1853, it is Australia's second oldest university and the oldest in Victoria. Its main campus is located in Parkville, an inner suburb n ...

, where she graduated in 1989 majoring in politics and psychology. She was then a researcher of ocular trauma at the

Royal Victorian Eye and Ear Hospital The Royal Victorian Eye and Ear Hospital (the Eye and Ear) is a specialist public teaching hospital in East Melbourne, Australia. It is the only hospital in Australia which specialises in both ophthalmology and otolaryngology. History The h ...

Political career

Richardson joined the Australian Labor Party in 1991, and was an adviser to numerous state and federal members of parliament. She was the secretary of the right-wing Labor Unity faction from 2000 to 2007. Richardson was elected to the

in November 2006 representing the electorate of Northcote. She replaced the retiring Arts Minister

Mary Delahunty Mary Elizabeth Delahunty (born 7 June 1951) is an Australian journalist and politician with the Labor Party. Early life Delahunty was born in the Victorian town of Murtoa and educated at Loreto College in Ballarat.''Who's Who in Australia 2 ...

. She was appointed Parliamentary Secretary for Education and served in that position until August 2007, when she became a Parliamentary Secretary for Treasury and Finance. Richardson was seen as a key player in protecting husband Stephen Newnham as state secretary during a debilitating struggle within the Right faction over control of ALP head office during 2008 and 2009. Newnham eventually left the role in September 2009 after losing the support of the Premier

John Brumby John Mansfield Brumby (born 21 April 1953) is the current Chancellor of La Trobe University and former Victorian Labor Party politician who was Premier of Victoria from 2007 to 2010. He became leader of the Victorian Labor Party and premier a ...

. After the Labor government's defeat in the

2010 Victorian state election The 2010 Victorian state election, held on Saturday, 27 November 2010, was for the 57th Parliament of Victoria. The election was to elect all 88 members of the Legislative Assembly and all 40 members of the Legislative Council. The incumbent ce ...

Richardson was appointed as the Victorian Labor Party's spokesperson for public transport. Due to her ill health, her responsibilities were reduced in a December 2013 reshuffle of the opposition shadow cabinet, and she took responsibility for small business and innovation. When Labor was returned to government in 2014, Richardson was made Minister for Women and Minister for Prevention of Family Violence in the

Andrews Ministry The Parliament of Northern Ireland was the home rule legislature created under the Government of Ireland Act 1920, which existed from 7 June 1921 to 30 March 1972, when it was suspended. It was subsequently abolished under the Northern Ireland C ...

. Richardson oversaw the establishment of the

Victorian Royal Commission into Family Violence Victorian or Victorians may refer to: 19th century * Victorian era, British history during Queen Victoria's 19th-century reign ** Victorian architecture ** Victorian house ** Victorian decorative arts ** Victorian fashion ** Victorian literature ...

in 2015, which tabled its report to Parliament in 2016.Royal Commission into Family Violence
"Royal Commission into Family Violence: Summary and recommendations"
, Melbourne, March 2016. Retrieved on 13 June 2018.

Personal life

Richardson was married to former ALP state secretary Stephen Newnham and they had two children. On 25 June 2013, it was announced that she had been diagnosed with

breast cancer Breast cancer is cancer that develops from breast tissue. Signs of breast cancer may include a lump in the breast, a change in breast shape, dimpling of the skin, milk rejection, fluid coming from the nipple, a newly inverted nipple, or ...

. She went into remission and returned to parliament. On 7 August 2017, Richardson announced she was taking medical leave from parliament. On 22 August 2017, she said she would be extending her leave after being diagnosed with several tumours and would retire at the next election, but she died the next day, 23 August 2017, aged 50.

References

External links

Parliamentary handbook of the 56th Parliament – Fiona Richardson
(Retrieved 7 March 2008)

(Retrieved 7 March 2008)

{{DEFAULTSORT:Richardson, Fiona 1966 births 2017 deaths 21st-century Australian politicians 21st-century Australian women politicians Australian Labor Party members of the Parliament of Victoria Deaths from cancer in Victoria (state) Labor Right politicians Members of the Victorian Legislative Assembly Ministers for Women (Victoria) People from Dar es Salaam Politicians from Melbourne Women members of the Victorian Legislative Assembly Women's ministers of Australia