Irene Doutney (1949/50 – 11 June 2018) was an

Australian Australian(s) may refer to: Australia * Australia, a country * Australians, citizens of the Commonwealth of Australia ** European Australians ** Anglo-Celtic Australians, Australians descended principally from British colonists ** Aboriginal ...

politician, who was a councillor of the

City of Sydney The City of Sydney is the local government area covering the Sydney central business district and surrounding inner city suburbs of the greater metropolitan area of Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. Established by Act of Parliament in 1842 ...

for the

Greens New South Wales The Greens New South Wales, commonly known as Greens NSW, is a green political party in New South Wales and a member of the Australian Greens. First formed in 1991, the Greens NSW began as a state-level party before joining with other green par ...

. In 2016, she became Deputy Lord Mayor of Sydney.

Early life

Doutney grew up in King's Cross, Australia. Her father died of leukemia when she was 9 years old. Starting at age 12, Doutney battled depression. Her mother was diagnosed with terminal cancer when Doutney was 16. She has a Bachelor of Arts degree in history.

Career

Doutney became involved in community issues through the group REDWatch. She was first elected as a Greens councillor to the City of Sydney in 2008, and re-elected for a second term in 2012. On 29 February 2016, the Sydney Council elected Doutney the new Deputy Lord Mayor following the death of Robyn Kemmis. The election followed an agreement between

Green Green is the color between cyan and yellow on the visible spectrum. It is evoked by light which has a dominant wavelength of roughly 495570 Nanometre, nm. In subtractive color systems, used in painting and color printing, it is created by ...

Councillor Doutney and Independent Lord Mayor

Clover Moore Clover Margaret Moore (née Collins, born 22 October 1945) is an Australian politician. She has been the Lord Mayor of the City of Sydney since 2004 and is currently the longest serving Lord Mayor of Sydney since the creation of the City of Syd ...

that Doutney would support Moore's budgetary measures but remain free to object to other proposals. One of Doutney's signature issues as a public official was advocating for improved public housing. Her first act as an elected councilor was to speak out against the

Northern Territory intervention The Northern Territory National Emergency Response, also known as "The Intervention" or the Northern Territory Intervention, and sometimes the abbreviation "NTER" (for Northern Territory Emergency Response) was a package of measures enforced by ...

for the

Aboriginal rights Indigenous rights are those rights that exist in recognition of the specific condition of the Indigenous peoples. This includes not only the most basic human rights of physical survival and integrity, but also the rights over their land (inc ...

Coalition. Doutney was a "78er", having participated in the first

Sydney Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras The Sydney Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras or Sydney Mardi Gras is an event in Sydney, New South Wales attended by hundreds of thousands of people from around Australia and overseas. One of the largest such festivals in the world, Mardi Gras is the ...

in 1978, and continued to advocate for

marriage equality Same-sex marriage, also known as gay marriage, is the marriage of two people of the same sex or gender. marriage between same-sex couples is legally performed and recognized in 33 countries, with the most recent being Mexico, constituting ...

and

LGBT rights Rights affecting lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) people vary greatly by country or jurisdiction—encompassing everything from the legal recognition of same-sex marriage to the death penalty for homosexuality. Notably, , ...

. Doutney lead the ultimately successful push for the City of Sydney to divest from fossil fuels. She advocated for

urban forest An urban forest is a forest, or a collection of trees, that grow within a city, town or a suburb. In a wider sense, it may include any kind of woody plant vegetation growing in and around human settlements. As opposed to a forest park, whose ec ...

, leading the City of Sydney adopting the Greening Sydney strategy. In 2016, she announced she would not contest the September 2016 elections for the City of Sydney.

Death

Doutney died on 11 June 2018 at the St Vincents Sacred Heart Hospice after a 3-year battle with cancer.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Doutney, Irene 20th-century births 2018 deaths Politicians from Sydney 21st-century Australian politicians 21st-century Australian women politicians Sydney City Councillors Australian Greens politicians Deputy Lord Mayors of Sydney Women local councillors in Australia People associated with Kings Cross, New South Wales