Janet May Woollard (born 13 February 1955) is an Australian former politician who served as a member for the seat of

Alfred Cove Alfred may refer to: Arts and entertainment *''Alfred J. Kwak'', Dutch-German-Japanese anime television series * ''Alfred'' (Arne opera), a 1740 masque by Thomas Arne * ''Alfred'' (Dvořák), an 1870 opera by Antonín Dvořák *"Alfred (Interlu ...

in the

Western Australian Legislative Assembly The Western Australian Legislative Assembly, or lower house, is one of the two chambers of the Parliament of Western Australia, an Australian state. The Parliament sits in Parliament House, Perth, Parliament House in the Western Australian capi ...

from 2001 to 2013. Woollard successfully contested the seat in the February 2001 state election as an

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 ...

candidate (representing the

Liberals for Forests Liberals for Forests (LFF) was an Australian political party. It contested both state and federal elections between 2001 and 2008, but only ever achieved one elected representative – Janet Woollard in Western Australia. It never achieved rep ...

party). She was re-elected at the

2005 election The following elections occurred in the year 2005. * 2005 United Nations Security Council election Africa * 2005 Burkinabé presidential election * 2005 Burundian Senate election * 2005 Burundian communal elections * 2005 Burundian constitutio ...

and again at the 2008 election. In 2007 Woollard's son, Luke, crashed his family's boat whilst

drink driving Drunk driving (or drink-driving in British English) is the act of driving under the influence of alcohol. A small increase in the blood alcohol content increases the relative risk of a motor vehicle crash. In the United States, alcohol is in ...

, seriously injuring a passenger. The injured passenger successfully sued Luke, who said he was unable to pay the A$230,000 compensation and indicated he faced

bankrupt Bankruptcy is a legal process through which people or other entities who cannot repay debts to creditors may seek relief from some or all of their debts. In most jurisdictions, bankruptcy is imposed by a court order, often initiated by the de ...

cy. Woollard and her husband initially refused to pay the compensation on behalf of their son. However, they settled the case following intense media scrutiny. After Liberals for Forests dissolved in 2008, Woollard sat in parliament as an

Independent Liberal Independent Liberal is a description which candidates and politicians have used to describe themselves, designating them as liberals, yet independent of the official Liberal Party of their country. To avoid confusion with the Liberal Party of ...

. Woollard voted with 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 ...

most of the time while serving in parliament. Woollard was defeated in the 2013 state election, attracting only about 10% of the primary vote. The seat was won by the Liberal candidate,

Dean Nalder Dean Cambell Nalder (born 5 February 1966) is an Australian former politician who was a member of the Legislative Assembly of Western Australia for the Liberal Party from 2013 to 2021, representing the seat of Alfred Cove until 2017, and Bate ...

References

1955 births Living people Independent members of the Parliament of Western Australia Members of the Western Australian Legislative Assembly 21st-century Australian politicians 21st-century Australian women politicians Women members of the Western Australian Legislative Assembly {{Australia-Independent-politician-stub