Reba Paige Meagher (born 11 September 1967) is a former

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 Aus ...

politician A politician is a person who participates in Public policy, policy-making processes, usually holding an elective position in government. Politicians represent the people, make decisions, and influence the formulation of public policy. The roles ...

who was a member of the

New South Wales New South Wales (commonly abbreviated as NSW) is a States and territories of Australia, state on the Eastern states of Australia, east coast of :Australia. It borders Queensland to the north, Victoria (state), Victoria to the south, and South ...

Legislative Assembly, representing the electoral district of

Cabramatta Cabramatta, also abbreviated as Cabra, is a suburb in South Western Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia. Cabramatta is located south-west of the Sydney central business district, in the Local government in Australia, local gove ...

. She was a minister in various portfolios from 2003 to 2008, including

Minister for Health A health minister is the member of a country's government typically responsible for protecting and promoting public health and providing welfare spending and other social security services. Some governments have separate ministers for mental heal ...

. On 6 September 2008 Meagher announced that she would not be seeking a ministerial appointment from new Premier

Nathan Rees Nathan Rees (; born 12 February 1968) is an Australian former politician who served as the 41st Premier of New South Wales and leader of the New South Wales Labor Party from September 2008 to December 2009. Rees was a Member of the New South Wal ...

. On 13 September 2008 she announced her retirement from politics. She formally resigned on 17 September 2008.

Early life

Meagher was born in 1967 in

Caringbah, New South Wales Caringbah is a suburb in Southern Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia. Caringbah is south of the Sydney central business district in the local government area of Sutherland Shire. Caringbah once stretched from Woolooware Bay o ...

, the daughter of Les Meagher, a printer for the ''

Sydney Morning Herald ''The Sydney Morning Herald'' (''SMH'') is a daily tabloid newspaper published in Sydney, Australia, and owned by Nine Entertainment. Founded in 1831 as the ''Sydney Herald'', the ''Herald'' is the oldest continuously published newspaper in ...

''. She received her Higher School Certificate from Endeavour High School in 1985. She graduated with 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 Sydney The University of Sydney (USYD) is a public university, public research university in Sydney, Australia. Founded in 1850, it is the oldest university in both Australia and Oceania. One of Australia's six sandstone universities, it was one of the ...

in 1989, and a Master of Labour Law and Relations in 1992.

Political career

Meagher declared on 7 November 2008 at an inquiry that, just over an hour after the Cabramatta MP John Newman had been shot in front of his fiancée on 5 September 1994, the then Labor Party head

John Della Bosca John Joseph Della Bosca (born 18 July 1956) is an Australian former politician, representing the Labor Party in the New South Wales Legislative Council. From 1999 to 2009, Della Bosca served a range of ministerial portfolios, including Ministe ...

, offered the seat to Reba Meagher, confirming an offer he had first made hours before the killing. While in Parliament, Meagher served in a number of ministerial and sub-ministerial positions: *Parliamentary Secretary Assisting the Minister for Transport and Minister for Roads on matters concerning Roads (April 1999 to March 2002) *Parliamentary Secretary Assisting the Minister for Police (March 2003 to April 2003) *Minister for Fair Trading (April 2003 to January 2005) *Minister Assisting the Minister for Commerce (April 2003 to January 2005) *Minister for Youth (January 2005 to April 2007) *Minister for Community Services (January 2005 to April 2007) *Minister for Aboriginal Affairs (November 2006 to April 2007) *Minister Assisting the Premier on Citizenship (November 2006 to April 2007) *Minister for Health (April 2007 to September 2008) She also served on a number of Parliamentary Committees: *Member, Committee on the Office of the Ombudsman and the Police Integrity Commission (May 1995 to April 1998) *Member, Legislative Assembly Standing Ethics Committee (May 1995 to March 1999) *Member, Committee on the Independent Commission Against Corruption (May 1995 to March 1999) *Member, Joint Standing Committee upon Small Business (November 1996 to March 1999) *Member, Joint Select Committee into Injecting Rooms (June 1997 to February 1998)

References

External links

Speeches in Hansard by Reba Meagher
{{DEFAULTSORT:Meagher, Reba 1967 births Living people Members of the New South Wales Legislative Assembly Australian Labor Party members of the Parliament of New South Wales Labor Right politicians 21st-century Australian politicians Women members of the New South Wales Legislative Assembly 21st-century Australian women politicians University of Sydney alumni Ministers for aboriginal affairs and treaty Ministers for better regulation and fair trading Ministers for families and communities Ministers for health (New South Wales)