Samantha Jane McMahon (born 11 December 1967) is a former Australian politician who was a

Senator A senate is a deliberative assembly, often the upper house or Legislative chamber, chamber of a bicameral legislature. The name comes from the Ancient Rome, ancient Roman Senate (Latin: ''Senatus''), so-called as an assembly of the senior ...

for the

Northern Territory The Northern Territory (abbreviated as NT; known formally as the Northern Territory of Australia and informally as the Territory) is an states and territories of Australia, Australian internal territory in the central and central-northern regi ...

between the 2019 federal election and the 2022 federal election. McMahon is a member of the

Liberal Democratic Party Several political parties from around the world have been called the Liberal Democratic Party, Democratic Liberal Party or Liberal Democrats. These parties have usually followed liberalism as ideology, although they can vary widely from very progr ...

(LDP), having joined the party in April 2022, several months after resigning from the

Country Liberal Party The Country Liberal Party of the Northern Territory (CLP), commonly known as the Country Liberals, is a centre-right and conservative political party in Australia's Northern Territory. In territory politics, it operates in a two-party system wi ...

(CLP). While she was a CLP member, she sat in the Nationals party room in federal parliament. She was a veterinarian in

Katherine Katherine (), also spelled Catherine and Catherina, other variations, is a feminine given name. The name and its variants are popular in countries where large Christian populations exist, because of its associations with one of the earliest Ch ...

before entering politics.

Early life

McMahon was born in

Sydney Sydney is the capital city of the States and territories of Australia, state of New South Wales and the List of cities in Australia by population, most populous city in Australia. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Syd ...

on 11 December 1967. She grew up on a farm in

Nanango Nanango is a rural town and Suburbs and localities (Australia), locality in the South Burnett Region, Queensland, Australia. In the , the locality of Nanango had a population of 3,679 people. Geography Nanango is situated north-west of the ...

Queensland Queensland ( , commonly abbreviated as Qld) is a States and territories of Australia, state in northeastern Australia, and is the second-largest and third-most populous state in Australia. It is bordered by the Northern Territory, South Austr ...

. She completed a Bachelor of Veterinary Science at the

University of Queensland The University of Queensland is a Public university, public research university located primarily in Brisbane, the capital city of the Australian state of Queensland. Founded in 1909 by the Queensland parliament, UQ is one of the six sandstone ...

Career

McMahon accepted a position in the Northern Territory after her graduation. She has owned and operated veterinary practices in

, Howard Springs,

Nhulunbuy Nhulunbuy () is a town and locality in the far north of the Northern Territory of Australia. Founded on the Gove Peninsula in north-east Arnhem Land when a bauxite mine and deep water port were established in the late 1960s, the town's econ ...

Tennant Creek Tennant Creek () is a town located in the Northern Territory of Australia. It is the Northern Territory#Cities and towns, seventh largest town in the Northern Territory, and is located on the Stuart Highway, just south of the intersection with ...

, and

Alice Springs Alice Springs () is a town in the Northern Territory, Australia; it is the third-largest settlement after Darwin, Northern Territory, Darwin and Palmerston, Northern Territory, Palmerston. The name Alice Springs was given by surveyor William ...

. She was a national director of the

Australian Veterinary Association The Australian Veterinary Association (AVA) is a not-for-profit association representing more than 7000 Australian veterinarians working in private practice, government, industry, and academia. The AVA was mooted before the First World War but not ...

for five years and president of the Northern Territory division for two years. She became a Fellow of the

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in 2003. She won the

Centenary Medal The Centenary Medal is an award which was created by the Australian Government in 2001. It was established to commemorate the centenary of the Federation of Australia and to recognise "people who made a contribution to Australian society or g ...

for business leadership in 2001, was awarded the

Meritorious Service Award in 2014, and was awarded the NT Telstra small business award in 2017.

Politics

In March 2019, McMahon won

preselection Preselection is the process by which a candidate is selected, usually by a political party, to contest an election for political office. It is also referred to as candidate selection. It is a fundamental function of political parties. The presel ...

to replace

Nigel Scullion Nigel Gregory Scullion (born 4 May 1956) is a former Australian politician who served a senator for the Northern Territory from 2001 until 2019. He was a member of the Country Liberal Party (CLP) and sat with the National Party in federal parl ...

as the

's lead Senate candidate at the 2019 federal election. She was elected to a term beginning on 18 May 2019, and chose to sit with the

National Party National Party or Nationalist Party may refer to: Active parties * National Party of Australia, commonly known as ''The Nationals'' * Bangladesh: ** Bangladesh Nationalist Party ** Jatiya Party (Ershad) a.k.a. ''National Party (Ershad)'' * Californ ...

in federal parliament, following her predecessor. In May 2021 she was appointed chair of the Joint Standing Committee on the National Capital and External Territories. In June 2021, McMahon was defeated for CLP preselection at the 2022 federal election by

Jacinta Price Jacinta Yangapi Nampijinpa Price (; born 12 May 1981) is an Australian politician from the Northern Territory. She has been a senator for the Northern Territory since the 2022 federal election. She is a member of the Country Liberal Party, a c ...

. In the week leading up to the ballot,

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reported that at least ten senators believed she had been visibly drunk while in the Senate chamber on 23 June. A spokesman stated that she was feeling "unwell" and that the allegations were part of a smear campaign to discredit her in the lead-up to the preselection. In December 2021 it was alleged that following a 'boozey' Christmas party McMahon was escorted from the premises to a waiting taxi, at which point McMahon physically assaulted Nationals federal director and event organiser Jonathan Hawkes. In January 2022, McMahon resigned from the Country Liberal Party and moved to the crossbench to sit as an independent. She later explained in March 2022 that she resigned due to alleged abuse by former staffer Jason Riley. On 8 April 2022, McMahon announced she had joined the Liberal Democrats, and would run on the party's Northern Territory Senate ticket at the May federal election. The Liberal Democrats won approximately 9% of the vote in the Northern Territory Senate race, not enough for McMahon to retain her seat in the chamber.

Positions

In January 2020, during the

2019–20 Australian bushfire season The 201920 Australian bushfire season commenced with serious uncontrolled fires in June 2019. , fires this season have burned an estimated , destroyed over 5,900 buildings (including 2,779 homes) and killed at least 34 people. An estimated o ...

, McMahon tweeted that the

Australian Greens The Australian Greens, commonly referred to simply as the Greens, are a Left-wing politics, left-wing green party, green Australian List of political parties in Australia, political party. As of 2025, the Greens are the third largest politica ...

' "ridiculous agenda" of opposing logging had " to these horrible fires". A

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article published in the same month identified her as one of the " climate doubters" within the Coalition. In March 2020, McMahon argued that a nuclear power plant should be built in northern Australia to lower emissions and improve the country's economy. In August 2021, McMahon announced she had drafted a bill to expand the legislative powers of the

Northern Territory Legislative Assembly The Legislative Assembly of the Northern Territory (also known as the Parliament of the Northern Territory) is the unicameral legislature of Australia’s Northern Territory. The Legislative Assembly has 25 members, each elected in single-member ...

and reduce the power of federal parliament to veto territory legislation. This would include a partial repeal of the ''

Euthanasia Laws Act 1997 The ''Euthanasia Laws Act 1997'' (Cth) was an Act of the Parliament of Australia to amend the '' Northern Territory (Self-Government) Act 1978'', the ''Australian Capital Territory (Self-Government) Act 1988'' and the '' Norfolk Island Act 19 ...

'', allowing the Legislative Assembly to legalise

assisted suicide Assisted suicide, sometimes restricted to the context of physician-assisted suicide (PAS), is the process by which a person, with the help of others, takes actions to end their life. Once it is determined that the person's situation qualifie ...

. In November 2021, McMahon was one of five Coalition senators who voted against the government in support of One Nation’s COVID-19 Vaccination Status (Prevention of Discrimination) Bill 2021.

Personal life

McMahon lives on a farm outside Katherine and is an avid water skier and horse rider. In September 2019, McMahon announced that she had separated from her husband, Wayne Nayda.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:McMahon, Sam 1967 births Living people Members of the Australian Senate for the Northern Territory Country Liberal Party members of the Parliament of Australia Independent members of the Parliament of Australia Australian veterinarians Women veterinarians Women members of the Australian Senate University of Queensland alumni National Party of Australia members of the Parliament of Australia Liberal Democratic Party members of the Parliament of Australia People from Nanango