Sharman Nancy Stone (née Bawden; born 23 April 1951) is a former Australian politician who represented Murray in the

Australian House of Representatives The House of Representatives is the lower house of the bicameralism, bicameral Parliament of Australia, the upper house being the Australian Senate, Senate. Its composition and powers are set out in Chapter I of the Constitution of Australia. ...

between March 1996 and July 2016 as a member of 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 ...

. She subsequently served as the Australian Ambassador for Women and Girls from when

Natasha Stott Despoja Natasha Jessica Stott Despoja AO (born 9 September 1969) is an Australian diplomat, gender equality advocate, former Australian of the Year nominee, and former politician. Starting her career in student politics, she became an advisor to the ...

stepped down from the role in late 2016 until 2020.

Background

Stone was born in Pyramid Hill,

Victoria Victoria most commonly refers to: * Queen Victoria (1819–1901), Queen of the United Kingdom and Empress of India * Victoria (state), a state of Australia * Victoria, British Columbia, Canada, a provincial capital * Victoria, Seychelles, the capi ...

, the daughter of Harvey Bawden and Nancy Chalmers. She graduated from

Monash University Monash University () is a public university, public research university based in Melbourne, Victoria (state), Victoria, Australia. Named after World War I general Sir John Monash, it was founded in 1958 and is the second oldest university in the ...

with a Bachelor of Arts (Hons), from

La Trobe University La Trobe University is a public university, public research university based in Melbourne, Victoria (Australia), Victoria, Australia. Its main campus is located in the suburb of Bundoora, Victoria, Bundoora. The university was established in 1 ...

with a Master of Arts, from Hawthorn College of Advanced Education with a Graduate Diploma of Education, and was awarded a

PhD A Doctor of Philosophy (PhD, DPhil; or ) is a terminal degree that usually denotes the highest level of academic achievement in a given discipline and is awarded following a course of graduate study and original research. The name of the deg ...

by Monash . She was Manager of International Development at the

University of Melbourne The University of Melbourne (colloquially known as Melbourne University) is a public university, public research university located in Melbourne, Australia. Founded in 1853, it is Australia's second oldest university and the oldest in the state ...

, Director of Communications at the Victorian Farmers Federation, and a farmer before entering politics.

Political career

Elected to federal parliament at the 1996 federal election, Stone was appointed Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister for the Environment and Heritage in October 1998. Following the re-election of the

Howard government The Howard government refers to the Government of Australia, federal executive government of Australia led by Prime Minister John Howard between 11 March 1996 and 3 December 2007. It was made up of members of the Liberal Party of Australia, Li ...

in October 2004, she became Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister for Finance and Administration. On 27 January 2006 she was appointed Minister for Workforce Participation, succeeding

Peter Dutton Peter Craig Dutton (born 18 November 1970) is an Australian former politician who served as the Leader of the Opposition (Australia), Leader of the Opposition and the Leader of the Liberal Party of Australia, leader of the Liberal Party from 2 ...

. After the defeat of the Howard government in November 2007, Stone took up the role of Shadow Minister for Environment, Heritage, the Arts and Indigenous Affairs. Following

Malcolm Turnbull Malcolm Bligh Turnbull (born 24 October 1954) is an Australian former politician and businessman who served as the 29th prime minister of Australia from 2015 to 2018. He held office as Liberal Party of Australia, leader of the Liberal Party an ...

's defeat of Brendan Nelson for the leadership of the Liberal Party, and the retirement of Senator Chris Ellison, Stone became Shadow Minister for Immigration and Citizenship in the subsequent reshuffle. Stone announced her retirement from politics on 26 March 2016, which took effect from the

double dissolution A double dissolution is a procedure permitted under the Australian Constitution to resolve deadlocks in the bicameral Parliament of Australia between the House of Representatives (lower house) and the Senate (upper house). A double dissolutio ...

of the Australian Parliament on 9 May, in advance of the 2016 federal election on 2 July.

Author

Stone is an author of numerous publications on race relations, environment and geology (with

Doug Stone Doug Stone (born Douglas Jackson Brooks; June 19, 1956) is an American country music singer and songwriter. He debuted in 1990 with the single " I'd Be Better Off (In a Pine Box)", the first release from his 1990 self-titled debut album for Epi ...

) among others, including '' Aborigines in White Australia'' (London and Melbourne, 1974). Stone was appointed a

Member of the Order of Australia The Order of Australia is an Australian honours and awards system, Australian honour that recognises Australian citizens and other persons for outstanding achievement and service. It was established on 14 February 1975 by Elizabeth II, Monarch ...

in the 2024 Australia Day Honours for "significant service to the people and Parliament of Australia, and to the community through executive positions".

References

External links

La Trobe University Alumni Graduate Profiles
''

Agora The agora (; , romanized: ', meaning "market" in Modern Greek) was a central public space in ancient Ancient Greece, Greek polis, city-states. The literal meaning of the word "agora" is "gathering place" or "assembly". The agora was the center ...

'' – The Magazine for

Graduates
Ministerial Website"The Hon Dr Sharman Stone MP"
Australian Parliament House
Personal website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Stone, Sharman 1951 births Living people Members of the Order of Australia Liberal Party of Australia members of the Parliament of Australia Members of the Australian House of Representatives Members of the Australian House of Representatives for Murray Australian non-fiction writers Monash University alumni La Trobe University alumni Women members of the Australian House of Representatives Women government ministers of Australia 21st-century Australian women politicians Ambassadors of Australia Australian women diplomats 20th-century Australian women politicians Australian MPs 1996–1998 Australian MPs 1998–2001 Australian MPs 2001–2004 Australian MPs 2004–2007 Australian MPs 2007–2010 Australian MPs 2010–2013 Australian MPs 2013–2016