Susan Christine Knowles (born 10 April 1951) is a former Australian politician who served as a

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

for

Western Australia Western Australia (commonly abbreviated as WA) is a state of Australia occupying the western percent of the land area of Australia excluding external territories. It is bounded by the Indian Ocean to the north and west, the Southern Ocean to ...

from 1984 to 2005, representing 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. __TOC__ Active liberal parties This is a l ...

. She briefly served as a shadow minister under

John Hewson John Robert Hewson AM (born 28 October 1946) is an Australian former politician who served as leader of the Liberal Party from 1990 to 1994. He led the Liberal-National Coalition to defeat at the 1993 Australian federal election. Hewson was ...

from 1993 to 1994.

Early life

Knowles was born in

Brisbane Brisbane ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the states and territories of Australia, Australian state of Queensland, and the list of cities in Australia by population, third-most populous city in Australia and Oceania, with a populati ...

Queensland ) , nickname = Sunshine State , image_map = Queensland in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of Queensland in Australia , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = Australia , established_title = Before federation , established_ ...

. She was the sales manager of a

Perth Perth is the list of Australian capital cities, capital and largest city of the Australian states and territories of Australia, state of Western Australia. It is the list of cities in Australia by population, fourth most populous city in Aust ...

office equipment company before entering politics. In 1979 she was appointed to the National Youth Advisory Group within the

Department of Employment and Youth Affairs The Department of Employment and Youth Affairs was an Australian government department that existed between December 1978 and May 1982. Scope Information about the department's functions and/or government funding allocation could be f ...

Political career

Knowles served as state president of the Young Liberal Movement from 1977 to 1981. She later held various positions in the

Liberal Party of Australia (Western Australian Division) The Liberal Party of Australia (Western Australian Division), branded as Liberal Western Australia, is the division of the Liberal Party of Australia in Western Australia. Founded in March 1949 as the Liberal and Country League of Western Austr ...

, including state executive member, state council member, vice-president, and senior vice-president.

Senate

Knowles was elected to the Senate at the 1984 federal election and re-elected in

1987 File:1987 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: The MS Herald of Free Enterprise capsizes after leaving the Port of Zeebrugge in Belgium, killing 193; Northwest Airlines Flight 255 crashes after takeoff from Detroit Metropolitan Airpor ...

1993 File:1993 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The Oslo I Accord is signed in an attempt to resolve the Israeli–Palestinian conflict; The Russian White House is shelled during the 1993 Russian constitutional crisis; Czechoslovakia is peace ...

and

1998 1998 was designated as the ''International Year of the Ocean''. Events January * January 6 – The ''Lunar Prospector'' spacecraft is launched into orbit around the Moon, and later finds evidence for frozen water, in soil in permanently s ...

. She served as her party's deputy whip in the Senate from 1987 to 1993 and then served in

's shadow ministry from 1993 to 1994, holding the multicultural affairs portfolio. According to ''

The Canberra Times ''The Canberra Times'' is a daily newspaper in Canberra, Australia, which is published by Australian Community Media. It was founded in 1926, and has changed ownership and format several times. History ''The Canberra Times'' was launched in ...

'', she was "the ultimate Hewson loyalist in WA". In August 1994 she publicly opposed new opposition leader

Alexander Downer Alexander John Gosse Downer (born 9 September 1951) is an Australian former politician and diplomat who was leader of the Liberal Party from 1994 to 1995, Minister for Foreign Affairs from 1996 to 2007, and High Commissioner to the United K ...

's decision to sack Hewson from the shadow ministry. Knowles later served as chair of the community affairs legislation committee from 1997 until her retirement in 2005. She "played a key role in its inquiries into tobacco advertising prohibition and stem cell research". In 1995, Knowles came into conflict with her Liberal colleague

Noel Crichton-Browne Noel Ashley Crichton-Browne (born 2 February 1944 at Wiluna, Western Australia) is a former member of the Australian Senate and political lobbyist. Early life Crichton-Browne was educated at Scotch College, Perth. Before his career in politics ...

over allegations that he had been violent towards his wife several years earlier. Knowles stated that she had helped shelter Crichton-Browne's wife at the time. The allegations came three days after Crichton-Browne was expelled from the Liberal Party. In June 1995, it was reported that Crichton-Browne was being investigated for making death threats towards Knowles. He denied that he had threatened her, stating that the allegations were "scurrilous, crude and filthy". Knowles initially did not comment, but in September confirmed that she had made a complaint to the

Western Australia Police The Western Australia Police Force, colloquially WAPOL, provides police services throughout the state of Western Australia, an area of 2.5 million square kilometres, the world's largest non-federated area of jurisdiction, with a population ...

. In October 1998, she publicly retracted her statements and apologised to Crichton-Browne, as well as paying him a settlement of $20,000. In 1999, the disciplinary committee of the WA Liberals voted to expel Knowles from the party over unnamed complaints, apparently due to the continued influence of Crichton-Browne. Other federal MPs and Premier

Richard Court Richard Fairfax Court (born 27 September 1947) is a former Australian politician and diplomat. He served as Premier of Western Australia from 1993 to 2001 and as Australian Ambassador to Japan from 2017 to 2020. A member of the Liberal Party ...

opposed the committee's recommendation, and it was subsequently rejected by the party's state council. In March 2003, Knowles announced that she would not re-contest her seat at the next federal election. Her term ended on 30 June 2005.

Later career

Knowles was appointed convenor of the

Australian Classification Review Board The Australian Classification Review Board is a statutory censorship and classification body overseen by the Australian Government. The corporate body is responsible for reviewing classification decisions made by the Australian Classification Bo ...

in January 2019, to a two-year term. She has served on the Ad Standards Community Panel since December 2017.

References

External links

Susan Knowles, Senate Biography
{{DEFAULTSORT:Knowles, Sue 1951 births Living people Liberal Party of Australia members of the Parliament of Australia Members of the Australian Senate for Western Australia Women members of the Australian Senate Members of the Australian Senate 21st-century Australian politicians 21st-century Australian women politicians 20th-century Australian politicians 20th-century Australian women politicians