Vanessa Goodwin (22 April 1969 – 3 March 2018) was an Australian politician. She was 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 ...

member for the seat of Pembroke in the

Tasmanian Legislative Council The Tasmanian Legislative Council is the upper house of the Parliament of Tasmania in Australia. It is one of the two Chambers of parliament, chambers of the Parliament, the other being the Tasmanian House of Assembly, House of Assembly. Both ho ...

from the Pembroke by-election on 1 August 2009 until her resignation due to brain cancer on 2 October 2017.

Early life

Goodwin was born in

Hobart Hobart ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the island state of Tasmania, Australia. Located in Tasmania's south-east on the estuary of the River Derwent, it is the southernmost capital city in Australia. Despite containing nearly hal ...

Tasmania Tasmania (; palawa kani: ''Lutruwita'') is an island States and territories of Australia, state of Australia. It is located to the south of the Mainland Australia, Australian mainland, and is separated from it by the Bass Strait. The sta ...

.Biographical details
''Parliament of Tasmania'' She received a Bachelor of Arts and Bachelor of Laws from the

University of Tasmania The University of Tasmania (UTAS) is a public research university, primarily located in Tasmania, Australia. Founded in 1890, it is Australia's fourth oldest university. Christ College (University of Tasmania), Christ College, one of the unive ...

, a

Master of Philosophy A Master of Philosophy (MPhil or PhM; Latin ' or ') is a postgraduate degree. The name of the degree is most often abbreviated MPhil (or, at times, as PhM in other countries). MPhil are awarded to postgraduate students after completing at leas ...

(Criminology) from the

University of Cambridge The University of Cambridge is a Public university, public collegiate university, collegiate research university in Cambridge, England. Founded in 1209, the University of Cambridge is the List of oldest universities in continuous operation, wo ...

, and a Doctor of Philosophy from the

.Pembroke 2009 by-election candidates
''ABC elections''

Career

Goodwin was a criminologist and lawyer who had worked for the Department of Police and Public Safety. She had previously worked as an Associate to the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of Tasmania, as the Public Affairs Officer for the local Australian Hotels Association branch and as a research assistant for the Tasmanian Governor. Goodwin unsuccessfully contested the state seat of Franklin at the 2006 Tasmanian election, and the federal seat of Franklin at the 2007 federal election. In 2009,

member for Pembroke, Allison Ritchie, resigned, causing a

by-election A by-election, also known as a special election in the United States and the Philippines, or a bypoll in India, is an election used to fill an office that has become vacant between general elections. A vacancy may arise as a result of an incumben ...

. Goodwin stood as the Liberal candidate, and won by a large margin. She was re-elected in 2013. After the 2014 Tasmanian election, Goodwin was appointed Attorney-General, Minister for Justice, Minister for Corrections and Minister for the Arts, as well as Leader for the Government in the

Legislative Council A legislative council is the legislature, or one of the legislative chambers, of a nation, colony, or subnational division such as a province or state. It was commonly used to label unicameral or upper house legislative bodies in the Brit ...

. Goodwin resigned on 2 October 2017 for health reasons. Her seat was filled in a by-election, which was won by

Labor Labour or labor may refer to: * Childbirth, the delivery of a baby * Labour (human activity), or work ** Manual labour, physical work ** Wage labour, a socioeconomic relationship between a worker and an employer ** Organized labour and the labour ...

's Jo Siejka.

Health and death

On 25 March 2017, Goodwin was hospitalised with multiple brain tumours.Attorney-General Vanessa Goodwin hospitalised with multiple brain tumours
The Mercury. Retrieved 25 March 2017. On 6 April, Premier

Will Hodgman William Edward Felix Hodgman (born 20 April 1969) is a former Australian politician and diplomat. He was the premier of Tasmania from 2014 to 2020 and state leader of the Liberal Party from 2006 to 2020. He later served as High Commissioner of ...

informed the parliament that she was not expected to recover. She died from brain cancer on 3 March 2018, aged 48, on the day of the 2018 Tasmanian state election.

References

External links

Official website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Goodwin, Vanessa 1969 births 2018 deaths Politicians from Hobart Liberal Party of Australia members of the Parliament of Tasmania Members of the Tasmanian Legislative Council University of Tasmania alumni Alumni of the University of Cambridge Australian criminologists Australian women criminologists 21st-century Australian politicians Women members of the Tasmanian Legislative Council Deaths from brain cancer in Australia Deaths from cancer in Tasmania Neurological disease deaths in Tasmania 21st-century Australian women politicians