Nicola Roxon facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Nicola Roxon
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| Attorney-General of Australia | |
| In office 14 December 2011 – 2 February 2013 |
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| Prime Minister | Julia Gillard |
| Preceded by | Robert McClelland |
| Succeeded by | Mark Dreyfus |
| Minister for Health and Ageing | |
| In office 3 December 2007 – 14 December 2011 |
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| Prime Minister | Kevin Rudd Julia Gillard |
| Preceded by | Tony Abbott |
| Succeeded by | Tanya Plibersek (Health) Mark Butler (Mental Health and Ageing) |
| Member of the Australian Parliament for Gellibrand |
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| In office 3 October 1998 – 5 August 2013 |
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| Preceded by | Ralph Willis |
| Succeeded by | Tim Watts |
| Personal details | |
| Born | 1 April 1967 Sydney, Australia |
| Political party | Labor Party |
| Spouse | Michael Kerrisk |
| Children | 1 daughter |
| Alma mater | University of Melbourne |
Nicola Louise Roxon (born 1 April 1967) is a former Australian politician who became the country's first female Attorney-General. She is known for her work as the Minister for Health, where she helped introduce new laws for cigarette packaging.
From 1998 to 2013, she was a member of the Australian House of Representatives for the Australian Labor Party. After leaving politics, she began working as a company director and university professor.
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Early Life and Education
Nicola Roxon was born in Sydney, Australia. She is the second of three daughters. Her grandparents on her father's side were Jewish and moved to Australia from Poland in 1937. Her grandfather worked as a doctor.
Roxon's mother was a pharmacist, and her father, Jack, was a microbiologist (a scientist who studies tiny living things). Her father was a big inspiration to her, and she was very sad when he died from cancer when she was 10 years old.
She went to school at the Methodist Ladies' College in Melbourne. Later, she studied Arts and Law at the University of Melbourne and was awarded the university medal for being a top law student. Her experiences led her to believe that governments should help people facing challenges they can't control, like illness or accidents.
Starting Her Career
Before entering politics, Roxon had an impressive legal career. From 1992 to 1994, she worked as an assistant to Justice Mary Gaudron, a judge on the High Court of Australia, the most important court in the country.
After that, she became involved with trade unions, which are organizations that protect workers' rights. She worked as an organizer for the National Union of Workers. She also worked as a lawyer at the law firm Maurice Blackburn and Co. from 1996 to 1998, helping people with legal issues related to their jobs.
Career in Politics
In 1998, Nicola Roxon was elected to the Australian Parliament. She represented the area of Gellibrand in Victoria for the Labor Party.
Shadow Minister
After the 2001 election, the Labor Party was in opposition, meaning they were not the party in power. Roxon was given the role of a "Shadow Minister." A shadow minister's job is to closely follow the work of the government minister in a certain area and suggest different ideas.
Over the next few years, she held several shadow minister roles, including for Child Care, Immigration, and as the shadow Attorney-General.
Minister for Health
When the Labor Party won the election in 2007, Roxon became the Minister for Health and Ageing. This meant she was in charge of Australia's health system.
One of her biggest achievements was leading the government's effort to introduce plain cigarette packaging. This law required all cigarettes to be sold in plain, dark brown packages with large health warnings and no company logos. The goal was to make smoking less appealing, especially to young people. The television show Australian Story featured an episode about her work on this important health campaign.
Australia's First Female Attorney-General
In December 2011, Prime Minister Julia Gillard promoted Roxon to the role of Attorney-General. This made her the first woman in Australian history to hold this position. The Attorney-General is the top lawyer for the government and gives legal advice to the Prime Minister and other ministers.
During her time as Attorney-General, she handled a historical case about soldiers from the Second Boer War. She announced that the government would not ask for a pardon for Harry "Breaker" Morant and his fellow soldiers, stating that they had broken military rules by killing unarmed prisoners.
Life After Politics
Roxon resigned as Attorney-General in February 2013 and did not run for re-election later that year.
After her political career, she took on new roles. She became a professor at Victoria University and the board chair at VicHealth, an organization that promotes good health in Victoria. In 2014, she was added to the Victorian Honour Roll of Women for her achievements.
See also
- First Rudd Ministry
- First Gillard Ministry
- Second Gillard Ministry
