Zali Steggall facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Zali Steggall
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Steggall in 2019
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| Member of the Australian Parliament for Warringah |
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| Assumed office 18 May 2019 |
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| Preceded by | Tony Abbott | |||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Born | 16 April 1974 Manly, New South Wales, Australia |
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| Political party | Independent | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| Spouses |
David Allan Cameron
(m. 1999; div. 2007)Tim Irving
(m. 2008) |
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| Relatives | Jack Steggall (grandfather) Zeke Steggall (brother) |
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| Education | Griffith University (BA) | |||||||||||||||||||||||
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Zali Steggall OAM (born 16 April 1974) is an Australian politician, lawyer, and former Winter Olympic athlete. She is an independent member of the Australian Parliament for the area of Warringah. She first won this seat in the 2019 Australian federal election, defeating the former Prime Minister, Tony Abbott.
Before becoming a politician, Steggall was a very successful alpine skier. She won a bronze medal in slalom skiing at the 1998 Winter Olympics in Nagano, Japan. She also won a gold medal at the World Ski Championships in 1999. Zali Steggall was Australia's first individual Winter Olympic medallist and the first Australian woman to win a medal at the Winter Olympics. Her Olympic career lasted from the Albertville Games in 1992 to the Salt Lake City Games in 2002.
After her skiing career, Steggall studied law and became a solicitor, then a barrister. She also worked with several non-profit groups, including the Sport Australia Hall of Fame. In 2019, she decided to run for parliament as an independent candidate and won the seat of Warringah. She has increased her support in the elections since then, including in the 2022 and 2025 federal elections.
Contents
Early Life and Family Background
Zali Steggall was born in Manly, New South Wales, Australia, in 1974. Her family moved to France in 1978 and lived there until 1989. She started ski racing at a resort called Morzine in the French Alps. Her parents had planned to stay for only 18 months but loved the lifestyle and stayed for ten years. Her mother, Dr. Susan Steggall, wrote a book about their time there.
Zali won European age championships when she was 10 and 13 years old. By the age of 14, she was part of the French junior skiing team. After her family returned to Australia in 1989, she went to Queenwood School for Girls in Sydney.
Sports run in Zali's family. Her grandfather, Jack Steggall, played ten rugby union games for Australia. Her father also played rugby. Her brother, Zeke Steggall, is an Olympic snowboarder.
Skiing Achievements (1992–2002)
Even after moving back to Australia, Zali and her brother often traveled to the northern hemisphere to train. She also trained in Austria with a special coach.
Zali Steggall made her Olympic debut in Albertville in 1992 when she was 17. She finished 23rd in the giant slalom event. At the 1994 Olympics in Lillehammer, she placed 22nd in slalom and 24th in giant slalom.
In December 1995, Steggall achieved a top 10 finish in a World Cup event, placing 10th in slalom. In January 1996, she came fourth at the World Championships in Italy, missing a bronze medal by a tiny amount of time.
Olympic Medal Success
Zali Steggall was a strong medal contender for the 1998 Winter Olympics in Nagano. Three months before the Olympics, she became the first Australian woman to win a World Cup event in alpine skiing. She won the slalom event in Park City, Utah, by a significant margin. She then had other strong finishes, ranking sixth in the world.
At the Nagano Olympics in 1998, Zali won Australia's first individual Winter Olympic medal. She earned a bronze medal in slalom skiing. Her time was 1 minute 32.67 seconds, just 0.27 seconds behind the winner. Later that year, she placed second in another World Cup event, missing gold by only 0.01 seconds. This made her the first Australian woman to win an alpine medal in a World Cup competition.
Her success led the Australian Olympic Committee to expand the Australian Ski Institute into the Olympic Winter Institute of Australia. This new institute received a large annual budget and created a full-time training program for winter sports athletes. This helped many Australian athletes win gold medals in various winter sports.
In 1999, Steggall won the slalom event at the World Championships in Vail, Colorado. This was a historic win, as she was the first athlete from the southern hemisphere to win a World Championship in alpine skiing. Her Olympic career ended at the 2002 Winter Olympics in Salt Lake City, where she did not finish her first run.
Zali Steggall also participated in the Olympic torch relays. In September 2000, she carried the Olympic flame for the Sydney Olympics. In 2004, she carried the Olympic flame to the top of the Sydney Harbour Bridge for the Athens Olympics.
Legal Career (2002–2019)
After retiring from skiing in 2002, Zali Steggall completed a Bachelor of Arts degree. She then studied law and became a solicitor, working for her father's law firm. In 2008, she became a barrister, which is a type of lawyer who represents clients in court. She focused on family law, sports law, and commercial law.
From 2014 to 2019, Steggall served as a director for the Olympic Winter Institute of Australia and the Sport Australia Hall of Fame. She also became a member of the Australian Sports Anti-Doping Agency (ASADA) panel, which deals with rule violations. In 2017, she was appointed as an arbitrator for the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS), which settles sports disputes. In 2018, she was one of 12 arbitrators chosen for the CAS tribunal at the Pyeongchang Winter Olympic Games.
Entering Politics: The 2019 Election
On 27 January 2019, Zali Steggall announced she would run as an independent candidate in the Division of Warringah for the 2019 Australian federal election. She ran against the sitting Liberal Party member, former Australian Prime Minister Tony Abbott. Her main campaign promises included taking action on climate change, improving mental health services, and promoting honest government.
During the campaign, Steggall faced unfair attacks online. She called for changes to election laws to ensure political advertising was truthful. She also debated Tony Abbott on important issues like climate change, vehicle emissions, and electric cars. Steggall supported policies to reduce emissions and move towards renewable energy.
Steggall raised a significant amount of money for her campaign from many individual donors. On 18 May 2019, Zali Steggall defeated Tony Abbott, who had held the seat of Warringah since 1994. Her victory was historic because it was the first time since 1922 that this traditionally Liberal-held seat was won by an independent. Steggall is seen as a pioneer for "teal independents," who combine conservative economic views with strong environmental policies.
Member of Parliament (2019–Present)
First Term in Parliament
From 2019 to 2022, Zali Steggall served on committees dealing with environment, energy, and family law reform. In November 2020, she spoke against merging the Family Court with another court, arguing it would make the system less specialized and harder for judges. She believed the law should focus on the rights of children.
Steggall was part of a group that supported bringing Julian Assange home to Australia. In October 2021, she introduced a bill to stop political misinformation, but it did not receive support from major parties. The following month, she said she did not support Australia's diplomatic boycott of the 2022 Beijing Winter Olympics, believing athletes should not be pressured to make political statements.
Second Term in Parliament
During the 2022 federal election campaign, Steggall criticized comments made by the Liberal candidate, Katherine Deves, which were seen as unfair to transgender people. Steggall also faced false claims that she was a member of the Australian Greens party.
Steggall received funding for her campaign from Climate 200, a group that supports independent candidates focused on climate action. She was criticized for not immediately disclosing a donation from a family trust linked to a former coal investor in the previous election. However, when auditors found the mistake, she personally disclosed the donation. Steggall successfully kept her seat in the 2022 federal election, defeating Katherine Deves and increasing her lead.
In August 2022, Steggall became a member of the House of Representatives Standing Committee on Climate Change, Energy, Environment and Water. She has spoken about making housing more affordable, reducing economic inequality, and supporting businesses. In August 2023, Steggall supported measures to prevent large international companies from avoiding taxes. She also supported protecting retirement savings from excessive taxation. She was in favor of the "Yes" vote in the October 2023 Australian Indigenous Voice referendum, which aimed to create an advisory body for First Nations Australians. She was very disappointed when the referendum did not pass.
Steggall reintroduced her bill to stop political misinformation in November 2023, but it was again unsuccessful. In January 2024, Steggall criticized Prime Minister Anthony Albanese for changing planned tax cuts. While she was not against the changes themselves, she was critical that the government had previously insisted it would not make any changes.
In 2024, Steggall accused Liberal leader Peter Dutton of racism for his support of preventing people from Gaza from getting Australian visas during the Gaza war.
Third Term in Parliament
In 2025, Zali Steggall won a third term as the Member of Parliament for Warringah, further increasing her majority in the seat.
Personal Life
Zali Steggall was married to Olympic rower David Cameron from 1999 to 2006. They have two children together. In 2007, she met marketing executive Tim Irving, and they married in 2008.
Honours and Recognition
Zali Steggall has received several awards for her achievements. She was given an Australian Sports Medal in 2000 and a Medal of the Order of Australia in 2007. She was also inducted into the Australian Institute of Sport 'Best of the Best' in 2001 and the Sport Australia Hall of Fame in 2004.
A ski trail at Blue Cow, Perisher in Australia is named "Zali's" after her.
See also
In Spanish: Zali Steggall para niños
- Skiing in Australia
- Voices groups in Australia
