Nicola Roxon
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Nicola Roxon (born 1 April 1967) is an Australian politician. She has been a Labor member of the Australian House of Representatives since 1998, representing the Division of Gellibrand, in the inner-western suburbs of Melbourne, Victoria. She was born in Sydney, New South Wales, and was educated at the University of Melbourne.
Between 1992 and 1994, Roxon was employed as a judge's associate to High Court Justice Mary Gaudron. She then became involved with the trade union movement, joining the National Union of Workers as an organiser. Roxon was also an industrial lawyer and senior associate with the law firm Maurice Blackburn & Co. from 1996-98.
After her election to the House of Representatives in 2001, Roxon served on a number of committees, including the Standing Committee on Industry, Science and Resources and the Joint Select Committee on the Republic Referendum.
Roxon was promoted to the Shadow Ministry after Labor's loss in the 2001 election. Initially, she was appointed Shadow Minister for Child Care, Family Support and Youth. In early 2003, she was moved to Reconciliation and Indigenous Affairs. Roxon then had a brief stint as Shadow Minister for Population and Immigration later that year, when Julia Gillard moved from the Immigration portfolio to Health. In 2004, new leader Mark Latham appointed her Shadow Attorney-General and Shadow Minister Assisting the Leader on the Status of Women.
Roxon was strongly criticised by members of the gay and lesbian community for her (and the ALP's) support of the Federal government's 2004 amendments to the Marriage Act (see Same-sex marriage in Australia) which reaffirmed marriage as an exclusively heterosexual institution.
External link
Personal website (http://www.nicolaroxonmp.com/)