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{{Short description|Australian politician}}
{{Use
{{Use Australian English|date=August 2021}}
{{Infobox
| honorific-prefix =
| name = Sue West
| honorific-suffix =
| image =
|
| president = [[Margaret Reid (politician)|Margaret Reid]]
| term_start = 11 February 1987▼
|
| predecessor = [[Doug McClelland]]▼
| predecessor = [[Mal Colston]]
| term_start1 = 1 July 1990▼
| successor = [[John Hogg]]
▲| term_end1 = 30 June 2002
| title2 = [[Australian Senate|Senator]] for [[New South Wales]]
| term_end2 = 30 June 2002
| term_end3 = 5 June 1987
| birth_date = {{birth date and age|df=yes|1947|8|21}}
| birth_place = [[Cowra, New South Wales]], Australia
| death_date =
| death_place =
| spouse = {{marriage|Peter Martin|1987}}
| party = [[Australian Labor Party|Labor]]▼
▲| party = [[Australian Labor Party]]
| relations =
| children =
| residence =
| education = [[Cumberland College of Health Sciences]]
| occupation =
| profession = Nurse
| religion =
| signature =
Line 30 ⟶ 36:
| footnotes =
}}
'''Suzanne
==Early life==
West was born and raised in [[Cowra, New South Wales]], the daughter of Edna (née Bennett) and Tim West. Her father was a [[Pastoral farming|grazier]] and ALP member who stood for state parliament on four occasions without success. She grew up on the family property {{convert|15|mi|km}} outside of Cowra,<ref name=bio>{{Cite Au Senate |Sen id=west-suzanne-margaret |name=West, Suzanne Margaret (1947– ) |access-date=2023-01-26 |year=2017 |volume=4 |first=Patrick |last=Mullins}}</ref> and was educated at Blackfriars Correspondence School, Cowra Public School, and Cowra High School.<ref name=alp>{{cite news|url=https://www.nswlabor.org.au/sue_west|title=Sue West|publisher=Australian Labor Party (New South Wales Branch)|access-date=27 March 2020}}</ref> She then trained as a nurse at Cowra District Hospital before moving to [[Sydney]] and completing a certificate in midwifery at [[King George V Memorial Hospital]].<ref name=bio/>
Before entering politics, West worked as registered nurse at [[Royal Prince Alfred Hospital]], the Glebe Health Centre, with the Capital Health Commission in [[Canberra]], and at clinics in [[Cootamundra]] and [[Gundagai]]. She held membership of the [[New South Wales College of Nursing]] and [[Royal College of Nursing]]. West additionally completed a diploma in community nursing at the [[Cumberland College of Health Sciences]] in 1977. She subsequently served on the council of the [[Mitchell College of Advanced Education]] in [[Bathurst, New South Wales|Bathurst]] from 1978 to 1984.<ref name=bio/>
==Politics==
West joined the ALP in 1975. She was the party's candidate in the [[Division of Hume]], a safe [[National Country Party]] seat, at the [[1980 Australian federal election|1980 federal election]]. In 1983 she moved to Bathurst to join the staff of the local MP [[David Simmons (Australian politician)|David Simmons]]. She was an unsuccessful candidate for the Senate at the [[1983 Australian federal election|1983]] and [[1984 Australian federal election|1984 federal elections]], on both occasions being placed on the bottom of the ticket.<ref name=bio/>
===Senate===
In February 1987, West was appointed to the Senate to fill a [[Casual vacancies in the Australian Parliament|casual vacancy]] caused by the resignation of [[Doug McClelland]]. She was the first woman to represent New South Wales in the Senate. West used her maiden speech to defend the controversial [[Australia Card]], which she had worked on while in Simmons' office. Her first term was cut short by a [[double dissolution]] after only a few months. She was again placed last on the ALP ticket at [[1987 Australian federal election|the subsequent election]] and lost her seat.<ref name=bio/>
West returned to the Senate at the [[1990 Australian federal election|1990 election]], having worked as a ministerial consultant in the meantime. She won election over incumbent Liberal senator [[Chris Puplick]] by just 243 votes on the final count. West was re-elected [[1996 Australian federal election|in 1996]] in first place on the ALP ticket. In May 1997, she was elected [[Deputy President of the Australian Senate|Deputy President and Chair of Committees]]. Her election meant both the presidency and deputy presidency were held by women for the first time, following [[Margaret Reid (politician)|Margaret Reid]]'s election as president in 1996. She held the position until her retirement in June 2002, following her decision not to contest the [[2001 Australian federal election|2001 election]].<ref name=bio/>
==Later career==
Since leaving West has held senior positions with [[Anglicare]] and the [[Anglican Church of Australia]], including as chair of Anglicare Western NSW from 2004.<ref name=bio/> She is a life member of the ALP and has served on various party committees since leaving the Senate.<ref name=alp/> After the party's defeat at the [[2019 New South Wales state election]], she was invited to conduct an internal review of the party, along with [[David Campbell (Australian politician)|David Campbell]] and [[Meredith Burgmann]]. Their report recommended a number of changes and was submitted to the party's administrative committee in February 2020.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.smh.com.au/politics/nsw/nsw-labor-considers-new-rules-on-leadership-challenges-20200216-p5419v.html|title=NSW Labor considers new rules on leadership challenges|newspaper=[[The Sydney Morning Herald]]|date=16 February 2020|access-date=27 March 2020}}</ref>
==Personal life==
West married Peter Martin, a retired police officer with four adult children, in March 1987. She was widowed in 1993.<ref name=bio/>
==References==
{{reflist}}
{{Authority control}}
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[[Category:Delegates to the Australian Constitutional Convention 1998]]
[[Category:20th-century Australian politicians]]
[[Category:20th-century Australian women politicians]]
[[Category:21st-century Australian politicians]]
[[Category:21st-century Australian women politicians]]
[[Category:Australian nurses]]
[[Category:Australian women nurses]]
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