Denise Allen
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Denise Margaret Allen (29 March 1953 – 22 January 2022) was an Australian politician, political strategist, social commentator and disability advocate.
Life and career[]
Born in Alexandra, Victoria, to Jack Donald Boote and wife Bette Doreen Boote, she attended local public schools before graduating in 1970. Prior to entering politics, Allen was a life skills/motivational tutor. She also owned a modelling agency, beauty therapy studio and retail fashion store.[1]
In 2000, Allen was the Labor Party candidate for the by-election for Benalla in the Victorian Legislative Assembly, which was being vacated by former deputy premier and state Nationals leader Pat McNamara. On paper, Allen faced daunting odds. Benalla was a staunchly conservative division in rural northeastern Victoria and had been in National hands for all but nine years since 1920. However, she won a surprise victory over new Nationals' candidate Bill Sykes, winning by 237 votes. She was the first Labor member to ever win the division. A Buddhist, she was the inaugural chairperson of the Parliamentary Friends of Tibet. In the 2002 state election, she was defeated by Sykes in a rematch despite Labor being re-elected in a landslide. Although Allen led on the primary vote, she was defeated on the third count after the preferences of the Liberal candidate, Andrew Dwyer, flowed overwhelmingly to Sykes, resulting in a 52-48 two party preferred result to the Nationals.[2]
Allen died from cancer on 22 January 2022 at the age of 68.[3]
References[]
- ^ Parliament of Victoria (2008). "Allen, Denise Margaret". re-member: a database of all Victorian MPs since 1851. Parliament of Victoria. Archived from the original on 23 April 2010. Retrieved 18 October 2009.
- ^ "Archived copy" (PDF). Archived (PDF) from the original on 14 September 2020. Retrieved 23 January 2022.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link) - ^ Thomson, Blair (23 January 2022). "Former Benalla member Denise Allen dies after cancer battle". The Border Mail. Archived from the original on 23 January 2022. Retrieved 23 January 2022.
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- 1953 births
- 2022 deaths
- 21st-century Australian politicians
- 21st-century Australian women politicians
- Australian Labor Party members of the Parliament of Victoria
- Members of the Victorian Legislative Assembly
- Australian Buddhists
- Australian female models
- People Power (Australia) politicians
- People from Alexandra, Victoria
- Women members of the Victorian Legislative Assembly
- Australian Labor Party members of the Parliament of Victoria stubs