Tamara Smith, MP is our Greens Member for Ballina.
Tamara represents a diverse and progressive community, she is a member of the NSW Parliament Law and Safety Committee and is an Adjunct Fellow in the School of law and Justice at Southern Cross University.
At the election in March 2015, Tamara became the first woman to hold the seat of Ballina and the first Greens MP in a regional seat in any Parliament of Australia.
Tamara’s family has lived in the Northern Rivers region for four generations. She is part of a legacy of activists and environmentalists in The Northern Rivers who have defended old-growth forests, protected biodiversity hotspots, resisted Coal Seam Gas exploration, delivered the Cape Byron Marine Park, and has campaigned to stave off inappropriate development right across the region.
“As the Greens NSW Member for Ballina I am proud to serve our diverse communities and to be a protector of our beautiful places and natural environments.”
Tamara was a secondary school teacher in remote and rural NSW for many years and has been a staunch member of the NSW Teachers Federation for 21 years. In 2002 she became the first female President of the Barrier Teachers Association in 60 years.
Tamara was admitted as a solicitor of the NSW Supreme Court in 2012 and has a keen interest in environmental law, feminism, social justice, Aboriginal affairs, public education advocacy and Human Rights.
She holds Statewide portfolios for the NSW Greens in Climate Change, Marine and Fisheries, Agriculture, Tourism, Regional Communities, Older People and the North Coast. Her electorate covers 1,100 square kilometres of rural and regional coastal landscapes and is one of the most popular tourist destinations on the east coast of Australia.