Career
Milne stepped down as leader on 6 May 2015, replaced by Doctor Richard Di Natale. From 1975 to 1984 Milne worked as a secondary school teacher, teaching English, History and Social Science. She first came to public attention for her role in opposing the building of the Wesley Vale pulp mill near Bass Strait in North Western Tasmania on the basis of its environmental impact.
She also participated in the ultimately successful campaign opposing the Franklin Dam and was arrested and jailed in 1983.
She was part of the Labor–Green Accord, a political agreement between the Australian Labor Party and the Tasmanian Greens to form government after the 1989 general election had resulted in a hung parliament. During that time, Tasmania saw significant economic and social reform.
Measures included gun law reform, liberalisation of gay laws, an apology to the Indigenous stolen generation and support for an Australian republic. In 1998, the major parties voted to restructure the House of Assembly from 35 to 25 seats, increasing the quota of votes required to be elected to the Tasmanian House of Assembly.
Liberal Premier Tony Rundle immediately called an election, which his party subsequently lost.
After her career in state politics, she was an adviser to Senator Bob Brown from 2000 until she was elected to represent Tasmania in the Federal Senate at the 2004 federal election. Preferences to Family First from the Australian Labor Party almost prevented her from being elected. However, she managed to reach a quota mostly as a result of the high level of below-the-line voting in Tasmania.
The other Green elected at that election was Rachel Siewert from Western Australia.
Milne was Vice-President of the International Union for Conservation of Nature (International Union for Conservation of Nature, also known as the World Conservation Union) from 2005 to 2008. She became Deputy Leader of the Australian Greens on 10 November 2008.
In 2009, she debated the shortcomings of Australian Climate Change Regulatory Authority Bill 2009 in the federal parliament. On 13 April 2012, Milne became the leader of the Australian Greens after the resignation of Bob Brown.
On 6 May 2015, Milne announced her immediate resignation from the leadership of the Australian Greens, and foreshadowed her departure from the Senate.
Milne resigned from the Senate on 10 August 2015.