Career
In 1986 she gave up a high profile career with the Special Broadcasting Service (Business School) and Nine Network where she co-hosted Today, to live on the land and run a 10,000 acre (40 km²) beef cattle property, known as Elmswood, in the Hunter Region, New South Wales. Newell has a passion for biodynamic agriculture and healthy foods, which she talks about in her books The Olive Grove and Ten Thousand Acres - A Love Story. Newell was the subject of, the 4 October 2001 edition of the American Broadcasting Company-Television biography program, Australian Story.
In December 2006, she announced that she would be running for a seat on the New South Wales Legislative Council in the March 2007 New South Wales State election as an independent candidate endorsed by the Climate Change Coalition.
Her policy platform was to put pressure on the Government to acknowledge that climate change is "the greatest crisis in human history" and that it should be recognised and taken into account in all Government policy. Newell was the lead candidate on the New South Wales Senate group ticket for the Climate Change Coalition in the Australian federal election held on 24 November 2007.
The party received 0.89% of first preferences in NSW or 0.0622 of a quota.