Background
Gash was born in Groningen in the Netherlands, and emigrated to Australia when she was six.
Gash was born in Groningen in the Netherlands, and emigrated to Australia when she was six.
She was educated at Institute of Administration in Sydney.
In 2012, Gash was directly elected as the Mayor of the City of Shoalhaven, a local government area in the south-eastern coastal region of New South Wales. Before entering politics she was a Regional Manager with the Tourism Commission of New South Wales, a guest house co-proprietor, and a Councillor of the Wingecarribee Shire Council. Gash was elected to Federal Parliament at the 1996 federal election.
In January 2012, Gash announced that she would not be contesting the next federal election.
At the same time, she announced her intention to stand for mayor at the Shoalhaven City Council elections, due to be held in September 2012. Gash was successful, winning the directly elected role with 63.19% of the vote.
Gash also led a ticket that saw nine other Councillors elected to the thirteen–member Shoalhaven City Council.
Following her election as mayor, there was criticism about her constitutional ability to hold office as a federal Member of Parliament and to hold an office of profit under the crown, as Mayor.