Background
She was born at Mount Hawthorn in Perth and was a barrister and solicitor before entering politics.
She was born at Mount Hawthorn in Perth and was a barrister and solicitor before entering politics.
In 1989 she was elected to the Western Australian Legislative Assembly as the Liberal member for Kingsley. She was immediately promoted to the front bench as Shadow Minister for Education, and remained a senior frontbencher for the rest of her career, including serving as Attorney-General from 1993 to 1995, Family and Services Minister from 1995 to 1997, and Environment Minister from 1997 to 2001. She remained on the front bench in Opposition as Shadow Minister for Planning, Labour Relations and Employment, Public Sector Management and Censorship, and was Manager of Opposition Business from 2004 until her retirement from politics in 2005.
