Meg Lees
| Meg Lees | |
|---|---|
| Leader of the Australian Democrats | |
|
In office 15 October 1997 – 6 April 2001 |
|
| Deputy | Natasha Stott Despoja |
| Preceded by | Cheryl Kernot |
| Succeeded by | Natasha Stott Despoja |
| Deputy Leader of the Australian Democrats | |
|
In office 2 October 1991 – 15 October 1997 |
|
| Leader |
John Coulter Cheryl Kernot |
| Preceded by | Siegfried Spindler |
| Succeeded by | Natasha Stott Despoja |
| Senator for South Australia | |
|
In office 4 April 1990 – 30 June 2005 |
|
| Preceded by | Janine Haines |
| Personal details | |
| Born |
19 October 1948 New South Wales |
| Political party |
Democrats (1990–2002) Independent (2002–03) APA (2003–05) |
Meg Heather Lees (née Francis, born 19 October 1948) was a member of the Australian Senate from 1990 to 2005, representing the state of South Australia. She represented the Australian Democrats from 1990 to 2002, and was her party's Senate leader from 1997 – 2001. After being deposed by Natasha Stott Despoja, she quit the party to sit as an independent senator in 2002, adopting the party designation Australian Progressive Alliance from 2003 until her electoral defeat in 2005. As party leader, she controversially facilitated passage of the Howard Government's Goods and Services Tax (GST).
She was born in the Blue Mountains, west of Sydney. She became a teacher at Ingleburn High School and married Keith Lees, a fellow teacher, in about 1971. In 1974 they moved to Mount Gambier, where their two daughters were born. After both Keith and Meg became involved in the Australian Democrats, they moved to Adelaide, but the pressures of political activity led to the breakdown of their marriage. On Christmas Eve 2000, shortly before she was deposed as the Democrats' leader in the Senate, Lees was remarried to Adelaide lawyer Matthew Mitchell.
Cheryl Kernot defected to the Australian Labor Party in October 1997, and Lees was called upon to stand in as acting leader. She was officially chosen as Kernot's replacement in December, with Natasha Stott Despoja becoming her deputy.
During her time as leader, the Democrats strengthened the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Act, improved the Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme, negotiated the GST tax reform and maintained the general oversight role of the Democrats in the Senate through a number of Senate inquiries.
In 1999, Prime Minister John Howard proposed the idea of a Goods and Services Tax. It was opposed by the Labor Party, the Australian Greens and independent Senator Brian Harradine, which meant that it required Democrat support to pass. In an election fought on tax, the Democrats publicly stated that they liked neither the Liberal (GST) tax package or the Labor package, but pledged to work with whichever party was elected to make their tax package better. They campaigned with the slogan "No GST on food". A majority of the senators in the party room agreed to pass the bill if some amendments were made, mostly to exclude fresh food and essential items such as basic medicines. Stott Despoja stated that she was unhappy with the outcome, particularly the GST on books. Both Stott Despoja and Queensland Senator Andrew Bartlett would ultimately cross the floor to vote against the GST package.
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