The Honourable Patricia "Trish" White |
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Cabinet Minister Member of the South Australian Parliament for Taylor |
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In office 5 November 1994 – 20 March 2010 |
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Premier |
Dean Brown (1994-1996) John Olsen (1996-2001) Rob Kerin (2001-2002) Mike Rann (2002-2010) |
Preceded by | Lynn Arnold |
Succeeded by | Leesa Vlahos |
Personal details | |
Born | Brisbane, Queensland, Australia |
Alma mater | University of Queensland |
Occupation | Engineer, Company director |
Patricia Lynne "Trish" White (born 7 September 1964) is a company director and former Australian politician, who represented Taylor in the South Australian House of Assembly for the Australian Labor Party. She first won the seat at a state by-election held on 5 November 1994 following the retirement of former Premier Lynn Arnold and served for 16 years. She was a senior cabinet minister in the Rann government.
Born in Brisbane, White gained degrees in Engineering and Arts, from the University of Queensland, after which she worked as an engineering project manager in the transport and communications industries, then with the Defence Science and Technology Organisation.
From 1995 to 2002, White has held Shadow Ministries from time to time including Education and Children's Services, Further Education and Training, Higher Education, Regional Development, Tourism, Racing, Sport, Youth, Multicultural and Ethnic Affairs.
When Labor took power in 2002, she became a minister. From 2002 to 2005, White has held Ministries from time to time including Education and Children's Services, Member of the Executive Council, Transport, Science and Information Economy, and Urban Development and Planning. She stepped down to spend more time with her young family.
She has been a member of several parliamentary committees, including Chair Economic and Finance, Industry Development, Public Works, Social Development, Select Committee into Building Surveyors / Private Certifiers, Select Committee into DETE funded schools.
The 2006 election saw White increase her margin to 27.4%.
White announced she would not re-contest her seat at the 2010 state election. Labor preselected former Labor assistant secretary Leesa Vlahos who retained the seat.