About Tamara Smith

I acknowledge the traditional owners of the land on which we live, the Arakwal, Widjabal, Minjungbal and Nyangbul people of the Bundjalung Nation, and pay my respects to elders past and present. This land always was and always will be Aboriginal land.

As the Greens NSW Member for Ballina I am proud to serve our diverse communities and to be a protector of our beautiful places and natural environments. I am the first woman to represent the electorate of Ballina and the first Greens MP in a regional seat in any Parliament of Australia. 

As the party’s spokesperson for Education, Regional Communities, Tourism and the North Coast, I am passionate about social justice and standing up for the environment.

My family has lived in the Northern Rivers for more than 100 years and I have raised my own family here.

(Tamara Smith with Bob Brown and his partner Paul, and the legendary Jan Barham)

I was a secondary school teacher for many years both here and in the Outback before becoming a solicitor in 2012. I have worked in the areas of social justice, Aboriginal affairs and public education advocacy and I have a keen research interest in women’s rights and global warming.

I am an Adjunct Fellow in the School of Law and Justice at Southern Cross University, and a member of their Advisory Board. I am a member of the NSW Parliamentary Committee on Law and Justice and served previously on the Parliamentary Committee on Investment, Industry and Regional Development

One of the highlights of my career so far has been representing the NSW Parliament at Pacific Women’s Parliamentary forums in Samoa and the Solomon Islands, and as a Parliamentary delegate to Westminster and the European Union.

Our beautiful environment and rural lifestyle on the North Coast are a tribute to the dedication of many people in the community over many years who have campaigned to protect it from over-development and industrialisation – campaigns that I have been part of. I stood with so many of you against the industrialisation of our region through CSG mining and exploration and today our region is gasfield free.

I continue to support actions to protect the Cape Byron Marine Park Sanctuary, our oceans, rivers, forests, agricultural land and threatened native species, and am committed to working to improve the health of the Richmond River.