About Sharon

Sharon was first elected in 2001 - the first woman to represent the federal seat of Newcastle - and was re-elected in 2004 and 2007 with increased margins.

Before entering Parliament, Sharon served as a teacher and Principal in the Hunter region. In her professional career she completed extensive management and financial training and studied Arts and Law.

Sharon was a board director of the Honeysuckle Development Corporation and a member of the management committee of the Tinonee Multicultural Village for Aged Care.

Understanding that Newcastle’s challenge is to build a sustainable and diverse economy, Sharon has advocated strongly to position the region as a centre for research and innovation. She has overseen the establishment of the Australian Solar Institute and Clean Energy Innovation Centre in Newcastle; secured the first ever $100 million Smart Grid Smart City initiative to be rolled out in Newcastle; and invested $40 million in the Hunter Medical Research Institute and $30 million to establish the Newcastle Institute for Energy and Resources.

Sharon has built positive relationships and networks to advance these opportunities and achievements, which she believes represents the way to a prosperous future for the people of Newcastle.

Sharon is Chair of Parliament’s powerful Joint Committee of Public Accounts & Audit and is a Member of the Joint Committee on Corporations & Financial Services and the Joint Committee on Foreign Affairs, Defence & Trade. As the co-convenor of the Parliamentary Friends of Dementia, Sharon works in a bipartisan way to promote to her colleagues the needs of people living with dementia.

Each year since being elected, Sharon has presented a Leadership Prize to all Newcastle schools and has sponsored an Education Scholarship of $250 to one TAFE and one University student to assist them with purchase of textbooks. Sharon also supports the annual National Tree Day, donating trees for planting at sites in Newcastle.