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You can find the current article at its original source at https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2017/jul/18/larissa-waters-the-senator-who-stood-up-for-the-barrier-reef-and-womens-rights
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| Larissa Waters: the senator who stood up for the barrier reef and women's rights | Larissa Waters: the senator who stood up for the barrier reef and women's rights |
| (about 1 month later) | |
| Swept to parliament by a historic win in 2010, as the first Queensland Greens member to be elected to the federal Senate, Larissa Waters made a name for herself as a passionate defender of the Great Barrier Reef and women’s rights. | Swept to parliament by a historic win in 2010, as the first Queensland Greens member to be elected to the federal Senate, Larissa Waters made a name for herself as a passionate defender of the Great Barrier Reef and women’s rights. |
| She made history again this year when she became the first woman to breastfeed in Australia’s parliament, making international headlines. | She made history again this year when she became the first woman to breastfeed in Australia’s parliament, making international headlines. |
| But she has been forced to resign after discovering she holds dual citizenship with Canada, having been born in Winnipeg to Australian parents in 1977 and leaving the country for Australia as an 11-month old. | But she has been forced to resign after discovering she holds dual citizenship with Canada, having been born in Winnipeg to Australian parents in 1977 and leaving the country for Australia as an 11-month old. |
| It marks a further unravelling of the Greens, meaning the party will be down two votes in the Senate for at least a short period of time following the resignation of Scott Ludlam on Friday, after he discovered he held dual citizenship with New Zealand. | It marks a further unravelling of the Greens, meaning the party will be down two votes in the Senate for at least a short period of time following the resignation of Scott Ludlam on Friday, after he discovered he held dual citizenship with New Zealand. |
| “It is with a heavy heart that I am forced to resign as senator for Queensland and co-deputy leader of the Australian Greens, effective today,” Waters said on Tuesday. “I apologise wholeheartedly to all those who have supported me and helped me to become a representative for the wonderful people of Queensland over the last six years.” | “It is with a heavy heart that I am forced to resign as senator for Queensland and co-deputy leader of the Australian Greens, effective today,” Waters said on Tuesday. “I apologise wholeheartedly to all those who have supported me and helped me to become a representative for the wonderful people of Queensland over the last six years.” |
| Waters came to politics after spending eight years at the Environmental Defenders Office, which left her frustrated at the limits of environmental protection laws. When she entered parliament in 2011, she nominated the Great Barrier Reef as her political priority. | Waters came to politics after spending eight years at the Environmental Defenders Office, which left her frustrated at the limits of environmental protection laws. When she entered parliament in 2011, she nominated the Great Barrier Reef as her political priority. |
| “If I can do anything to protect the reef from climate change, I will feel I can sleep easy at night,” she said. “It’s the one thing I want to achieve above all else.” | “If I can do anything to protect the reef from climate change, I will feel I can sleep easy at night,” she said. “It’s the one thing I want to achieve above all else.” |
| Waters is not an overt political operator and, at the time of her election, she acknowledged as much. A former unnamed Labor campaign director said her political entry could be like Bambi going down to the bear pit. | Waters is not an overt political operator and, at the time of her election, she acknowledged as much. A former unnamed Labor campaign director said her political entry could be like Bambi going down to the bear pit. |
| But she gained a reputation for tenacity, and for staring down the glares of her opponents. | But she gained a reputation for tenacity, and for staring down the glares of her opponents. |
| “Nobody likes politicians do they?” Waters once told Fairfax. “People like other real people. I hope to always remain down to earth.” | “Nobody likes politicians do they?” Waters once told Fairfax. “People like other real people. I hope to always remain down to earth.” |
| She is a lawyer by training and came to parliament from the community legal sector, “from one of 200 of Australia’s vastly underfunded, non-government, not-for-profit legal practices”, she said in her first speech. | She is a lawyer by training and came to parliament from the community legal sector, “from one of 200 of Australia’s vastly underfunded, non-government, not-for-profit legal practices”, she said in her first speech. |
| “Eschewing the emptiness of corporate legal work, I spent the bulk of my working life on an award wage as a public interest environmental lawyer at the Environmental Defenders Office in Brisbane, an organisation which is a great unsung hero of many legal improvements in Queensland.” | “Eschewing the emptiness of corporate legal work, I spent the bulk of my working life on an award wage as a public interest environmental lawyer at the Environmental Defenders Office in Brisbane, an organisation which is a great unsung hero of many legal improvements in Queensland.” |
| The experience working in the community legal sector brought home to her the lack of genuine access to justice in Australia, she said. | The experience working in the community legal sector brought home to her the lack of genuine access to justice in Australia, she said. |
| “Having good laws on paper does not do much if people are not aware of their rights, are not able to enforce them or cannot even afford legal advice to know where to begin,” she said in her first speech. | “Having good laws on paper does not do much if people are not aware of their rights, are not able to enforce them or cannot even afford legal advice to know where to begin,” she said in her first speech. |
| “The risk of crippling court costs in public enforcement cases, the sheer complexity of environmental laws and the lack of understanding of the handful of rights people actually have to protect the environment all need redressing. | “The risk of crippling court costs in public enforcement cases, the sheer complexity of environmental laws and the lack of understanding of the handful of rights people actually have to protect the environment all need redressing. |
| “We need legal aid for the environment and all community legal centres need more recurrent funding for services – and decent wages at least in parity with the public sector.” | “We need legal aid for the environment and all community legal centres need more recurrent funding for services – and decent wages at least in parity with the public sector.” |
| Waters’ determination to call out sexism in politics earned her the ire of some political opponents. | Waters’ determination to call out sexism in politics earned her the ire of some political opponents. |
| In 2014, when the finance minister, Mathias Cormann, called the opposition leader, Bill Shorten, an “economic girlie man”, she said women would be appalled that he had “chosen to use gender as a derogatory attack”. | In 2014, when the finance minister, Mathias Cormann, called the opposition leader, Bill Shorten, an “economic girlie man”, she said women would be appalled that he had “chosen to use gender as a derogatory attack”. |
| “What more can you expect from a government with just one woman in cabinet and a prime minister who thinks women should be at home ironing,” she said at the time. | “What more can you expect from a government with just one woman in cabinet and a prime minister who thinks women should be at home ironing,” she said at the time. |
| Her decision to breastfeed her baby in parliament this year also garnered criticism, with some commentators deriding her for returning the Greens to the paws of identity politics. Waters said her family was never very political but her upbringing imbued her with a reverence for nature and a love for all living creatures. | Her decision to breastfeed her baby in parliament this year also garnered criticism, with some commentators deriding her for returning the Greens to the paws of identity politics. Waters said her family was never very political but her upbringing imbued her with a reverence for nature and a love for all living creatures. |
| She says her sense of injustice was ignited in her early teens when reading David Day’s Whale Wars about the international whaling fights of the 1980s. At 14, she turned vegetarian because of her love for animals, and later for ecological reasons. | She says her sense of injustice was ignited in her early teens when reading David Day’s Whale Wars about the international whaling fights of the 1980s. At 14, she turned vegetarian because of her love for animals, and later for ecological reasons. |
| She told parliament in 2011 that despite her concern about the future of the environment, she was a “shameless optimist” who could envisage a different future. | She told parliament in 2011 that despite her concern about the future of the environment, she was a “shameless optimist” who could envisage a different future. |
| “I am gutted by today’s announcement,” the Greens leader, Richard Di Natale, said. “The loss of Scott and Larissa Waters leaves a gaping hole in the parliament.” | “I am gutted by today’s announcement,” the Greens leader, Richard Di Natale, said. “The loss of Scott and Larissa Waters leaves a gaping hole in the parliament.” |
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