Denise Allen

Denise Allen
Denise Allen
Member of the Victorian Legislative Assembly; for Benalla
	In office; 13 May 2000 – 30 November 2002
Preceded by	Pat McNamara
Succeeded by	Bill Sykes
Personal details
Born	29 March 1953; Alexandra, Victoria
Died	22 January 2022 (aged 68)
Political party	Labor; People Power (2006)

Denise Margaret Allen (29 March 1953 – 22 January 2022) was an Australian politician, political strategist, social commentator and disability advocate.

Life and career

Allen was born on 29 March 1953 in Alexandra, Victoria, to Jack Donald Boote and Bette Doreen Boote. She attended Alexandra Primary School and Alexandra High School, receiving her leaving certificate in 1970. Prior to entering politics, Allen was a life skills and motivational tutor. She also owned a modelling agency, beauty therapy studio and retail fashion store.[1]

In 2000, Allen was the Labor Party candidate in the by-election for the seat of Benalla in the Victorian Legislative Assembly, which was being vacated by former deputy premier and state Nationals leader Pat McNamara. On paper, Allen faced daunting odds. Benalla was a staunchly conservative division in rural north-eastern Victoria and had been in National hands for all but nine years since 1920. However, she won a surprise victory by 237 votes over new Nationals' candidate Bill Sykes. She was the first-ever Labor member to win the division. A Buddhist, she was the inaugural chairperson of the Parliamentary Friends of Tibet. In the 2002 state election, she was defeated by Sykes in a rematch, despite the Labor government being re-elected in a landslide. Although Allen led on the primary vote, she was defeated on the third count after the preferences of the Liberal candidate, Andrew Dwyer, flowed overwhelmingly to Sykes, resulting in a 52-48 two-party-preferred percentage of the vote in favour of the Nationals.[2]

Allen died from cancer on 22 January 2022, at the age of 68.[3]

References

Parliament of Victoria (2008). "Allen, Denise Margaret". re-member: a database of all Victorian MPs since 1851. Parliament of Victoria. Archived from the original on 23 April 2010. Retrieved 18 October 2009.
"Archived copy" (PDF). Australian Broadcasting Corporation. Archived (PDF) from the original on 14 September 2020. Retrieved 23 January 2022.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
Thomson, Blair (23 January 2022). "Former Benalla member Denise Allen dies after cancer battle". The Border Mail. Archived from the original on 23 January 2022. Retrieved 23 January 2022.

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[vic-1] Parliament of Victoria (2008). "Allen, Denise Margaret". re-member: a database of all Victorian MPs since 1851. Parliament of Victoria. Archived from the original on 23 April 2010. Retrieved 18 October 2009.

[2] "Archived copy" (PDF). Australian Broadcasting Corporation. Archived (PDF) from the original on 14 September 2020. Retrieved 23 January 2022.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)

[3] Thomson, Blair (23 January 2022). "Former Benalla member Denise Allen dies after cancer battle". The Border Mail. Archived from the original on 23 January 2022. Retrieved 23 January 2022.