Biography

Senator Nash with husband David
and sons Henry and Will.

Nationals’ Senator for NSW Senator Fiona Nash was elected to the Senate in 2004 and took up her position on 1 July, 2005.

After growing up in Sydney, Senator Nash relocated to country NSW while studying at Mitchell College in Bathurst. So impressed by what life west of the Blue Mountains had to offer, Senator Nash and her husband David eventually took up residence on a property at Crowther, located near Young in the NSW south west.

In 1991 Senator Nash joined the local branch of the National Party, where she was soon elected to the position of branch chairman. Senator Nash was elected to the State Party Executive and was a delegate to the Federal Council, during which time she travelled to the USA and took part in the 1998 political exchange program during the congressional elections.

In 2008, Senator Nash was appointed Nationals Deputy Leader in the Senate.

Senator Nash has made significant contributions to policy development for The Nationals, working as part of National Party leader Warren Truss’ team.

A devoted mother of two boys, Will and Henry, Senator Nash is a passionate advocate for helping working families balance the demands of work and family life.

Having travelled extensively throughout regional Australia, Senator Nash has a broad understanding of the many and varied issues affecting people living outside the metropolitan centres and is using her position to be a strong voice for rural and regional communities.

Senator Nash will be working closely with Warren Truss and her Nationals colleagues to get real and lasting results for all Australians.

In brief

Name: Fiona Joy Nash
Party: The Nationals
Position: Senator for NSW. Elected to the Senate 2004 (term began 1.7.2005)
Date of birth: May 6, 1965
Marital status: Married to David, with two children, Will and Henry
Lives: Crowther, north of Young, NSW
Education: Bachelor of Arts, Liberal Studies (Mitchell College, Bathurst)

Work history:
Farming partner from 1991
Ministerial staffer 1999 - 2004

National Party positions:
Member, The Nationals Central Council (NSW) from 1997
Chair, The Nationals Lachlan Electorate Council 1997 - 2002
Member, The Nationals Central Executive (NSW) 1999 - 2005
Delegate, The Nationals Federal Council from 2002
Delegate, The Nationals Women’s Federal Council 2002-05; Treasurer 2003
Member, The Nationals Central Council Campaign Committee (NSW) from 2003
Deputy Leader of the Nationals in the Senate from 2008

Committee membership:

Government Backbench Policy Committees (Voting and non-voting)

Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry and Conservation (Voting)
Employment, Workplace Relations and Workforce Participation (Voting)
Communications and Information Technology (Voting)
Education, Science and Training Committee (Non-voting)
Health and Ageing (Non-voting)
Immigration, Multicultural and Indigenous Affairs (Non-voting)
Industry and Resources (Non-voting)

Senate Committees /Joint Standing Committees/ Joint Statutory Committees (Full member or participating member)

Senate Committees

Rural and Regional Affairs and Transport References (Full member)
Rural and Regional Affairs and Transport Legislation (Full member)
Senators’ Interests (Full member)
Employment, Workplace Relations and Education Legislation (Participating member)
Foreign Affairs, Defence and Trade Legislation Committee (Participating member)
Foreign Affairs, Defence and Trade References Committee (Participating member)
Community Affairs Legislation (Participating member)
Environment, Communications, Information Technology and the Arts References (Participating member)
Senate Select Committee on the National Broadband Network (Full member)

Joint Standing Committees

Publications (Full member)
Parliamentary Library (Full member)

Joint Statutory Committees

Public Accounts and Audit (Full member)