The Australian Women's Register

Kathy Newman is a dedicated member of the Democratic Socialist party and has been involved in politics in at least three states and the Northern Territory. She ran for the Brisbane City Council at the age of 19, winning more than 5% of the vote. At the time she was the Brisbane Organiser of Resistance, the socialist youth group. She later moved to the Northern Territory and in 2004, was the Socialist Alliance’s second candidate for the Senate.

Over the previous ten years, Kathy Newnam had campaigned against mandatory detention for refugees, racism, wood-chipping of old growth forests and nuclear testing in the Pacific. She had campaigned for free education, environmental justice, independence for East Timor, and women’s rights.

Kathy Newnam was listed as a student when she ran for the seat of Charlestown in 2003. She and her party opposed the pro-business and privatisation policies of the Labor Government and were critical of the law and order campaigns of both major parties. She won only 0.6% of the votes cast.