A lawyer with a background in industrial, equal opportunity and human rights law, Alison Marie Xamon became the first Greens candidate to win a seat representing East Metropolitan Region when she was elected to the 38th Parliament in 2008. She was elected to represent North Metropolitan Region in the 40th Parliament in March 2017 but was not successful in being re-elected at the 2021 State election.
Alison was a foundation member of The Greens (WA), joining in January 1990 and has been a member ever since. A passionate social justice and environmental campaigner for close to three decades, Alison has been involved in activism movements from protecting forests and nuclear disarmament, to education, health and human rights campaigns.
Professionally, Alison began her career as a qualified playleader working with children at risk but soon made her way to the union movement where she worked as an organiser and industrial officer for both the State School Teachers’ Union and Australian Nursing Federation. She later became a lawyer for the CEPU. Outside of her paid employment, Alison was active in the community legal sector as a member of the board of the Environmental Defenders’ Office, the Women’s Law Centre and was Chair of the Employment Law Centre.
By 2013, when her term ended with defeat at the March election, Alison had campaigned for a moratorium on fracking, worked to protect WA’s precious water supplies, gained Government concessions on uranium safety regulations and contributed to the framing of a new approach for people with mental illness or intellectual disability who have had adverse dealings with the law.
Alison also introduced six Private Members’ Bills, including the Occupational Safety and Health Amendment Bill 2010, which sought to introduce the offence of Industrial Manslaughter into the criminal code.
Between the 2013 and 2017 elections, Alison immersed herself in mental health and suicide prevention advocacy, working with prisoners and disability advocates while continuing her legal work, including working with refugees.
When she stood again as the MLC for North Metropolitan in 2021 State election Alison had sood 10 times for The Greens. In her last term in Parliament Alison introduced Electoral Amendment (Access to Ministers) Bill 2017, Electoral Amendment (Ticket Voting and Associated Reforms) Bill 2019, and the Equal Opportunity (LGBTIQ Anti-Discrimination) Amendment Bill 2018. She also re-introduced her Industrial Manslaughter Bill from the previous Parliament.