In July 1985, Jo Vallentine entered the Senate as a member of the Nuclear Disarmament Party, later sitting as an independent and finally as a representative of the Greens WA from 1 July 1990 until her resignation in January 1992.
Jo grew up in Beverley, in Western Australia’s conservative Wheatbelt. She was a member of the Quakers and involved in the opposition to the war in Vietnam.
Jo is a long-term peace and anti-nuclear advocate and continued her activism in Parliament. She marched on the joint facilities base Pine Gap near Alice Springs, where she was arrested. She also marched on the American Clark Air Base in The Philippines in 1989.
After she resigned from Parliament, Jo has maintained an active engagement in community issues.
In an historical survey of the state in November 2006, the conservative West Australian newspaper named Jo Vallentine as one of the state's 100 most influential people. She has recently been one of a number of women nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize. The Australian Government's intentions to further mine uranium, and possibly build 25 nuclear power stations around Australia's cities in 2006 has stepped up Jo’s role as a spokesperson.
