Dianne Hadden
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Dianne Gladys Hadden (born October 4, 1951) is an Australian politician. She has been an Australian Labor Party member of the Victorian Legislative Council since September 1999, representing Ballarat Province.
Hadden was born in Ivanhoe, Melbourne, and studied economics and law at Monash University. She worked for law firms in Melbourne and Ballarat, before founding her own practice in Ballarat in 1992.
In the leadup to the 1999 state election, Hadden succeeded in securing Labor pre-selection for the Liberal-held seat of Ballarat Province. She was ultimately successful, defeating new Liberal candidate David Clark. Though she has never occupied a ministerial position, Hadden has been a member of the Law Reform Committee since her election to parliament, and in 2003, also joined the House Committee.
Hadden has gained a reputation as something of a political maverick, having publicly attacked her own party on several issues. She came out strongly against controversial plans to build a toxic waste dump at Pittong, near Ballarat, and tabling a petition opposing the proposal in parliament. When Premier Steve Bracks continued to push for the dump to be sited at Pittong, despite significant negative publicity, she publicly slammed the government, labelling them "arrogant and dogmatic", and comparing them to former Liberal Premier Jeff Kennett - though this earned a stern rebuke from Bracks. The campaign against the dump was ultimately successful, but this may have repercussions for Hadden - after her role, The Age newspaper raised speculation that Hadden would struggle to retain pre-selection as the Labor candidate for her seat in 2006, when she will face re-election.
Hadden has been a sharp critic of genetically modified crops and her government's policies on the issue, and has publicly pushed for a harder stance. She also attacked the 2003 invasion of Iraq, and was among ten Victorian Labor MPs who signed a petitition declaring their opposition to the war. She is a member of a number of community organisations, including Amnesty International, the Fred Hollows Foundation and the National Trust of Australia.
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