1. Helen Lloyd Coonan was born on 29 October 1947 and is a former Australian politician who was a Senator for New South Wales from 1996 to 2011, representing the Liberal Party.
21 Facts About Helen Coonan
1. 2.
Helen Coonan was a minister in the Howard government, serving as Minister for Revenue and Assistant Treasurer from 2001 to 2004 and then as Minister for Communications, Information Technology and the Arts from 2004 to 2007.
3.
Helen Coonan later attended the University of Sydney, where she gained a law degree.
4.
Helen Coonan was a barrister and solicitor before entering politics.
5.
Helen Coonan was chair of the board of governors of the Law Foundation of New South Wales.
6.
In 1996, Helen Coonan was elected to the federal Senate as a Liberal senator for New South Wales.
7.
Helen Coonan was re-elected in 2001 and appointed Minister for Revenue and Assistant Treasurer, making her the first woman to hold an Australian Treasury portfolio since Federation.
8.
Helen Coonan was appointed Minister for Communications, Information Technology and the Arts, with a seat in the Cabinet, in July 2004.
9.
Helen Coonan's portfolio was responsible for overseeing the Australian broadcasting and telecommunications industries as well as the ICT sector and Australia Post.
10.
Helen Coonan became Deputy Leader of the Government in the Senate in January 2006, and was the first female in the Coalition Leadership team remaining in that role until the coalition was defeated at the polls on 24 November 2007.
11.
In September 2005, Helen Coonan announced a review of the digital television situation.
12.
In October 2005, Helen Coonan released a plan for a staged rollout of Digital Audio Broadcasting using the Eureka-147 technology, starting in metropolitan areas.
13.
Helen Coonan was instrumental in promoting legislative changes to the cross-media and foreign ownership laws in the Broadcasting Services Amendment Bill 2006.
14.
Helen Coonan's answer demonstrated that mandatory filtering was under consideration.
15.
Helen Coonan announced in August 2007 a $189 million package for the NetAlert programme.
16.
Helen Coonan became the Shadow Minister for Human Services, shadowing the Manager of Government Business in the Senate and Minister for Human Services, Senator Joe Ludwig.
17.
When Malcolm Turnbull defeated Brendan Nelson in a leadership ballot in September 2008, Helen Coonan was appointed Manager of Opposition Business in the Senate and was elevated to the prestigious position of Shadow Minister for Foreign Affairs.
18.
Helen Coonan was the first woman to shadow the portfolio.
19.
On 18 August 2011, Helen Coonan informed the Senate in a speech that she would resign on 22 August.
20.
Helen Coonan was appointed as a non-executive director of gaming company Crown Limited in 2011.
21.
Helen Coonan was a regular presenter on The Cabinet on Sky News Australia.