Karen McNamara
{{short description|Australian politician}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=June 2016}}
{{Use Australian English|date=June 2016}}
{{Infobox officeholder
| honorific-prefix =
| name = Karen McNamara
| honorific-suffix = MP
| image =
| constituency_MP = Dobell
| parliament = Australian
| majority =
| predecessor = Craig Thomson
| successor =Emma McBride
| term_start = 7 September 2013
| term_end =2 July 2016
| birth_date = {{birth date and age|1964|4|23|df=yes}}
| birth_place = Falkirk, Scotland
| death_date =
| death_place =
| nationality = Australian
| party = Liberal Party of Australia
| relations =
| spouse = John McNamara
| children = 2 sons
| residence =
| alma_mater =
| occupation = Politician
| profession =
| religion =
| signature =
| website = {{URL|www.karenmcnamara.com.au}}
| footnotes =
}}
Karen Jane McNamara (born 23 April 1964) is an Australian politician. She was a Liberal member of the Australian House of Representatives from 2013 to 2016, representing the New South Wales electorate of Dobell. She lost her seat at the 2016 election losing to Labor candidate Emma McBride
Career
McNamara is a former New South Wales public servant, serving in senior roles for over 20 years.{{cite web | url=http://www.liberal.org.au/member/karen-mcnamara | title=Karen McNamara Member for Dobell | publisher=Liberal Party of Australia | accessdate=7 September 2013 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130928023838/http://www.liberal.org.au/member/karen-mcnamara | archive-date=28 September 2013 | url-status=dead }} McNamara managed the electoral campaign of Darren Webber for the electorate of Wyong at the 2011 New South Wales state election.{{cite news|last=Nicholls|first=Sean|title=Karen McNamara dragged into controversy about political donations|url=http://www.smh.com.au/national/karen-mcnamara-dragged-into-controversy-about-political-donations-20130923-2u9kh.html|accessdate=2014-05-02|newspaper=Sydney Morning Herald|date=2013-09-23}} In 2013 Webber was forced to resign from the Liberal Party, due to irregularities in his electoral fundraising creating corruption concerns.{{cite news|last=Gerathy|first=Sarah|title=Chris Hartcher, Darren Webber and Chris Spence step down from Liberal Party amid corruption claims|url=http://www.abc.net.au/news/2014-02-19/liberals-to-suspend-hartcher-over-icac-inquiry/5268592|accessdate=2014-05-02|newspaper=Australian Broadcasting Corporation|date=2014-02-19}}
At the 2013 Australian federal election, McNamara won the Central Coast seat of Dobell, ousting sitting member, independent Craig Thomson, and narrowly defeating Labor candidate Emma McBride.{{cite web |url=http://vtr.aec.gov.au/HouseDivisionFirstPrefs-17496-115.htm |title=House of Representatives: NSW: Dobell |publisher=Australian Electoral Commission |work=Election 2013 |date=13 September 2013 |accessdate=15 September 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130909205327/http://vtr.aec.gov.au/HouseDivisionFirstPrefs-17496-115.htm |archive-date=9 September 2013 |url-status=dead }} At the 2016 election, McBride, the daughter of former state MP Grant McBride, turned the tables, defeating McNamara after achieving a swing of over four percent.{{cite web|title=Dobell, NSW|url=http://results.aec.gov.au/20499/Website/HouseDivisionPage-20499-115.htm|website=Tally Room|publisher=Australian Electoral Commission|accessdate=2017-09-12}}
References
{{reflist}}
{{s-start}}
{{s-par|au}}
{{s-bef|before=Craig Thomson}}
{{s-ttl|title=Member for Dobell|years=2013–2016}}
{{s-aft|after=Emma McBride}}
{{s-end}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:McNamara, Karen}}
Category:Liberal Party of Australia members of the Parliament of Australia
Category:Members of the Australian House of Representatives for Dobell
Category:Members of the Australian House of Representatives
Category:Women members of the Australian House of Representatives