Natasha Stott Despoja

{{Infobox officeholder

| name = Natasha Stott Despoja

| honorific-suffix = AO

| image = Natasha_Stott_Despoja_Portrait_2012.jpg

| caption = Stott Despoja in 2012

| office = Australia Ambassador for
Women and Girls

| term_start = 16 December 2013

| term_end = 21 November 2016

| predecessor = Penny Williams

| successor = Sharman Stone

| office1 = 7th Leader of the Australian Democrats

| deputy1 = Aden Ridgeway

| term_start1 = 6 April 2001

| term_end1 = 21 August 2002

| predecessor1 = Meg Lees

| successor1 = Brian Greig

| office2 = 6th Deputy Leader of the
Australian Democrats

| leader2 = Meg Lees

| term_start2 = 15 October 1997

| term_end2 = 6 April 2001

| predecessor2 = Meg Lees

| successor2 = Aden Ridgeway

| office3 = Senator for South Australia

| term_start3 = 29 November 1995

| term_end3 = 30 June 2008

| predecessor3 = John Coulter

| birth_name = Natasha Jessica Stott Despoja

| birth_date = {{Birth date and age|df=y|1969|09|09}}

| birth_place = Adelaide, South Australia, Australia

| death_date =

| death_place =

| party = Australian Democrats

| residence = Henley Beach, Adelaide, South Australia{{cite news |last=Carruthers |first=Fiona |date=4 November 2022 |title=From record-breaking politician to Deloitte principal |url=https://www.afr.com/politics/federal/alley-cats-tight-pants-pert-breasts-politics-in-the-noughties-20221017-p5bqce |work=Australian Financial Review (AFR) |location= |access-date=}}

| spouse = {{marriage|Ian Smith|2001}}

| father = Mario Despoja

| mother = Shirley Stott

| education = Pembroke School

| alma_mater = University of Adelaide

| occupation = {{hlist|Policy advisor|Union organiser|Politician}}

| signature =

| website =

| footnotes =

}}

Natasha Jessica Stott Despoja AO (born 9 September 1969) is an Australian diplomat, gender equality advocate, former Australian of the Year nominee, and former politician. Starting her career in student politics, she became an advisor to the Australian Democrats and was appointed to the Australian Senate in 1995 at the age of 26. At the time, she was the youngest woman to serve in Federal Parliament. She went on to become deputy leader of the Democrats in 1997 and then federal leader from 2001 to 2002. She retired from the Senate in 2008 as the longest-serving senator from her party.

She has remained active in the public sphere, working with government and non-profit organisations. She was appointed Officer of the Order of Australia in 2019 for her work on gender equality. Stott Despoja was the founding chair of Our Watch, a national foundation to prevent violence against women and children, and served as national Ambassador for Women and Girls from 2013 to 2016. She was also a member of the World Bank Gender Advisory Council from 2015 to 2017. She has served in positions at the United Nations, including on the High Level Working Group on the Health and Human Rights of Women, Children, and Adolescents in 2017, and as a member of the Convention on the Elimination of all forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW) since 2020. She has published several books and writes regularly on current topics. In 2022, she was South Australia's Australian of the Year. [https://australianoftheyear.org.au/recipients/natasha-stott-despoja-ao]

Early life and education

Stott Despoja was born in Adelaide on 9 September 1969.{{cite web|url=https://www.aph.gov.au/Senators_and_Members/Parliamentarian?MPID=3I6|title=Former Senator Natasha Stott Despoja|access-date=1 August 2023|website=Parliament of Australia}} She is the daughter of Shirley Stott Despoja, an Australian-born journalist and Mario Despoja, who was from Croatia (then part of Yugoslavia). She attended Stradbroke Primary and Pembroke School{{cite web | title=A penny for Pembroke? | website=Australian Financial Review | date=29 November 2013 | url=https://www.afr.com/opinion/columns/a-penny-for-pembroke-20131128-ij92a | access-date=4 September 2018}} and later graduated from the University of Adelaide in 1991. She was President of the Students' Association of the University of Adelaide (SAUA) and the South Australian Women's Officer for the National Union of Students. She then went on to work as a political advisor to Senator John Coulter and Senator Cheryl Kernot.{{cite web|url=https://www.theartofhealing.com.au/aushero-natasha.html|title=Natasha Jessica Stott Despoja|website=theArtofHealing.com.au|year=2013|access-date=11 July 2019|archive-date=6 April 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230406143442/https://www.theartofhealing.com.au/aushero-natasha.html|url-status=dead}}

Political career

When Democrats Senator John Coulter resigned for health reasons in 1995, Stott Despoja was the successful candidate to fill the resulting vacancy.{{Cite Au Parliament |mpid=396 |name=Former Senator Natasha Stott Despoja |access-date=3 November 2021}} Her rise to prominence began when she won a full term in the 1996 election the following year, becoming the youngest woman ever elected to the federal Parliament at age 26. Late the following year, following the resignation of Cheryl Kernot and the rise of Meg Lees to the leadership of the Democrats, Stott Despoja was elected deputy leader of the Democrats. During this time, she built her image as spokesperson for Employment, Higher Education, Youth, Science and Information Technology, Consumer Affairs, Trade, and the Republic.{{Cite web|url=http://www.womenaustralia.info/leaders/biogs/WLE0705b.htm|title=Stott Despoja, Natasha Jessica – Woman – The Encyclopedia of Women and Leadership in Twentieth-Century Australia|last=Melbourne|first=The University of|website=womenaustralia.info|access-date=19 November 2018}}

During the passage of the Goods and Services Tax (GST) legislation in 1999, Stott Despoja and Andrew Bartlett split with the party's other senators by opposing the package, which had been negotiated by Lees and prime minister John Howard. She said that she refused to break promises made during the election. The party had stated that they would work with whichever party formed government to improve their tax package. The Australian Democrats traditionally permitted parliamentary representatives to cast a conscience vote on any issue but, on this occasion, close numbers in the Senate placed greater pressure than usual on the dissenters.{{citation needed|date=April 2019}}

=Leader of the Democrats=

The passage of the GST was not popular among the Democrats membership. Unlike other parties, the members directly elected the party leader and a spill could be called at any time with 100 signatures. Meg Lees had been subject to such a challenge before but was re-elected unopposed as no other senator opted to run. By early 2001, the party's fortunes were declining. The state election in Western Australia in February, where the Democrats lost both their seats in the upper house, was particularly damaging and prompted another spill campaign against Lees. Stott Despoja, who by this time was widely recognised and popular among voters, decided to run and was successful, winning 69% of votes.{{cite book|last=Rogers|first=Alison|date=2004|title=The Natasha Factor|publisher=Lothian Books|isbn=0734406835}}

Stott Despoja became the leader of her party on 6 April 2001. From the beginning she faced difficulties in working with Lees, who viewed her run for the leadership as a betrayal. Other senators, including new deputy leader Aden Ridgeway, remained sympathetic to Lees. In the 2001 federal election in November, the Democrats recorded a fall in their Senate vote from 8.5% to 7.3% and returned four of the five senators up for election. The party also saw a marginal lift in its primary vote for the lower house from 5.1% to 5.4%. The substantial rise of the Greens vote to 4.9% in the Senate and their election of a second senator ignited further discussion about the fortunes of the Democrats.

Throughout 2002, Stott Despoja struggled to keep the party together as senators publicly strayed from party positions and privately expressed a lack of confidence in her leadership. After the party bureaucracy opened an investigation into Meg Lees for allegedly damaging party unity, which Lees and her allies saw as part of a campaign by Stott Despoja to silence her, Lees left the party in July 2002. This was followed by a stand-off with Andrew Murray, who threatened to follow. After deciding to stay, Murray proposed a ten-point package to reform party structures and address the issues raised by Lees, designed to shift power from the leader. At a party room meeting on 21 August, all ten measures were passed four votes to three: Murray, Ridgeway, Lyn Allison and John Cherry in favour, with Stott Despoja and her allies Andrew Bartlett and Brian Greig against. Understanding her position to be untenable after this defeat, Stott Despoja announced her resignation to the Senate. She had been leader for 16 and a half months.{{Cite news | title=Senator Cherry speaks about Natasha Stott Despoja | date=21 August 2002 | access-date=8 December 2006 | work=ABC News | url=http://www.abc.net.au/pm/stories/s655263.htm | url-status=live | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121103060506/http://www.abc.net.au/pm/stories/s655263.htm | archive-date=3 November 2012 | df=dmy-all }}{{cite web|last=Stott Despoja|first=Natasha|url=http://parlinfo.aph.gov.au/parlInfo/search/display/display.w3p;query=Id%3A%22chamber%2Fhansards%2F2002-08-21%2F0040%22|title=MATTERS OF PUBLIC INTEREST : Australian Democrats: Leadership|work=Hansard|publisher=Parliament of Australia website|location=Canberra|date=21 August 2002|access-date=12 August 2014|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121008064306/http://parlinfo.aph.gov.au/parlInfo/search/display/display.w3p;query=Id%3A%22chamber%2Fhansards%2F2002-08-21%2F0040%22|archive-date=8 October 2012}}{{Cite news | title=Stott Despoja resigns leadership | date=21 August 2002 | access-date=2006-12-08 | work=ABC News | url=http://www.abc.net.au/lateline/stories/s655390.htm | url-status=live | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070203155548/http://www.abc.net.au/lateline/stories/s655390.htm | archive-date=3 February 2007 | df=dmy-all }}

=Post-leadership=

Stott Despoja remained active in the Senate and the Democrats after resigning as leader. The party's fortunes continued to decline under new leader Andrew Bartlett. In the 2004 election they failed to elect any senators, leaving only the four elected in 2001: Stott Despoja, Bartlett, Lyn Allison, and Andrew Murray.

In 2004, Stott Despoja took 11 weeks' leave from the Senate following the birth of her first child. She returned to full duties as spokesperson for Higher Education, Science and Biotechnology, Women, Privacy, Territories and Local Government, and Work and Family.

During her career, Stott Despoja introduced 24 private member's bills on issues including paid maternity leave,{{cite news|last=Haxton|first=Nance|title=Democrats launch paid maternity leave scheme|url=http://www.abc.net.au/worldtoday/content/2004/s1046153.htm|access-date=19 July 2013|publisher=Australian Broadcasting Corporation|date=16 February 2004|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150402202856/http://www.abc.net.au/worldtoday/content/2004/s1046153.htm|archive-date=2 April 2015}}{{cite web|last=Preston|first=Mike|title=Paid maternity leave: is Australia ready?|url=http://www.smartcompany.com.au/politics/paid-maternity-leave-is-australia-ready.html|publisher=Smart Company|access-date=19 July 2013|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120413153558/http://www.smartcompany.com.au/politics/paid-maternity-leave-is-australia-ready.html|archive-date=13 April 2012}} the Republic,{{cite web|last=Holmes|first=Brenton|title=Tracking the push for an Australian republic|url=http://www.aph.gov.au/About_Parliament/Parliamentary_Departments/Parliamentary_Library/pubs/BN/2012-2013/AustralianRepublic|publisher=Parliament of Australia website|access-date=19 July 2013|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130726025642/http://www.aph.gov.au/About_Parliament/Parliamentary_Departments/Parliamentary_Library/pubs/BN/2012-2013/AustralianRepublic|archive-date=26 July 2013}}{{cite news|last=Kirk|first=Alexandra|title=Renewed push for Australian republic|url=http://www.abc.net.au/worldtoday/content/2005/s1521012.htm|access-date=19 July 2013|publisher=Australian Broadcasting Corporation|date=1 December 2005|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150402223527/http://www.abc.net.au/worldtoday/content/2005/s1521012.htm|archive-date=2 April 2015}} genetic privacy,{{cite news|last=O'Brien|first=Kerry|title=Govt inquiry to examine genetic testing privacy issues|url=http://www.abc.net.au/7.30/stories/s161294.htm|access-date=19 July 2013|publisher=Australian Broadcasting Corporation|date=9 August 2000|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140528075905/http://www.abc.net.au/7.30/stories/s161294.htm|archive-date=28 May 2014}}{{cite web|title=Genetic Privacy and Non-discrimination Bill 1998 [2008]|url=http://www.aph.gov.au/Parliamentary_Business/Bills_Legislation/Bills_Search_Results/Result?bId=s156|publisher=Parliament of Australia website|access-date=19 July 2013|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130803160456/http://www.aph.gov.au/Parliamentary_Business/Bills_Legislation/Bills_Search_Results/Result?bId=s156|archive-date=3 August 2013}} stem cells,{{cite news|last=Kirk|first=Alexandra|title=Stott Despoja proposes Private Members Bill on stem cell research|url=http://www.abc.net.au/worldtoday/content/2006/s1709725.htm|access-date=19 July 2013|publisher=Australian Broadcasting Corporation|date=8 August 2006|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140528010728/http://www.abc.net.au/worldtoday/content/2006/s1709725.htm|archive-date=28 May 2014}} captioning,{{cite web|last=Lloyd|first=Karen|title=Deaf Australia applauds investigation into access to electronic media|url=http://www.deafau.org.au/info/media27.php|publisher=Deaf Australia Inc|access-date=19 July 2013|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130428142108/http://www.deafau.org.au/info/media27.php|archive-date=28 April 2013}}{{cite web|title=Captioning for the Deaf and Hearing Impaired|url=http://www.aph.gov.au/Parliamentary_Business/Bills_Legislation/Bills_Search_Results/Result?bId=s155|publisher=Parliament of Australia website|access-date=19 July 2013|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130803154401/http://www.aph.gov.au/Parliamentary_Business/Bills_Legislation/Bills_Search_Results/Result?bId=s155|archive-date=3 August 2013}} and same-sex marriage.{{cite web |url=http://www.aph.gov.au/Parliamentary_Business/Bills_Legislation/Bills_Search_Results/Result?bId=s502 |title=Same-Sex Marriages Bill 2006 [2008] |publisher=Parliament of Australia website |access-date=12 August 2014 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140228170754/http://www.aph.gov.au/Parliamentary_Business/Bills_Legislation/Bills_Search_Results/Result?bId=s502 |archive-date=28 February 2014 }} Stott Despoja regularly attends the Sydney Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras.{{cite web |url=http://andrewbartlett.com/?p=6545 |title=Senator Andrew Bartlett speaks about Sydney: Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras – Adjournment Speech |publisher=Andrewbartlett.com |date=4 April 2000 |access-date=12 August 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150402210341/http://andrewbartlett.com/?p=6545 |archive-date=2 April 2015 |url-status=dead }}

On 22 October 2006, after undergoing emergency surgery for an ectopic pregnancy, she announced that she would not contest the 2007 election and would leave office at the expiration of her term on 30 June 2008.{{Cite news | title=Stott Despoja to bow out of politics | date=22 October 2006 | access-date=22 October 2006 | work=ABC News | url=http://www.abc.net.au/news/newsitems/200610/s1770646.htm | url-status=live | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080418232221/http://www.abc.net.au/news/newsitems/200610/s1770646.htm | archive-date=18 April 2008 | df=dmy-all }} She was the Australian Democrats' longest-serving senator.{{cite news | title=So long, it's been good to see you | date=21 June 2008 | access-date=21 June 2008 | newspaper=The Sydney Morning Herald | url=http://www.smh.com.au/news/national/so-long-its-been-good-to-see-you/2008/06/20/1213770924217.html?page=fullpage | url-status=live | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121026105724/http://www.smh.com.au/news/national/so-long-its-been-good-to-see-you/2008/06/20/1213770924217.html?page=fullpage#contentSwap1 | archive-date=26 October 2012 | df=dmy-all }} As in 2004, the Democrats elected no senators in 2007, and Stott Despoja's retirement coincided with the end of her party's federal parliamentary representation.

Post-political career

Stott Despoja has been a casual host on ABC Radio Adelaide,{{cite web|title=Natasha Stott Despoja|url=http://www.abc.net.au/profiles/content/s3297703.htm?site=adelaide?site=adelaide|publisher=Australian Broadcasting Corporation|access-date=19 July 2013|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170314071621/http://www.abc.net.au/profiles/content/s3297703.htm?site=adelaide%3Fsite%3Dadelaide|archive-date=14 March 2017}} a guest panellist on Channel 10's The Project and a columnist for the Australian business news website Business Spectator.Business Spectator (2010). [http://www.businessspectator.com.au/bs.nsf/filterSpectatorsc?openview&restricttocategory=Natasha%20Stott%20Despoja The Spectators: Natasha Stott-Despoja] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100523001309/http://www.businessspectator.com.au/bs.nsf/filterSpectatorsc?openview&restricttocategory=Natasha%20Stott%20Despoja |date=23 May 2010 }}. Retrieved 21 June 2010. She has also been a columnist for The Advertiser and an honorary visiting research fellow at the University of Adelaide.{{cite web|website=Natasha Stott Despoja|title=Natasha Stott Despoja AM: Biography|url=http://natashastottdespoja.com/about|access-date=11 April 2019| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180209090356/http://natashastottdespoja.com/about| archive-date= 9 Feb 2018}}

She was on the board of the Burnet Institute (Australia's largest virology and communicable disease research institute) from 2008 until December 2013. On 21 July 2015, Stott Despoja returned to the Burnet Institute as a patron.Morgan, Angus (21 July 2015) [https://www.burnet.edu.au/news/546_natasha_stott_despoja_returns_to_burnet "Natasha Stott Despoja returns to Burnet"] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150723171223/https://www.burnet.edu.au/news/546_natasha_stott_despoja_returns_to_burnet |date=23 July 2015 }}. Burnet Institute News. Retrieved 23 July 2015. She was no longer a patron by May 2023.{{cite web | title=Patrons + Ambassadors | website=Burnet Institute | url=https://www.burnet.edu.au/people-of-burnet/patrons-plus-ambassadors/ | access-date=2 July 2024| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230518074228/https://burnet.edu.au/people-of-burnet/patrons-plus-ambassadors/| archive-date= 18 May 2023| url-status=live}}

In 2010, she taught a course at winter school at the University of Adelaide with former foreign minister Alexander Downer, called "The Practice of Australian Politics".{{cite web|url=https://www.adelaide.edu.au/news/print37861.html|publisher=University of Adelaide|title=Political heavyweights to deliver uni lectures|date=3 February 2010|access-date=11 April 2019}}{{cite web|last=Gibson|first=Candy|title=Winter School gets political|url=http://www.adelaide.edu.au/adelaidean/issues/38082/news38126.html|publisher=The University of Adelaide|access-date=19 July 2013|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160303223945/http://www.adelaide.edu.au/adelaidean/issues/38082/news38126.html|archive-date=3 March 2016}}

She was a board member of non-profit organisations the South Australian Museum from 2009 to 2013;{{cite web|title=Museum Board|url=http://www.samuseum.sa.gov.au/about/management/museum-board|publisher=South Australian Museum|access-date=19 July 2013|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150317060155/http://www.samuseum.sa.gov.au/about/management/museum-board|archive-date=17 March 2015}} the Museum of Australian Democracy from 2010 to 2013;{{cite web|title=Advisory Council|url=http://moadoph.gov.au/about/advisory-council/|publisher=Museum of Australian Democracy|access-date=19 July 2013|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130731013530/http://moadoph.gov.au/about/advisory-council/|archive-date=31 July 2013}} and the Advertising Standards Board from 2008 to 2013.{{cite web|title=Retirees from Ad Standards Board|url=http://blog.adstandards.com.au/2013/06/retirees-from-ad-standards-board/|publisher=Advertising Standards Bureau|access-date=19 July 2013|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130704071515/http://blog.adstandards.com.au/2013/06/retirees-from-ad-standards-board/|archive-date=4 July 2013}} She was a deputy chair at beyondblue, Australia's national depression initiative.Business Spectator (28 Dec 2009) [http://www.businessspectator.com.au/bs.nsf/Article/Natasha-Stott-Despoja-pd20091215-YR65G 'A New Year, A New Leader?: Natasha Stott Despoja Interview'] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100824155312/http://www.businessspectator.com.au/bs.nsf/Article/Natasha-Stott-Despoja-pd20091215-YR65G |date=24 August 2010 }}. Retrieved 29 July 2010.

She has been an ambassador for Ovarian Cancer Australia,{{cite web|title=About us Natasha Stott Despoja|url=http://www.ovariancancer.net.au/about-us/national-state-territory-ambassadors/natasha-stott-despoja/|publisher=Ovarian Cancer Australia|access-date=19 July 2013|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130421094454/http://ovariancancer.net.au/about-us/national-state-territory-ambassadors/natasha-stott-despoja/|archive-date=21 April 2013}} The Orangutan Project;{{cite web|title=Natasha Stott Despoja, Ian Smith and son Conrad join as ambassadors|url=http://www.orangutan.org.au/home-page-announcements/natasha-stott-despoja-ian-smith-and-son-conrad-join-as-ambassadors|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130328115030/http://www.orangutan.org.au/home-page-announcements/natasha-stott-despoja-ian-smith-and-son-conrad-join-as-ambassadors|url-status=dead|archive-date=28 March 2013|publisher=The Orangutan Project|access-date=19 July 2013}} Cancer Australia; secondbite;{{cite web|title=Patrons and Ambassadors|url=http://secondbite.org/our-ambassadors|publisher=SecondBite|access-date=19 July 2013|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130501112300/http://secondbite.org/our-ambassadors|archive-date=1 May 2013}} and the HIV/AIDS anti-stigma campaign, ENUF (along with her husband Ian Smith).{{cite news|last=Magnusson|first=Michael|title=Natasha Stott Despoja joins ENUF|url=http://gaynewsnetwork.com.au/news/news-2/10533-natasha-stott-despoja-joins-enuf.html|access-date=19 July 2013|newspaper=Gay News Network|date=13 February 2013|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130217021411/http://gaynewsnetwork.com.au/news/news-2/10533-natasha-stott-despoja-joins-enuf.html|archive-date=17 February 2013}}

In July 2013, Stott Despoja was the founding chair of Our Watch,{{cite web|url=https://www.mup.com.au/authors/natasha-stott-despoja|publisher= Melbourne University Press|title=Natasha Stott Despoja|access-date=11 April 2019}} originally named Foundation to Prevent Violence Against Women and their Children.{{cite web|url=http://www.preventviolence.org.au/ |title=Home|website=Foundation to Prevent Violence Against Women and their Children, Australia|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130728083355/http://www.preventviolence.org.au/ |archive-date=28 July 2013|url-status=dead }} She left the position in July 2021,{{cite web | title=Board of Directors | website= Our Watch | date=8 April 2022 | url=https://www.ourwatch.org.au/about-us/board-of-directors/ | access-date=11 October 2022}} and was appointed life patron in August 2022.{{cite web | title=Patrons | website= Our Watch | url=https://www.ourwatch.org.au/about-us/patrons/ | access-date=11 October 2022}} Our Watch is a joint initiative of the Victorian and Commonwealth Governments, based in Melbourne.{{cite web|url=https://www.ourwatch.org.au/|title=Home page|website=Our Watch|access-date=11 April 2019}} It is an independent non-profit organisation that is now jointly funded by all states and territories of Australia, after the New South Wales Government was the last state government to join the organisation in 2019.{{cite news | title=NSW's New Minister for Prevention of Domestic Violence Commits to Joining Our Watch | website=Mirage News | date=9 May 2019 | url=https://www.miragenews.com/nsw-s-new-minister-for-prevention-of-domestic-violence-commits-to-joining-our-watch/ | access-date=11 October 2022}}

Foreign minister Julie Bishop announced the appointment of Stott Despoja as Australia's new Ambassador for Women and Girls in December 2013,{{cite news | title=Former Democrats senator Natasha Stott Despoja Australia's new ambassador for women and girls | date=16 December 2013 | access-date=16 December 2013 | newspaper=The Sydney Morning Herald | url=http://www.smh.com.au/federal-politics/political-news/former-democrats-senator-natasha-stott-despoja-australias-new-ambassador-for-women-and-girls-20131216-2zfub.html | url-status=live | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131218161911/http://www.smh.com.au/federal-politics/political-news/former-democrats-senator-natasha-stott-despoja-australias-new-ambassador-for-women-and-girls-20131216-2zfub.html#ixzz2nbXwtPWG | archive-date=18 December 2013 | df=dmy-all }} a role she held until 2016. This involved visiting some 45 countries to promote women's economic empowerment and leadership and to help reduce violence against women and girls.

Stott Despoja has also been an election observer for the US-based National Democratic Institute in Nigeria (2011);{{cite web|title=Nigerian Elections Hold the Promise of Setting New Integrity Standard, NDI Mission Finds|url=http://www.ndi.org/node/17512|publisher=National Democratic Institute|access-date=19 July 2013|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130707164053/http://www.ndi.org/node/17512|archive-date=7 July 2013}} visited Burkina Faso for Oxfam (2012);{{cite web|title=Natasha Stott Despoja in Burkina Faso with Oxfam to meet families affected by the West Africa food crisis|url=https://www.oxfam.org.au/media/2012/08/natasha-stott-despoja-in-burkina-faso-with-oxfam-to-meet-families-affected-by-the-west-africa-food-crisis/|publisher=Oxfam Australia|access-date=19 July 2013|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171030063417/https://www.oxfam.org.au/media/2012/08/natasha-stott-despoja-in-burkina-faso-with-oxfam-to-meet-families-affected-by-the-west-africa-food-crisis/|archive-date=30 October 2017}} and went to Laos (2011){{cite web|title=Natasha Stott Despoja AM reflects on her recent trip to Laos|url=http://www.burnet.edu.au/news/21_natasha_stott_despoja_am_reflects_on_her_recent_trip_to_laos|publisher=Burnet Institute|access-date=19 July 2013|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120321095149/http://www.burnet.edu.au/news/21_natasha_stott_despoja_am_reflects_on_her_recent_trip_to_laos|archive-date=21 March 2012}} and Burma (2013){{cite news|last=Turnbull|first=Jeff|title=Natasha Stott Despoja meets her political hero Aung San Suu Kyi|url=http://www.adelaidenow.com.au/news/south-australia/natasha-stott-despoja-meets-her-political-hero-aung-san-suu-kyi/story-e6frea83-1226572949353|access-date=19 July 2013|agency=Australian Associated Press|date=7 February 2013}} with The Burnet Institute. She was mentioned in June 2014 as a possible replacement for Kevin Scarce as the next Governor of South Australia,[http://www.adelaidenow.com.au/news/south-australia/highflying-women-in-the-mix-to-be-sas-next-governor/story-fni6uo1m-1226947012229 High-flying women in the mix to be SA's next Governor] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140609092523/http://www.adelaidenow.com.au/news/south-australia/highflying-women-in-the-mix-to-be-sas-next-governor/story-fni6uo1m-1226947012229 |date=9 June 2014 }} The Advertiser, 7 June 2014. however Hieu Van Le was chosen.[http://www.abc.net.au/news/2014-06-26/hieu-van-le-appointed-sa-governor/5552004?section=sa Hieu Van Le to be next SA Governor, from war-torn Vietnam to vice-regal post] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150712144654/http://www.abc.net.au/news/2014-06-26/hieu-van-le-appointed-sa-governor/5552004?section=sa |date=12 July 2015 }} ABC 26 June 2014

In April 2019 Stott Despoja was on the advisory board of the Australian Privacy Foundation.{{cite web|title=APF Advisory Panel Bios|url=http://www.privacy.org.au/About/AP-Bios.html|publisher=Australian Privacy Foundation|access-date=19 July 2013|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130518090223/http://www.privacy.org.au/About/AP-Bios.html|archive-date=18 May 2013}} and the Global Women's Institute Leadership Council.

In November 2020, she was elected to the UN Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women, becoming the first Australian member in 28 years.{{Cite web|date=2020-11-09|title=Former Democrats leader Natasha Stott Despoja elected to UN women's committee|url=https://www.abc.net.au/news/2020-11-10/natasha-stott-despoja-elected-to-un-cedaw-committee/12866484|access-date=2020-11-11|website=ABC News|language=en-AU}}

In 2022, she delivered the Hugh Stretton Oration at the University of Adelaide.{{cite web |title=Hugh Stretton Oration |website=Stretton Institute |url=https://www.adelaide.edu.au/stretton/policy-engagement/hugh-stretton-oration#2022-australia-fair-is-the-playing-field-fair-for-women-and-girls-natasha-stott-despoja-ao |access-date=3 December 2024}}

In March 2024, Stott Despoja was appointed as South Australia's Royal Commissioner into Domestic, Family, and Sexual Violence,{{cite news |url=https://www.abc.net.au/news/2024-03-04/natasha-stott-despoja-sa-domestic-violence-royal-commission/103542112 |title=Former senator Natasha Stott Despoja to lead South Australia's domestic violence royal commission |date=4 March 2024 |work=ABC News |access-date=20 March 2024}} after the Royal Commission into Domestic, Family and Sexual Violence had been announced by Premier Peter Malinauskas in December 2023.{{cite web | last=Lim | first=Josephine | title=South Australia to hold royal commission into family and domestic violence | website=ABC News | date=13 December 2023 | url=https://www.abc.net.au/news/2023-12-13/sa-royal-commission-into-domestic-violence-announced/103221850 | access-date=2 July 2024}} On 1 July 2024, she began her role as royal commissioner.{{cite web | last=Boscaini | first=Joshua | title=Natasha Stott Despoja starts role as SA domestic, family violence and sexual violence royal commissioner | website=ABC News | date=1 July 2024 | url=https://www.abc.net.au/news/2024-07-01/domestic-violence-royal-commission-sa-begins/104042420 | access-date=1 July 2024}}

Writing

Stott Despoja has authored a large number of essays, reports, and non-fiction works on a range of topics, both during and since her political career.See Bibliography.

In March 2019 she published On Violence, with the publisher's blurb asking "Why is violence against women endemic, and how do we stop it?". Stott Despoja posits that violence against women is "Australia's national emergency", with one woman dying at the hands of her partner or someone she knows every week. This violence is preventable, and that we need to "create a new normal".

Honours and accolades

In 1999, she was appointed a Global Leader for Tomorrow by the World Economic Forum (WEF).{{cite web|title=Natasha Stott Despoja|url=http://www.leadershipforwomen.com.au/empowerment/glass-ceiling-research/glass-ceiling-interviews/item/natasha-stott-despoja|publisher=Australian Centre for Leadership for Women|access-date=22 May 2012|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130208015556/http://www.leadershipforwomen.com.au/empowerment/glass-ceiling-research/glass-ceiling-interviews/item/natasha-stott-despoja|archive-date=8 February 2013}}

Despoja was awarded a Member of the Order of Australia in June 2011 for her "service to the Parliament of Australia, particularly as a Senator for South Australia, through leadership roles with the Australian Democrats, to education, and as a role model for women".{{cite web|title=Natasha Stott Despoja AM| url=https://honours.pmc.gov.au/honours/awards/1144314|publisher=Australian Honours Database|access-date=10 April 2019}}

She is {{as of|lc=yes|April 2019}} listed as one of the "Gender Equality Top 100" by the UK organisation Apolitical.{{cite web|website=Apolitical Group|url=https://apolitical.co/gender-equality-top-100/|title=Gender Equality Top 100: The Most Influential People in Global Policy|access-date=11 April 2019|archive-date=14 June 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180614043036/https://apolitical.co/gender-equality-top-100/|url-status=dead}}

In June 2019 Despoja was appointed as an Officer of the Order of Australia for her "distinguished service to the global community as an advocate for gender equality, and through roles in a range of organisations".{{Cite web|url=https://www.abc.net.au/news/2019-06-10/australian-greats-react-to-queens-birthday-honours/11193522|title=Jackman, Buttrose and Rudd top Queen's Birthday Honours List|last=Mayers|first=Lily|date=10 June 2019|work=ABC News|access-date=6 August 2019}}

Personal life

Stott Despoja was married to former Liberal Party advisor Ian Smith, whom she married in a beachside ceremony in Byron Bay in 2003.{{cite web | title=Despoja weds in beach ceremony | website=The Sydney Morning Herald | date=5 September 2003 | url=https://www.smh.com.au/national/despoja-weds-in-beach-ceremony-20030905-gdhceo.html | access-date=15 March 2024}} The marriage produced two children.

The couple announced their separation in 2024. [https://thenightly.com.au/politics/australia/natasha-stott-despoja-felt-blindsided-as-high-profile-20-year-marriage-ends-c-14600560]

Bibliography

=Books=

Giving Generously (Artemis, 1996)This needs checking. I suspect this is actually a contribution to Jocelynne Scutt's work Living generously.
DIY Feminism (Allen and Unwin, 1996){{cite news |author=Tuntuni Bhattacharyya |issue=253 |url=http://www.greenleft.org.au/node/13093 |title=and ain't i a woman?: Kick-arse feminism? |newspaper=Green Left Weekly |date=6 November 1996 |access-date=12 August 2014 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151025215706/https://www.greenleft.org.au/node/13093 |archive-date=25 October 2015 }}
Collective Wisdom: Interviews with Prominent Australians (Clown, 1998){{cite web |url=http://dennisjones.com.au/TitleDetail.php?recordID=9780980776515 |title=Collective Wisdom Prominent Australians on Success and the Future |publisher=Dennis Jones & Associates |access-date=12 August 2014 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150327203845/http://dennisjones.com.au/TitleDetail.php?recordID=9780980776515 |archive-date=27 March 2015 }}
Free East Timor: Australia's Culpability in East Timor's Genocide (Random House, 1998){{cite book |author=Jim Aubrey |title=Free East Timor: Australia's Culpability in East Timor's Genocide |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=wnSGAAAAMAAJ |date=May 1998 |publisher=Random House Australia |isbn=978-0-09-183917-8 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180117143640/https://books.google.com/books?id=wnSGAAAAMAAJ |archive-date=17 January 2018 }}
Goodbye normal gene: Confronting the Genetic Revolution (Pluto Press, 1999)
What Women Want (Random House, 2002)
Time for a Change: Australia in the 21st Century (Hardie Grant, 2006){{cite web |url=http://find.lib.uts.edu.au/search.do;jsessionid=01F2565A02309CBF6009D784FA0D2800?R=OPAC_b2496747 |title=Time for change : Australia in the 21st century |publisher=UTS Library |access-date=12 August 2014 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180117143641/http://find.lib.uts.edu.au/search.do;jsessionid=01F2565A02309CBF6009D784FA0D2800?R=OPAC_b2496747 |archive-date=17 January 2018 }}
Mother Who? Personal Stories and Insights on Juggling Family, Work and Life (Big Sky, 2007)
On Violence (Melbourne University Press, March 2019){{cite book|url=https://www.mup.com.au/books/on-violence-paperback-softback|title=On violence|first=Natasha|last=Stott Despoja|date=5 March 2019|publisher=Melbourne University Press|isbn=9780522875546|access-date=11 April 2019|archive-date=6 April 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230406143442/https://www.mup.com.au/books/on-violence-paperback-softback|url-status=dead}}

=Essays and reporting=

'Higher Education in Perspective', Current Affairs Bulletin, 1996
'Personal and Private', Alternative Law Journal, 1997
'Policy forum: the Junior Pay Rates Inquiry', Australian Economic Review, 1999
'Leadership', Sydney Papers, 2001
'Terror in the USA', The Asia–Australia Papers, 2001
'The Human Genome Project: how do we protect Australians?', Medical Journal of Australia, 2000
'ANZUS? ANZ who?' (with Senator Andrew Bartlett), Australian Journal of International Affairs, 2001
'Towards a National Interest Commissioner', CEDA Bulletin, 2001
'If I were Attorney-General', Alternative Law Journal, 2003
'The first in human genetics regulation', Australasian Science, 2005
'A brief look at the history of privacy', Australian Quarterly, 2007
{{cite journal |author=Stott Despoja, Natasha |year=2014 |title=Women, peace and security : Australia in the UNSC |journal=International Humanitarian Law Magazine |issue=2 |pages=14–15 |url=http://www.redcross.org.au/files/Edition_11_Ver_8_10-10l.pdf |access-date=18 September 2015}}