Silvia Smith

{{Infobox officeholder

| honorific-prefix =

| name = Silvia Smith

| honorific-suffix =

| image =

| constituency_MP = Bass

| parliament = Australian

| majority =

| predecessor = Warwick Smith

| successor = Warwick Smith

| term_start = 13 March 1993

| term_end = 2 March 1996

| birth_date = {{birth date|df=yes|1939|12|22}}

| birth_place = Wivenhoe, Tasmania, Australia

| death_date = {{Death date and age|df=yes|2020|3|6|1939|12|22}}

| death_place = Melbourne, Victoria, Australia

| spouse = Jack Smith

| party = Labor

| relations =

| children = 2

| residence =

| alma_mater =

| occupation =

| profession =Schoolteacher

| religion =

| signature =

| website =

| footnotes =

}}

Silvia Joy Smith (22 December 1939 – 6 March 2020) was an Australian politician. She was a member of the Australian Labor Party (ALP), serving in the Australian House of Representatives from 1993 to 1996 and the Tasmanian Legislative Council from 1997 to 2003.

Early life

Smith was born on 22 December 1939 in Wivenhoe, Tasmania.{{cite news|url=https://parlinfo.aph.gov.au/parlInfo/search/display/display.w3p;query=Id%3A%22handbook%2Fallmps%2FJV5%22|title=Biography for SMITH, Silvia Joy|publisher=Parliament of Australia|accessdate=5 August 2022}}{{Cite web | url=https://www.examiner.com.au/story/6672488/former-voice-for-the-north-dies/?cs=95 |title = Former Bass Labor MHR Silvia Smith dies, aged 80|date = 10 March 2020}} She worked as a schoolteacher from 1959 to 1988.

Politics

Smith was an officeholder in the ALP's West Launceston branch and was a delegate to the party's state council from 1987. She was elected to the House of Representatives at the 1993 federal election, winning Bass for the ALP from the incumbent Liberal MP Warwick Smith. She was elected with a narrow margin of 40 votes on the two-party-preferred count.{{cite news|url=https://parlinfo.aph.gov.au/parlInfo/search/display/display.w3p;query=Id%3A%22chamber%2Fhansardr%2F1993-05-10%2F0058%22|title=Maiden speech|work=Hansard|publisher=Parliament of Australia|date=10 May 1993|accessdate=5 August 2022}}

In parliament, Smith served on the House standing committees on community affairs and employment, education and training. Her Liberal predecessor Warwick Smith reclaimed the seat at the 1996 election. In 1997, she ran for and was elected to the Tasmanian Legislative Council electorate of Windermere as an Independent Labor candidate. She served for one six-year term before being defeated by conservative independent Ivan Dean, at the 2003 periodic elections.{{cite Tas Parliament|id=smiths708|title=Silvia Joy Smith|access-date=2022-08-01}}