Olivia Ball
Olivia Ball | |
|---|---|
| Councillor of the City of Melbourne | |
| Assumed office 2020 | |
| Personal details | |
| Political party | Greens |
| Alma mater | University of Melbourne, University of London, Monash University |
| Occupation | Human rights advocate, politician |
Dr Olivia Ball is an Australian human rights advocate and politician. She is serving as a member of the City of Melbourne council in Victoria, Australia.
Qualifications
[edit]Ball has a Masters in human rights from London University[1] and a PhD in international human rights law awarded by the Castan Centre for Human Rights Law at Monash University.[2]
Career
[edit]In her early career Ball worked as a psychologist before becoming a human rights researcher and activist.[3] Together with Paul Gready she co-authored The No-Nonsense Guide to Human Rights.[4] In 2014, Ball and Nicholas Toonen founded Remedy Australia, a non-government organisation which monitors complaints to the United Nations about Australia's human rights violations and advocates for the right to an effective remedy where UN committees uphold such complaints.[5] The organisation was established on the 20th anniversary of the Toonen Decision.[6]
Ball has worked in the drug outreach program at Fitzroy Legal Service.[7]
Politics
[edit]Ball has been a member of the Australian Greens Victoria since 2001.[7] She was involved in several campaigns before being elected to the council of the City of Melbourne in the 2020 election.[8]
2016 Federal Election
[edit]Ball contested the electorate of Maribyrnong in the 2016 Australian Federal election, losing to incumbent and then leader of the ALP, Bill Shorten.[2]
2016 City of Melbourne Mayoral Election
[edit]Ball contested the 2016 Mayoral Election in the City of Melbourne.[3] She was the sole female lord mayoral candidate and attracted the support of former Lord Mayors Lecki Ord and Winsome McCaughey.[9] She was the runner-up to incumbent Lord Mayor Robert Doyle.
2020 City of Melbourne Council Election
[edit]Ball stood in the City of Melbourne Council Election in 2020 as the Victorian Greens' second candidate,[10] winning office along with lead candidate Rohan Leppert.[8]
2024 City of Melbourne Council Election
[edit]Ball was preselected as the Victorian Greens' lead candidate for the City of Melbourne Council Election in 2024 following the decision by Rohan Leppert not to recontest the election.[11] She was reelected at the October election and is the sole Greens member on council.[12]
Advocacy
[edit]Ball opposes the practise of arbitrary detention in Australia and argues that it "falls to us to press our government to do the right thing."[13] She has criticised income tax cuts whilst "our elderly are dying in need of adequate care" and that we "must expect more of our government."[14]
She supports a medically supervised injecting service in the City of Melbourne[15] and advocates for increased naloxone availability across the city as a harm reduction measure.[16]
Personal life
[edit]Ball was born in East Melbourne and lives in the Melbourne suburb of Carlton.[7]
References
[edit]- ^ Green, Antony. "Federal Election 2016". ABC News. Retrieved 11 December 2023.
- ^ a b Davey, Melissa (1 May 2016). "Asylum seekers: Greens use Labor's 'key weakness' to attack Shorten's stronghold". The Guardian. Retrieved 11 December 2023.
- ^ a b Lucas, Clay (18 July 2016). "Greens name human rights advocate Olivia Ball as Lord Mayor candidate". The Age. Retrieved 11 December 2023.
- ^ Ball, Olivia; Gready, Paul (2007). The No-Nonsense Guide to Human Rights. New Internationalist. ISBN 978-1904456452.
- ^ "Remedy Australia". Retrieved 12 December 2023.
- ^ Harrison, Dan (4 October 2014). "How a Tasmanian gay rights battle influenced the world". The Age. Retrieved 15 January 2024.
- ^ a b c Car, Sean (18 May 2021). "Olivia gets the ball rolling on council". North West City News. Retrieved 11 December 2023.
- ^ a b Durkin, Patrick (4 November 2020). "Sally Capp re-elected Melbourne mayor". Australian Financial Review. Retrieved 11 December 2023.
- ^ Lucas, Clay (20 September 2016). "With Robert Doyle set for four more years, female mayors lament backward steps". The Age. Retrieved 13 January 2024.
- ^ Eddie, Rachel (27 September 2020). "The candidates competing for the keys to Melbourne Town Hall". The Age. Retrieved 13 January 2024.
- ^ Car, Sean (27 March 2024). "Greens preselect lead City of Melbourne councillor candidates". Docklands News. Retrieved 27 March 2024.
- ^ Fleetwood, Jon (13 November 2024). "The results are in: Nick Reece elected Melbourne's Lord Mayor". North West City News. Retrieved 21 November 2024.
- ^ Ball, Olivia (7 April 2015). "How we've failed as a nation on arbitrary detention". The Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved 11 December 2023.
- ^ Ball, Olivia (2 August 2019). "We can have the aged care we need: opinion". Australian Ageing Agenda. Retrieved 11 December 2023.
- ^ Booker, Chloe (25 May 2021). "After furious debate, Melbourne council votes to support safe-injecting room in CBD". The Age. Retrieved 12 December 2023.
- ^ Abbott, Lachlan (22 November 2023). "Vending machines for clean syringes and opioid treatment proposed by Melbourne City". The Age. Retrieved 12 December 2023.