Nola Marino

The Honourable
Nola Marino
Official portrait, 2019
Assistant Minister for Regional Development and Territories
In office
29 May 2019 – 23 May 2022
Prime MinisterScott Morrison
Preceded bySussan Ley
Succeeded byAnthony Chisholm
Chief Government Whip in the
House of Representatives
In office
27 September 2015 – 29 May 2019
Prime MinisterMalcolm Turnbull
Scott Morrison
Preceded byScott Buchholz
Succeeded byBert van Manen
Member of the Australian Parliament
for Forrest
In office
24 November 2007 – 28 March 2025
Preceded byGeoff Prosser
Succeeded byBen Small
Personal details
BornNola Bethwyn Catalano
(1954-02-18) 18 February 1954
Harvey, Western Australia, Australia
PartyLiberal
Spouse
Carmelo Marino
​
(m. 1972)​
OccupationDairy farmer
Politician
Websitewww.nolamarino.com.au

Nola Bethwyn Marino (née Catalano; born 18 February 1954) is a former Australian politician. She was a member of the House of Representatives from 2007 to 2025, representing the Western Australian seat of Forrest for the Liberal Party. She was Chief Government Whip in the House of Representatives from 2015 to 2019 and served as an assistant minister in the Morrison government from 2019 to 2022.

Early life

Marino was born on 18 February 1954 in Harvey, Western Australia.[1] Her father was born in the United States and her paternal grandparents were born in Messina, Sicily. Her maternal grandfather was born in Kalmar, Sweden.[2]

Marino grew up in Brunswick Junction, Western Australia. Before entering politics she ran a dairy farm with her husband. From 2001 to 2007, she served on the board of Dairy Western Australia, an industry lobby group.[1] She also served as president of the Harvey Bulls Football Club for ten years. In 2017, the South West Football League announced that it would name the best and fairest award in its women's competition the Nola Marino Medal.[3]

Politics

Marino was elected to parliament at the 2007 federal election, succeeding the retiring Geoff Prosser in the Division of Forrest. She is the first woman to represent the electorate, which was established in 1922. In February 2008, Marino was appointed by Brendan Nelson as one of the party whips in the House of Representatives, serving alongside Michael Johnson and Chief Whip Alex Somlyay.[1]

Marino reportedly supported Malcolm Turnbull in the 2015 leadership spill against Tony Abbott. Turnbull subsequently appointed her Chief Government Whip in the House of Representatives, in place of Scott Buchholz. She was the first woman to hold the office.[4][5] In the lead-up to the 2016 federal election, Marino was challenged for Liberal preselection by Ben Small, the president of the party's Bunbury branch. She won the vote 51–16, with Turnbull sending a letter of support.[6]

After the 2019 federal election, Marino was appointed Assistant Minister for Regional Development and Territories in the Morrison government. She consequently relinquished her position as whip.[7] She remained as an assistant minister until the government's defeat at the 2022 election. She retired from parliament at the 2025 election.[1]

Marino was aligned with the centre-right faction of the Liberal Party during the Morrison government,[8] but by 2023 was viewed as factionally unaligned.[9]

Personal life

In 1972, Marino married Carmelo "Charlie" Marino, an Italian immigrant. During the Australian parliamentary eligibility crisis, it was suggested that she might be a dual citizen of Italy through her marriage. She subsequently released a statement from the Italian consulate in Perth stating that she "is not nor has ever been an Italian citizen".[10]

As of 2024, Marino lived in Harvey, Western Australia, and owned properties in Harvey and Myalup, which she leased out for farming.[11]

References

  1. ^ a b c d "Ms Nola Marino MP". Senators and Members of the Parliament of Australia. Retrieved 10 November 2021.
  2. ^ "David Feeney says he may hold dual citizenship as more MPs' futures in balance". The Guardian Australia. 5 December 2017. Retrieved 2 April 2018.
  3. ^ "Marino honoured with award name". The West Australian. 13 April 2017. Retrieved 2 April 2018.
  4. ^ Rosie Lewis (29 September 2015). "New chief whip Nola Marino promises to 'just focus on the job'". The Australian. Retrieved 2 April 2018.
  5. ^ Jacob Kagi (1 April 2016). "Federal MP Nola Marino faces preselection battle for Forrest". ABC News. Retrieved 2 April 2018.
  6. ^ Bettles, Colin (4 April 2016). "Farm fighter wins pre-selection battle". The Land. Retrieved 2 April 2018.
  7. ^ "Nola Marino's promotion welcomed by pollies from both sides". The West Australian. 30 May 2019. Retrieved 31 May 2019.
  8. ^ Massola, James (20 March 2021). "Who's who in the Liberals' left, right and centre factions?". The Sydney Morning Herald. Fairfax Media. Retrieved 1 February 2022.
  9. ^ Massola, James (8 April 2023). "How Morrison's shattering defeat gave Dutton a seismic shift in factional power". The Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved 4 December 2023.
  10. ^ David Crowe (7 December 2017). "Turnbull seeks more scalps as Labor refers 'duals' to court". The Australian. Retrieved 2 April 2018.
  11. ^ "Nola Marino's private interests". openpolitics.au. Retrieved 3 October 2024.

 

This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is available under Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 4.0 unless otherwise noted. Additional terms may apply for the media files.