Teresa Gambaro MP (born 29 November 1958) is an Australian politician and member of the Liberal National Party.

Gambaro was born in Brisbane, Queensland. The daughter of an Italian immigrant, she was educated at Holy Spirit School in New Farm, the All Hallows' School in Brisbane,^[1] and later at the Queensland University of Technology. She was a sales manager, account manager, marketing manager, marketing consultant and tutor in marketing at the Queensland University of Technology before entering politics.^[2]

Gambaro was first elected to parliament as a Liberal at the 1996 federal election, in the division of Petrie.

She was appointed Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister for Defence in July 2004, and Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade in January 2006. In 2007 she was appointed Assistant Minister for Immigration and Citizenship.^[2]

Gambaro lost her seat to Yvette D'Ath of the Labor Party at the 2007 federal election.^[2]

She re-entered Federal Parliament as the member for Brisbane at the 2010 federal election, becoming the first woman to represent Brisbane since its creation in 1901. Gambaro ran under the banner of the Liberal National Party, formed in 2008 after the merger of the Queensland divisions of the Liberal and National parties. She sits with the Liberals.

In September 2010 she was appointed Shadow Parliamentary Secretary for International Development Assistance and Shadow Parliamentary Secretary for Citizenship and Settlement by Opposition leader, Tony Abbott.^[3]

Gambaro made news in January 2012 by suggesting that immigrants are not integrating into Australian culture well enough. She believes that telling them to "wear deodorant" and learning to "wait in a queue" is "teaching what are norms in Australia." After a storm of outcry on social media and in Australian newspapers, Gambaro was forced to back down and make a public apology. [citation needed]

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