Senator for Queensland
Larissa Waters is Senator for Queensland and co-deputy leader of the Australian Greens. Her portfolios include climate, environment & biodiversity, resources, mining & CSG as well as issues affecting women.
As the first Australian Greens Senator for Queensland, Larissa took office in July 2011. Larissa currently holds the portfolios for: climate change, environment and biodiversity, resources mining and CSG, and women.
Larissa is passionate about taking action on global warming, investment in job-rich clean energy, protecting our environment and achieving gender equality.
In the Senate, Larissa has established a Senate Inquiry on the Great Barrier Reef, which led to new laws prohibiting the dumping of dredge spoil in the Reef. She has also established a Senate Inquiry on domestic violence, which led to some of the Liberal Government's funding cuts to domestic violence services being reversed.
As the Greens global warming spokesperson, Larissa has announced a transition plan which looks after workers, who are currently losing their jobs in dying coal industry, with training and jobs in mine site rehabilitation and in the clean energy industry.
Larissa's vision for the Queensland economy puts our farmland and the Great Barrier Reef ahead of coal seam gas and coal mining by embracing job-rich clean energy.
Before entering the Australian Senate, Larissa worked as an environmental lawyer in the community sector for 8 years advising communities how to use the law to protect the environment and was named 2010 Australian Young Environmental Lawyer of the Year by the Law Council of Australia.
Larissa lives in Brisbane with her family. In her spare time she enjoys cooking and bushwalking.
