Wendy MACHIN BA MComm
1977-78
In an eleven-year parliamentary career that commenced at the age of 27 and ended in 1996, Wendy Machin represented the mid north coast of NSW and held numerous senior positions, culminating in the role of Minister for Consumer Affairs and Assistant Minister for Roads and Transport. Prior to this, she was Deputy Speaker for four years, the first woman to take the chair of the NSW Parliament. She was Deputy Chair of the Public Accounts Committee and served on several other Parliamentary and Party committees.
Before entering Parliament Wendy practiced as a public relations consultant, and at 25 established her own consulting business. During this time she became the youngest person elected as an independent alderman on North Sydney Council. Wendy served on the Council until her election to the NSW Parliament.
In 1998 Wendy resumed consulting work, focusing on issues management and political strategy, advising clients in various industry sectors. Since 2001 she has been a member of the HIH Assistance Review Panel, and in July 2003 she was appointed as a part-time Member of the Migration Review Tribunal. In 2003 she was appointed by the Insurance Australia Group (IAG) to its External Disputes Resolution Group.
Wendy has served on the Board of Save the Children Fund; on the National Council for the Prevention of Child Abuse and Neglect; she was the Deputy Chair of the Australian Republican Movement (1997-2000), is the patron of Karitane and is actively involved in local school committees.
Wendy attended Women’s College while studying for a BA (Communication) at UTS. She also holds a Master of Commerce from the University of NSW. Recently visiting College as a Mentor, she said: “For me, Women’s College was a wonderful bridge between my home life in a small country town and a new life in the city. I met some great people and have been interested over the years to see where everyone’s careers have taken them – often these paths are quite different to those we would have forecast as freshers.”
From the Women’s College Journal, 2004