Reba Meagher


Reba Paige Meagher is a former Australian politician who was a member of the New South Wales Legislative Assembly, representing the electoral district of Cabramatta. She was a minister in various portfolios from 2003 to 2008, including Minister for Health. On 6 September 2008 Meagher announced that she would not be seeking a ministerial appointment from new Premier Nathan Rees. On 13 September 2008 she announced her retirement as a NSW MP. She formally resigned on 17 September 2008.

Early life

Meagher was born in 1967 in Caringbah, New South Wales, the daughter of Les Meagher, a printer for the Sydney Morning Herald. She received her Higher School Certificate from Endeavour High School in 1985. She graduated with a Bachelor of Arts from the University of Sydney in 1989, and a Master of Labour Law and Relations in 1992.

Political career

Meagher declared on 7 November 2008 at an inquiry that, just over an hour after the Cabramatta MP John Newman had been shot in front of his fiancee on 5 September 1994, the then Labor Party head John Della Bosca, offered the seat to Reba Meagher—confirming an offer he had first made hours before the killing.
Since entering Parliament, Meagher served in a number of ministerial and sub-ministerial positions:
She also served on a number of Parliamentary Committees:
Meagher lives in the eastern Sydney suburb of Coogee.