Special Achievements

• Activist and politician for Indigenous people within the Northern Territory, especially Central Australia.  She was a member of the Northern Territory Legislative Assembly between 2005 and 2016, representing the electorate of Namatjira (known as MacDonnell until 2012), a Central Australian bush seat.  In 2005 Alison Anderson, as a member of the Territory Labor Party, took the seat from the Country Liberal Party's John Elferink with a 20.3 per cent swing.  She was re-elected unopposed in 2008.  Ms Anderson was appointed to the Cabinet and held several ministerial portfolios, including Indigenous Policy; Natural Resources, Environment and Heritage; Parks and Wildlife; and Arts and Museums, but left the Labor Party and the NT Government in August 2009 after a dispute over Indigenous housing, becoming the Independent Member for MacDonnell for two years.  She then joined the Country Liberal Party in 2011 and was elected as a Country Liberal Party candidate at the 2012 election.  She resigned from the CLP in 2014, along with two other Indigenous MLA's and briefly became an independent once again.  In April 2014, she became the Territory leader of the Palmer United Party.  However, she resigned from Palmer United to sit as an independent in November 2014.  She retired from politics at the 2016 Northern Territory election.

Additional Information

• An accomplished artist and speaker of six Central Australian languages: Anmatyerre, Luritja, Pitjantjatjara, Warlpiri, Western Arrernte and Yankunytjatjara. Previously served as a commissioner for the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Commission from 1999 until 2004.