Marie Ann Ficarra MLC (born 25 March 1954) is an Australia

Australia

Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...

n politician who has been a Liberal Party of Australia

Liberal Party of Australia

The Liberal Party of Australia is an Australian political party.Founded a year after the 1943 federal election to replace the United Australia Party, the centre-right Liberal Party typically competes with the centre-left Australian Labor Party for political office...

 member of the New South Wales Legislative Council

New South Wales Legislative Council

The New South Wales Legislative Council, or upper house, is one of the two chambers of the parliament of New South Wales in Australia. The other is the Legislative Assembly. Both sit at Parliament House in the state capital, Sydney. The Assembly is referred to as the lower house and the Council as...

 since 24 March 2007. She was previously a member of the New South Wales Legislative Assembly

New South Wales Legislative Assembly

The Legislative Assembly, or lower house, is one of the two chambers of the Parliament of New South Wales, an Australian state. The other chamber is the Legislative Council. Both the Assembly and Council sit at Parliament House in the state capital, Sydney...

 for the Electoral District of Georges River

Electoral district of Georges River

Georges River was an electoral district of the Legislative Assembly in the Australian state of New South Wales from 1930 to 2007. It was replaced by Oatley.-Members for Georges River:-Election results:...

, but was defeated during the landslide election of 1999

New South Wales state election, 1999

Elections to the 52nd Parliament of New South Wales were held on Saturday, 27 March 1999. All seats in the Legislative Assembly and half the seats in the Legislative Council were up for election...

. She was the Shadow Minister for the Environment for the New South Wales Opposition.

Representative history

Ficarra was elected to Hurstville City Council in 1980 to became one of few young women in local government at the time. She was later the Deputy Mayor and then Mayor of Hurstville City and served in these roles for 16 years until 1995. During this time she was elected president and later life member of the Australian Local Government Women's Association.

Official parliamentary roles:

Position	Start	End
Member, Health Care Complaints Commission Committee	1995	1999
Member of the NSW Legislative Assembly	25 Mar 1995	5 Mar 1999
Member of the NSW Legislative Council	24 Mar 2007	current
Member for Georges River	25 Mar 1995	5 Mar 1999
Member, Standing Committee on Privacy	1 Dec 1996	1 Dec 1998
Parliamentary Information Technology Committee	1 Dec 1996	1 Dec 1998
Member, General Purpose Standing Committee No. 2	29 May 2007	current
Member, NSW Liberals Far Right	25 Mar 1995	current
Member, Standing Committee on Social Issues	29 May 2007	current
Shadow Minister for Environment	1998	1999

Professional history

Ficarra worked in her early career as a scientist investigating children’s muscular dystrophy. She became state manager for Hoechst Australia's Behring Diagnostics and later general manager of Cytyc Australia for Australia and New Zealand for many years. Cytyc introduced into Australiac new cervical cancer screening technology and other diagnostics applications related to sexual health.

Education

Ficarra has a BSc (Hons)

Bachelor of Science

A Bachelor of Science is an undergraduate academic degree awarded for completed courses that generally last three to five years .-Australia:In Australia, the BSc is a 3 year degree, offered from 1st year on...

 from the University of Sydney

University of Sydney

The University of Sydney is a public university located in Sydney, New South Wales. The main campus spreads across the suburbs of Camperdown and Darlington on the southwestern outskirts of the Sydney CBD. Founded in 1850, it is the oldest university in Australia and Oceania...

. Following graduation she became a senior tutor at the university in histology

Histology

Histology is the study of the microscopic anatomy of cells and tissues of plants and animals. It is performed by examining cells and tissues commonly by sectioning and staining; followed by examination under a light microscope or electron microscope...

 and physiology

Physiology

Physiology is the science of the function of living systems. This includes how organisms, organ systems, organs, cells, and bio-molecules carry out the chemical or physical functions that exist in a living system. The highest honor awarded in physiology is the Nobel Prize in Physiology or...

, teaching medical, dental, veterinary science and science students.

As government affairs adviser to Merck Sharp and Dohme Australia, she assisted in obtaining federal government approval and reimbursement for many vital pharmaceuticals including the cervical cancer vaccine. During that time she was elected for three years to the executive of the NSW Liberal Party of which she has been a member for over 30 years.