Slalom Medalist Steggall Ousts Former Australian PM From Parliamentary Seat
Zali Steggall is Australia's most internationally successful alpine skier, winning a bronze medal in slalom at the 1998 Winter Olympics in Nagano, and a World Championship gold medal in 1999.
She was an independent candidate for Warringah at the 2019 Australian federal election and defeated the incumbent, Tony Abbott.
On 26 January 2019, Steggall announced her candidacy as an independent in the Division of Warringah in the 2019 Australian federal election, running against former Australian Prime Minister and incumbent Liberal MP Tony Abbott on a platform advocating action on climate change. During the campaign Steggall was the subject of an online smear campaign that targeted her Wikipedia page.
On 18 May 2019, during the 2019 Australian federal election, Staggall won the election for the traditionally conservative Division of Warringah in the Parliament of Australia against the incumbent Tony Abbott who had been the member for 25 years since 1994. Steggall won the seat with a two candidate preferred vote of 59%
Steggall ran on a platform that was almost entirely focused on taking meaningful action on climate change, including adopting much tougher targets than the Coalition had embraced, a message that resonated with the middle class voters of Warringah. Her support was especially strong in Mosman and Manly.
In her acceptance speech Steggall paid tribute to Abbott as “a dedicated and long-serving local member..Nobody can doubt his community spirit, his work ethic, and his contribution to this community. And I wish him well.”
“Tonight, Warringah has definitely voted for the future,” Steggall said. “And you all showed that when communities want change, they make it happen.
“This is a win for moderates with a heart,” she said. “I will be a climate leader for you. And I will keep the new government to account, and make sure we take action on climate change.
Born in Manly, New South Wales, in 1974, she and her family lived in France from 1978 until 1989, and she started ski racing while living there, at the ski resort of Morzine in the French Alps. Her parents had intended to stay for only 18 months, but they liked the lifestyle so much that they stayed.Her mother, Dr. Susan Steggall, documented these ten years in Alpine Beach. A Family Adventure.
Steggall won European age championships at the age of 10 and 13,and was a member of the French junior skiing team at the age of 14. Steggall was educated for 18 months in Sydney at the Queenwood School for Girls following the family's return to Australia in 1989.
Despite moving back to Australia, the Steggall siblings regularly travelled to the northern hemisphere to train.She was also sent overseas by the Australian Ski Institute to train under Austrian alpine coach Helmut Spiegl.
Steggall was selected to make her Olympic debut in Albertville in 1992, at the age of 17. She came 23rd out of 44 entries in the giant slalom event, and failed to finish the slalom or the combined event. At the 1994 Olympics in Lillehammer, the size of the field was scaled back. Steggall came 22nd out of 28 athletes in the slalom and 24th and last in the giant slalom. She withdrew from the super-G and was unplaced in the overall standings.
In December 1995, Steggall broke into the top 10 in a World Cup event for the first time, placing 10th in the slalom event at Sankt Anton. In January 1996, Steggall came fourth at the World Championships in Sestriere, Italy, missing bronze by just 0.04 s.
Steggall came into the 1998 Winter Olympics in Nagano as one of the medal favourites. Three months earlier, she had become the first Australian woman to win a World Cup event in alpine skiing, after winning the slalom event at Park City, Utah. She posted the fastest time in both of her runs to win by 0.76sec. She then came fifth, sixth and tenth in the next three World Cup events to be ranked sixth in the world. Steggall won a Europa Cup event at Piancavallo. She won Australia's first individual Winter Olympic medal with a bronze in slalom skiing at Nagano in 1998. Her time of 1 m 32.67 s was 0.27 s behind the winner. In December, Steggall placed second in a World Cup event at Mammoth Mountain, missing the gold medal by 0.01 s to Anja Pärson. She had earlier placed seventh at Park City.
Steggall's success prompted the Australian Olympic Committee to expand the Australian Ski Institute into the Olympic Winter Institute of Australia. It was given a million-dollar annual budget and for the first time, Australia had a federal government-funded full-time training program to accompany the Australian Institute of Sport. It operated in six sports and supported 37 athletes and resulted in an immediate upturn in results with numerous athletes going on to win gold for Australia across the winter sport disciplines
In 1999, Steggall won the slalom event at the World Championships held in Vail, Colorado, in the United States.That was her last podium finish at global level. In February 2000, she came 10th at Aare,Sweden the last top-10 result in her career. Her career ended at the 2002 Winter Olympics in Salt Lake City. She failed to complete her first run and was eliminated.
Steggall was part of the Sydney Olympic torch relay in September 2000, carrying the Olympic flame along the pathway of Olympians in Manly and on the Manly ferry to Circular Quay. In 2004, she was part of the Athens Olympic torch relay, carrying the Olympic flame up the Sydney Harbour Bridge and handing over to Kieren Perkins.
Steggall retired from skiing in 2002. She completed a BA in Communications and Media Studies from Griffith University and then studied Law, and was admitted as a Solicitor while working for her father's legal practice, Roper & Steggall, in Manly. She was then admitted to the NSW Bar as a Barrister in 2008. Her principal areas of practice as a Barrister have been family law, sports law, commercial law, real property law, local government and planning law, corporations and insolvency law, and equity. Steggall served as councillor to the NSW Bar Association and Chair of its Health, Sports and Recreation Committee from 2010 to 2013.
Steggall is currently an Independent Non-Executive Director, Olympic Winter Institute of Australia; Director, Sport Australia Hall of Fame; Member of the Australian Sports Anti Doping Agency (ASADA) Anti Doping Rule Violation Panel. She was appointed as arbitrator of Court of Arbitration for Sport in January 2017. She was one of the 12 world-wide arbitrators appointed to Ad Hoc Tribunal of CAS for the Pyeongchang Winter Olympic Games.
Steggall serves on the Council of Governors, Queenwood School for Girls, Mosman.
