Sandra Kanck

Who is Sandra Kanck?

Sandra Myrtho Kanck is a South Australian politician. She was an Australian Democrats member of the South Australian Legislative Council 1993-2009, and at the time of the announcement of her resignation in November 2008, her party's sole remaining member of any Australian parliament . She was first elected in 1993 and was re-elected for a second eight-year term in 2002.

Sandra Kanck was born in Broken Hill, New South Wales with six younger siblings and she credits the associated financial poverty and her Methodist Church upbringing to many of her views about inequality and injustice. She was a primary school teacher in NSW from 1978–80, teaching at Gillieston and Weston Primary Schools in the Hunter Valley.

In 1971 she attended her first public meeting to express concern at nuclear weapons testing by the French at Muroroa Atoll. From this point onwards she became involved in the anti-nuclear and then peace and environment movements. From 1991-92 she was employed by the Conservation Council of South Australia as Administrative Assistant and then Administrative Officer. Continuing her anti-nuclear activism, in 2009, she authored, on behalf of the Australian Democrats a substantial submission in response to the Draft Environmental Impact Statement on the proposed Olympic Dam mine expansion.