She became a Senator for South Australia in 1995. She served as Deputy Leader of the Australian Democrats from 1997-2001, and was Democrat leader from April 2001 through to mid 2002, when she resigned due to a lack of support from the party room. Although her relatively left-leaning politics have been popular in the grass roots of the Australian Democrats, they have not been shared by the majority of her parliamentary contemporaries.
She is the youngest woman ever elected to the Australian Parliament, and the youngest person to be the leader of a political party in the Australian Parliament.
Stott Despoja started her career in student politics (a common route in Australia), winning the presidency of the University of Adelaide Student Association. She then worked as a political adviser for Democrat Senators John Coulter and Cheryl Kernot, before being elected to replace Coulter.
her website: http://www.natashastottdespoja.democrats.org.au/