Dixie Coulton has been a barrister practising at the Sydney Bar since 1982, having graduated with a BA LLB (UNSW) and an LLM (Sydney University). Her speciality includes family law/de facto, Family Provision Act including same sex issues and equity.

She has represented, lectured and pioneered the law of surrogacy and carried out pro bono work including representing parties who were taken from their Aboriginal parents and fostered into grossly inadequate care in the 1950s.

Dixie was elected as a Councillor of the City of Sydney for the period 1999 to 2003, and she was elected Deputy Lord Mayor in 2002.  She was a member of many committees including the planning committee which approved the Sydney Foreshore Walk from Glebe to Black Wattle Bay; she also fought for the Water Police site to be converted to become a park in Pyrmont instead of a series of buildings. She learnt and advocated that good urban design, sustainability in the built form, parks, heritage, the arts, the community, diversity and tolerance were all essential elements of a truly great city and go hand in hand with economic prosperity for all.

A long term environmentalist, she believes that environmental protection, democracy and the free market do co‑exist; that governments need to be forward thinking and proactive in areas such as climate change instead of sitting on their hands and losing billion dollar renewable energy investments offshore to places such as California (solar power electricity) and China (wind farms), and that Governments need to set mandatory renewable energy targets.

Dixie has agitated against nuclear energy and as long ago as the 1970s she helped to organise marches against uranium mining and the proliferation of nuclear reactors which are designed to use hazardous and toxic waste lasting at least 300,000 years.

She believes that solar thermal technology will be working in many countries including the United States, long before "clean coal" and nuclear power.

Dixie has called for a moratorium on new coal fired power stations as it is the major carbon emitter, because renewable energy technology is available as a reliable source to meet our energy needs.  Nuclear power won't solve our energy problems because of the long timeline needed to have a reactor up and running.

The proposed Tasmanian pulp mill has become a major election issue, particularly in the Wentworth electorate. Dixie has been outspoken about this issue in light of the negative environmental and economic impacts it will impose.

Dixie Coulton has lived in the inner city area for more than 25 years; she lives at Elizabeth Bay with her husband, Don Grieve QC, their daughters Tess and Charlotte and their dogs, Patti, Daisy and Elvis.

Contact Dixie

Tel 0412 426690

coulton@blackstone.com.au