Zoe Daniel

Biography

Zoe Daniel is an Australian politician and former journalist born on November 28th, 1972. She is known for winning the Division of Goldstein in the 2022 Australian federal election as an independent candidate, defeating the incumbent Liberal Party member, Tim Wilson.

Zoe Daniel’s father is the former Essendon footballer, Peter Daniel. She spent her childhood in Launceston, Tasmania, where her father was working as a football coach. She started her journalism career with the Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC) and reported on various events like the Summer Olympics in 2004, the regime of Robert Mugabe in Zimbabwe, Sierra Leone civil war, the Darfur genocide, and South Sudan.

In 2009, Zoe Daniel moved to Phnom Penh to report on the Khmer Rouge tribunal. She then took up a posting in Bangkok as the ABC’s Southeast Asian correspondent from 2010 to 2013. During her posting in Bangkok, she reported on the 2010 Thai political protests and interviewed Aung San Suu Kyi.

After 27 years with the ABC, Zoe Daniel decided to end her career with the organization in July 2020. She then wrote a column for The New Daily as of November 2021.

Zoe Daniel’s political career began when she was endorsed by Voices of Goldstein as an independent candidate for the 2022 federal election in the seat of Goldstein. Her candidacy was endorsed by several former politicians, including Cathy McGowan, John Hewson, and Ian Macphee. Zoe Daniel is a self-described swinging voter and a “social progressive, economic conservative.” She won the election, defeating the incumbent, Tim Wilson.

Zoe Daniel is married to Rowan, and they have two children. She is a supporter and member of the Essendon Football Club. She authored several books, including Storyteller: A Foreign Correspondent’s Memoir, Angel: Through My Eyes – Natural Disaster Zones, and Greetings from Trumpland: How an unprecedented presidency changed everything.