Elaine Blanche Nile (20 March 1936 – 17 October 2011) was an Australian politician who represented the Christian Democratic Party in the New South Wales Legislative Council between 1988 and 2002.
Born on 20 March 1936[1] in Waterloo in Sydney the daughter of a glass blower and a factory worker,[2] she was a comptometrist from 1951 to 1958 and a police matron at Darlinghurst Court from 1977 to 1981.
Nile introduced legislation to close abortion clinics and spoke on issues including the Gay Mardi Gras, adoptions by homosexuals, drug abuse among youth, sexual abuse by clergy, family planning, condom vending machines in schools, age of consent for homosexuals, pornography, land valuations, hormone treatment for blood disorders, the M5 motorway exhaust stack, level crossing signposting, Homebush Bay green and gold frogs and Narara Valley high school counselling.
[3] Feminists criticised her traditional views on the role of women, and the Elaine award was created for the person who made public statements that were considered the most unhelpful to the sisterhood.
[3] Nile initially announced her decision to retire from the Legislative Council on the grounds of ill health in 2000 and John Bradford was endorsed by the Christian Democratic Party as her successor.