Political Career
She was a senator for New South Wales from 1994 to 1998. She was chosen on 8 March 1994 under s.15 of the Constitution to fill the casual vacancy in the Senate created by the resignation of Kerry Sibraa. Her term was scheduled to run until 30 June 1999. She resigned on 3 September 1998 to contest the House of Representatives seat of Robertson at the 1998 general election in which she was defeated by the incumbent, Jim Lloyd of the Liberal Party.
In the 2007 federal election she was again preselected as the Labor candidate for Robertson, and won the seat in a very tight contest, claiming victory on 5 December. Neal's reputation was battered by a string of scandals, prompting moves to replace her. She lost preselection for the seat of Robertson on 6 March 2010, to challenger Deborah O'Neill. Neal did not contest the 2010 federal election.
On 29 July 2010 Neal announced that she would not recontest the seat but did not rule out a future in politics, saying that the Labor Party still had her full support. Her husband, John Della Bosca, announced on the same day, that he was resigning from the New South Wales Legislative Council to become a campaign director for the National Disability and Carers Alliance, and assist in the establishment of a national disability insurance scheme.
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