Women in the Australian Senate
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There have been 66 women in the Australian Senate since the establishment of the Parliament of Australia. Women have had the right to both vote and sit in parliament since 1902 and all states and territories have been represented by a woman in the Senate. In the 41st and current Parliament of Australia 23 of the 76 member senate are female.
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[edit] History
Australia made history in 1902 when the passage of the Commonwealth Franchise Act allowed women to both vote and stand for election to the Parliament of Australia.[1] [2] Numerous women stood unsuccessfully as independents or as representatives of minor parties for election to the Senate, including prominent South Australian suffragist Vida Goldstein who ran in 1903, 1910 and 1917. However, women were not successful in entering federal politics until World War II the major parties did not endorse any female candidates for the Senate before the War.
The first woman to be successfully elected to the Senate was Labor representative Dorothy Tangney in 1943; she represented Western Australia and also became the first female cabinet member. Following Tangney's entry into politics the Senate has continuously had women members. The second woman elected to the Senate, Annabelle Rankin also achieved a number of firsts for women: she was the first female Whip, and she was the first woman with a federal portfolio when she became Minister for Housing in 1966. In 1996 Margaret Reid was the first woman elected as President of the Senate.
Women in the Senate have made significant changes to Australian law which have benefited women. For example a private members bill written by Senator Susan Ryan was crucial to the development of the Sex Discrimination Act 1984, the Affirmative Action (Equal Employment Opportunity for Women) Act 1986, the Public Service Reform Act 1984 and the Equal Employment Opportunity (Commonwealth Authorities) Act 1987.
[edit] List of women in the Australian Senate
Names in bold type indicate Ministers and Parliamentary Secretaries. Names in italics indicate appointments made under section 15 of the Constitution, or through disqualification, members marked with * later served in the House of Representatives. Where no closing date is shown, the Senator’s term of service is unexpired.
| Name | Party | State | Period of service |
|---|---|---|---|
| Dorothy Tangney | Labor | WA | August 21, 1943–June 30, 1968 (defeated at 1967 Senate election) |
| Annabelle Rankin | Liberal | Qld | July 1, 1947–April 24, 1971 (resigned) |
| Agnes Robertson | Liberal; Country Party | WA | February 22, 1950–June 30, 1962 (retired) |
| Ivy Wedgwood | Liberal | Vic. | February 22, 1950–June 30, 1971 (retired) |
| Nancy Buttfield | Liberal | SA | October 11, 1955–June 30, 1965 July 1, 1968–April 11, 1974 (retired) |
| Marie Breen | Liberal | Vic. | July 1, 1962–June 30, 1968 (retired) |
| Margaret Guilfoyle | Liberal | Vic. | July 1, 1971–June 5, 1987 (retired) |
| Ruth Coleman | Labor | WA | April 18, 1974–June 5, 1987 (retired) |
| Kathy Sullivan* | Liberal | Qld | May 18, 1974–November 5, 1984 (resigned; elected to House of Representatives) |
| Jean Melzer | Labor | Vic. | May 18, 1974–June 30, 1981 (defeated at 1980 elections) |
| Susan Ryan | Labor | ACT | December 13, 1975–January 29, 1988 (resigned) |
| Shirley Walters | Liberal | Tas. | December 13, 1975–June 30, 1993 (retired) |
| Janine Haines | Australian Democrats | SA | December 14, 1977–June 30, 1978 (retired) July 1, 1981 – March 1, 1990 (resigned; contested House of Representatives) |
| Jean Hearn | Labor | Tas. | October 15, 1980–June 30, 1985 (retired) |
| Florence Bjelke-Petersen | National Country Party; National | Qld | March 12, 1981–June 30, 1993 (retired) |
| Margaret Reid | Liberal | ACT | May 5, 1981–February 14, 2003 (resigned) |
| Patricia Giles | Labor | WA | July 1, 1981–June 30, 1993 (retired) |
| Rosemary Crowley | Labor | SA | March 5, 1983–June 30, 2002 (retired) |
| Margaret Reynolds | Labor | Qld | March 5, 1983–June 30, 1999 (retired) |
| Olive Zakharov | Labor | Vic. | March 5, 1983–March 6, 1995 (died) |
| Susan Knowles | Liberal | WA | December 1, 1984–June 30, 2005 (retired) |
| Amanda Vanstone | Liberal | SA | December 1, 1984– |
| Jo Vallentine | Nuclear Disarmament Party; Independent; Greens Western Australia | WA | July 1, 1985–January 31, 1992 (resigned) |
| Jocelyn Newman | Liberal | Tas. | March 13, 1986–February 1, 2002 (resigned) |
| Janet Powell | Australian Democrats; Independent | Vic. | August 26, 1986–June 30, 1993 (defeated at 1993 elections) |
| Sue West | Labor | NSW | February 11, 1987–June 5, 1987 (defeated at 1987 elections) July 1, 1990–June 30, 2002 (retired) |
| Bronwyn Bishop* | Liberal | NSW | July 11, 1987–February 24, 1994 (resigned; elected to House of Representatives) |
| Jean Jenkins | Australian Democrats | WA | July 11, 1987–June 30, 1990 (defeated at 1990 elections) |
| Kay Patterson | Liberal | Vic. | July 11, 1987– |
| Irina Dunn | Nuclear Disarmament Party; Independent | NSW | July 21, 1988–July 30, 1990 (defeated at 1990 elections) |
| Meg Lees | Australian Democrats; Independent | SA | April 4, 1990–June 30, 2005 (defeated at 2004 elections) |
| Vicki Bourne | Australian Democrats | NSW | July 1, 1990–June 30, 2002 (defeated at 2001 elections) |
| Cheryl Kernot* | Australian Democrats | Qld | July 1, 1990–October 15, 1997 (resigned; later elected to House of Representatives) |
| Karin Sowada | Australian Democrats | NSW | August 29, 1991–June 30, 1993 (defeated at 1993 elections) |
| Christabel Chamarette | Greens Western Australia | WA | March 12, 1992–June 30, 1996 (defeated at 1996 elections) |
| Dee Margetts | Greens Western Australia | WA | July 1, 1993–June 30, 1999 (defeated at 1998 elections) |
| Judith Troeth | Liberal | Vic. | July 1, 1993– |
| Kay Denman | Labor | Tas. | August 24, 1993–June 30, 2005 (retired) |
| Belinda Neal | Labor | NSW | March 8, 1994–September 3, 1998 (resigned; contested House of Representatives) |
| Jacinta Collins | Labor | Vic. | May 3, 1995–June 30, 2005 (defeated at 2004 elections) |
| Natasha Stott Despoja | Australian Democrats | SA | November 29, 1995– |
| Kate Lundy | Labor | ACT | March 2, 1996– |
| Sue Mackay | Labor | Tas. | March 8, 1996–June 27, 2005 (resigned) |
| Lyn Allison | Australian Democrats | Vic. | July 1, 1996– |
| Helen Coonan | Liberal | NSW | July 1, 1996– |
| Jeannie Ferris | Liberal | SA | July 1, 1996–April 2, 2007 (deceased) |
| Brenda Gibbs | Labor | Qld | July 1, 1996–June 30, 2002 (defeated at 2001 elections) |
| Marise Payne | Liberal | NSW | April 9, 1997– |
| Karen Synon | Liberal | Vic. | May 13, 1997–June 30, 1999 (defeated at 1998 elections) |
| Trish Crossin | Labor | NT | June 16, 1998– |
| Jan McLucas | Labor | Qld | July 1, 1999– |
| Linda Kirk | Labor | SA | July 1, 2002– |
| Claire Moore | Labor | Qld | July 1, 2002– |
| Kerry Nettle | Australian Greens | NSW | July 1, 2002– |
| Ursula Stephens | Labor | NSW | July 1, 2002– |
| Ruth Webber | Labor | WA | July 1, 2002– |
| Penny Wong | Labor | SA | July 1, 2002– |
| Concetta Fierravanti-Wells | Liberal | NSW | May 5, 2005– |
| Judith Adams | Liberal | WA | July 1, 2005– |
| Annette Hurley | Labor | SA | July 1, 2005– |
| Anne McEwen | Labor | Qld | July 1, 2005– |
| Christine Milne | Australian Greens | Tas | July 1, 2005– |
| Fiona Nash | National | NSW | July 1, 2005– |
| Helen Polley | Labor | Tas. | July 1, 2005– |
| Rachel Siewert | Australian Greens | WA | July 1, 2005– |
| Dana Wortley | Labor | SA | July 1, 2005– |
| Carol Brown | Labor | Tas. | August 25, 2005– |
[edit] See also
[edit] Notes
- ^ Women in South and Western Australia voted in the 1901 election.
- ^ Indigenous Australian women did not achieve federal franchise in all jurisdictions until 1962, and were not required by law to enrol to vote until 1983.
[edit] References
- Parliamentary Handbook of the Commonwealth of Australia. 2005. Women in Parliament
- Women in the Current (41st) Parliament
- Ruedas, M. 1999. Women in the Senate, Senate Brief 3, Parliament of Australia
