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In 1902 the nation's new Commonwealth Parliament paved the way for a new form of democracy. It was a democracy that, until that point, had existed in no other place.
Leading the world
Australia became the first country to both secure the right to vote and the right to stand for election to parliament for its women. It was a significant victory for Australia's suffragette movement. They succeeded despite strong opposition to the Commonwealth Franchise Act 1902, which enshrined these new women's rights in law.
Australia was breaking new ground and leading the world in developing a more participatory democratic system.
The victory was indeed groundbreaking, but the next hurdle proved even more difficult. It took nearly 20 years before the first woman was elected to a state parliament. It took more than double that time (41 years) for a woman to enter federal parliament. Ironically, this 'time lag' was the longest of any Western country.
The first nominations
In 1903, for the first time in the British Empire, Australian women were candidates for election to a national parliament. In all, four women nominated - three for the Senate and one for the House of Representatives.
Unknown photographer, Portrait of Vida Goldstein, 190-, photograph: gelatin silver. Image courtesy of the National Library of Australia: nla.pic-an23371660.
Vida Goldstein - an electoral pioneer
Vida Goldstein ran for the Senate on three occasions - in 1903, 1910 and 1917. She was also a House of Representatives candidate in 1913 and 1914. However, she was never successful in her bids for election.
Apart from 'breaking the ice' by running as a candidate, she was also a vocal campaigner for issues such as equal pay for equal work, the recognition of a basic wage, the abolition of child labour and equal property rights for spouses.
A true activist, Goldstein saw her nominations for parliament as an opportunity to express her views to a wider audience:
I accepted nomination because I saw what a splendid educational value the campaign would have. I knew I would attract much larger audiences as a candidate than if I were advertised to give a lecture on women's part in the federal elections, or some such subject.
Edith Cowan and other state parliamentarians
Edith Cowan - a pioneer for women's and children's rights at the turn of the century - became the first woman to enter any Australian parliament when she was elected to the Western Australian Legislative Assembly in 1921.
She was followed by other state parliamentarians: Millicent Preston-Stanley (New South Wales, 1925); Irene Longman (Queensland, 1929); Lady Millicent Peacock (Victoria, 1933); and Margaret Edgeworth McIntyre (Tasmania, 1948). Although it was the first state to allow women the right to vote and stand for election, South Australia was last to have a female representative when Jessie Cooper and Joyce Steele were elected to both the Upper and Lower Houses in 1959.
Breaking into federal parliament
In August 1943, after a 41-year wait, Australia finally elected women to Australia's federal parliament when Dorothy Tangney became Senator for Western Australia, and Enid Lyons, was elected to the House of Representatives.
Unknown photographer, Portrait of Senator Dorothy Tangney, 195-, photograph: B&W. Image courtesy of the National Library of Australia: nla.pic-an23371982.
Tangney, a 31-year-old school teacher, went on to become a veteran of the parliament, representing Western Australia for 25 years until 1968.
Lyons was also a teacher and was married to Joseph Lyons, who was Premier of Tasmania before entering federal politics and becoming the tenth Prime Minister of Australia. After becoming the first woman elected to the Lower House, Enid Lyons went on to become the first woman in federal cabinet.
Howard Harris, Portrait of Enid and Joseph Lyons, 193-, photograph: B&W. Image courtesy of the National Library of Australia: nla.pic-an23310938.
Recent developments
Over the past 30 years women have increased their representation in Australia's parliaments. While there has been a great deal of rhetoric from our political parties about the preselection of women candidates and issues such as 'quotas', their representation in both federal and state politics is still disproportionately low.
Nevertheless, there have been some notable figures in the state and federal arenas.
Janine Haines
In 1986, Janine Haines became the first woman to lead an Australian political party when she was elected leader of the Australian Democrats. Under her leadership the Democrats held the balance of power in the Senate. She significantly increased Democrat support, with the Senate vote rising to 12.6 per cent in 1990.
Since Haines, the Democrats have had other female parliamentary leaders - Janet Powell, Cheryl Kernot, Meg Lees, Natasha Stott Despoja and Lyn Allison.
Joan Kirner
Joan Kirner served as Deputy Premier of Victoria for a year in 1989 before serving as Premier for two years to 1992. Following the Labor Party's defeat in 1992 she became Leader of the Opposition. She resigned from parliament in 1994. She said of her time in the 'top job':
My being premier, whatever people thought of my government, showed that a woman, a feminist, can be premier and win the respect of business, unions and the community.
Carmen Lawrence
In a leadership change on 12 February 1990, Dr Carmen Lawrence made history by becoming Premier of Western Australia and Australia's first woman Premier.
Following Labor's narrow defeat at the 1993 State election, Dr Lawrence also became Western Australia's first woman Opposition Leader and held the positions of Shadow Treasurer and Shadow Minister for Employment and Federal Affairs.
Dr Lawrence entered Federal politics by winning the Federal seat of Fremantle in a by-election on 12 March 1994. She was appointed Minister for Human Services and Health, and Minister Assisting the Prime Minister for the Status of Women in March 1994.
Amanda Vanstone
Senator Amanda Vanstone has had a diverse range of portfolios. She was Shadow Special Minister of State and Opposition Spokesperson on the Status of Women in the late 1980s, with an appointment to the Justice and Consumer Affairs shadow portfolio in 1993. In 1994 she became the Shadow Attorney-General and Justice Minister.
After the national 1996 election, she served as the Federal Minister for Employment, Education, Training and Youth Affairs, and in October 1997 became the Minister for Justice. Following the 1998 election she was sworn in as the Minister for Justice and Customs. From January 2001 until October 2003 she served as Minister for Family and Community Services, and Minister Assisting the Prime Minister for the Status of Women.
Related Culture and Recreation Portal Stories
Useful links
- AEC: Women in the Political Arena
- Australian Women's Archives Project: Goldstein, Vida
- Australian Women's Archives Project: Tangney, Dorothy Margaret
- Discovering Democracy - Dame Enid Lyons
- Dr Carmen Lawrence - Member for Fremantle 1994-2007
- Edith Cowan
- Forging The Nation - Vida Goldstein
- Parliament of Australia - Women in the Senate
- Senator Dorothy Tangney 24 September 1943
- State Library of South Australia - Women and Politics in South Australia
- The Suffragette: Vida Goldstein (1869 - 1946)
- Women's Suffrage
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Last updated: 27th November 2007
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