Women in the Queensland Parliament

Abstract

Women won the right to vote in Queensland in 1905, but had to wait until 1915 and the election of the first Labor government to govern in its own right before they became eligible to stand for Parliament. It was then another 14 years before the first woman, Irene Maud Longman, was elected. She, however, lasted only one term as she had won a safe Labor seat, Bulimba, in the anti-Labor swing of 1929 as a Country–National candidate. When Labor returned to power in 1932, her parliamentary career was terminated. It was to be another 34 years until the second woman, Vi Jordan, was elected. She won Ipswich West for Labor in 1966, and held it until defeated in the strong anti-Labor swing of 1974, having served eight years. Although she was anxious to reclaim the seat in 1977, an internal ALP power struggle saw pre-selection go against her in favour of David Underwood. Thereafter, Labor did not have another successful female candidate until 1983, when Anne Warner won the former Liberal seat of Kurilpa. Meanwhile, Rosemary Kyburz had won the then ALP seat of Salisbury for the Liberals in 1974; she held it until beaten in 1983 by the future Labor premier, Wayne Goss. Vikki Kippin had meanwhile become the first woman to represent a Far North Queensland, seat when, also in 1974, she won Mourilyan for the Nationals, losing it in 1980 to Labor. There was a strong indication that, had she won in 1980, she would have become the first woman Cabinet minister (Reynolds, 2002a). Another six years elapsed before that occurred, when Yvonne Chapman entered the ministry.