Women in the Tasmanian Legislative Council
There have been 17 women in the Tasmanian Legislative Council since its establishment in 1825. Women have had the right to vote since 1903 and the right to stand as candidates since 1921.
The first successful female candidate for the Legislative Council was Margaret McIntyre, who was elected as the member for Cornwall in 1948. Like most MLCs, McIntyre was an independent. She died later in 1948 in an air accident, and the next woman elected to the Council was Labor's Lucy Grounds in 1951. Another Labor woman, Phyllis Benjamin, joined Grounds in 1952; Grounds retired in 1958 and Benjamin in 1976, in which year Kath Venn was elected to the Council. After Venn's departure in 1982 there were no women in the Council until 1992, when Jean Moore was elected. She departed in 1994, and since the election of Silvia Smith and Sue Smith to the Council in 1997 women have been represented continuously. In 2009, Vanessa Goodwin became the first Liberal woman elected to the Council.
List of women in the Tasmanian Legislative Council
Names in bold indicate women who have been appointed as Ministers and Parliamentary Secretaries during their time in Parliament. Names in italics indicate entry into Parliament through a by-election or by appointment.
| Name | Party | Electoral Division | Period of service |
|---|---|---|---|
| Margaret McIntyre | Independent | Cornwall | 8 May 1948 – 2 September 1948 (died) |
| Lucy Grounds | Labor | Launceston | 29 September 1951 – 10 May 1958 (defeated) |
| Phyllis Benjamin | Labor | Hobart | 10 May 1952 – 22 May 1976 (retired) |
| Kath Venn | Labor | Hobart | 22 May 1976 – 27 May 1982 (defeated) |
| Jean Moore | Independent | Hobart | 11 April 1992 – 28 May 1994 (defeated) |
| Silvia Smith | Independent | Westmorland Windermere |
31 May 1997 – 3 May 2003 (defeated) |
| Sue Smith | Independent | Leven Montgomery |
31 May 1997 – 4 May 2013 (retired) |
| Lin Thorp | Labor | Rumney | 28 August 1999 – 7 May 2011 (defeated) |
| Cathy Edwards | Independent | Pembroke | 28 August 1999 – 5 May 2001 (defeated) |
| Allison Ritchie | Labor | Pembroke | 5 May 2001 – 20 June 2009 (resigned) |
| Norma Jamieson | Independent | Mersey | 3 May 2003 – 2 May 2009 (retired) |
| Tania Rattray | Independent | Apsley | 1 May 2004 – |
| Ruth Forrest | Independent | Murchison | 7 May 2005 – |
| Vanessa Goodwin | Liberal | Pembroke | 12 August 2009 – |
| Adriana Taylor | Independent | Elwick | 1 May 2010 – 7 May 2016 (defeated) |
| Rosemary Armitage | Independent | Launceston | 7 May 2011 – |
| Leonie Hiscutt | Liberal | Montgomery | 4 May 2013 – |
Timeline
