Women in the Western Australian Legislative Assembly
Introduction There have been 66 '''women in the Western Australian Legislative Assembly''' since its establishment in 1890.Women have had the right to vote since 1899 and the right to stand as candidates since 1920.The first successful female candidate for the Legislative Assembly was Edith Cowan, who was elected as the member for West Perth in 1921 representing the Nationalist Party of Australia. This was the first time a woman had won election anywhere in Australia. Cowan was defeated in 1924 but in 1925 May Holman was elected to the seat of Forrest in a by-election, becoming the first successful Labor woman in Australia. Holman was joined by Florence Cardell-Oliver of the Nationalist Party in 1936, who would become the first female cabinet minister. Cardell-Oliver's retirement in 1956 led to a period of absence for women, until June Craig of the Liberal Party was elected in 1974, since which time women have been continuously represented in the Assembly.Hilda Turnbull was the first National Party woman elected to the Assembly in 1989, and only two women – Liz Constable (1991–2013) and Janet Woollard (2001–2013) – have been elected as independents. Adele Carles became the first Greens member of the Assembly in 2009, although she later quit the party. Carol Martin was the first Indigenous woman elected to the Assembly in 2001.
List of women in the Western Australian Legislative Assembly Names in '''bold''' indicate women who have been appointed as Ministers and Parliamentary Secretaries during their time in Parliament. Names in ''italics'' indicate women who were first elected at a by-election. An asterisk (*) indicates that the member also served in the Legislative Council.#NamePartyElectoral DivisionPeriod of service1Edith CowanNationalistWest Perth12 March 1921 – 22 March 1924 (defeated)2''May Holman''LaborForrest3 April 1925 – 18 March 1939 (died)3'''Florence Cardell-Oliver'''Nationalist/LiberalSubiaco15 February 1936 – 7 April 1956 (retired)4'''June Craig'''LiberalWellington30 March 1974 – 19 February 1983 (defeated)5'''Pam Beggs'''LaborWhitford19 February 1983 – 6 February 1993 (defeated)'''Pam Buchanan'''Labor/IndependentPilbara  Ashburton19 February 1983 – 4 February 1989  4 February 1989 – 3 March 1992 '''Yvonne Henderson'''LaborGosnells  Thornlie19 February 1983 – 4 February 1989  4 February 1989 – 14 December 1996 (retired)Jackie WatkinsLaborJoondalup  Wanneroo19 February 1983 – 4 February 1989  4 February 1989 – 6 February 1993 (defeated)9'''Carmen Lawrence'''LaborSubiaco  Glendalough8 February 1986 – 4 February 1989  4 February 1989 – 14 February 1994 (resigned to contest HoR)'''Judyth Watson'''LaborCanning  Kenwick8 February 1986 – 4 February 1989  4 February 1989 – 14 December 1996 (defeated)11'''Cheryl Edwardes'''LiberalKingsley4 February 1989 – 26 February 2005 (retired)Hilda TurnbullNationalCollie4 February 1989 – 10 February 2001 (defeated)13'''''Judy Edwards'''''LaborMaylands26 May 1990 – 6 September 2008 (retired)14'''''Liz Constable'''''IndependentFloreat  Churchlands20 July 1991 – 14 December 1996  14 December 1996 – 9 March 2013 (retired)15'''Kay Hallahan'''*LaborArmadale6 February 1993 – 14 December 1996 (retired)'''June van de Klashorst'''LiberalSwan Hills6 February 1993 – 10 February 2001 (defeated)Diana WarnockLaborPerth6 February 1993 – 10 February 2001 (retired)18'''''Michelle Roberts'''''LaborGlendalough  Midland19 March 1994 – 14 December 1996  14 December 1996 –19'''''Rhonda Parker'''''LiberalHelena  Ballajura10 September 1994 – 14 December 1996  14 December 1996 – 10 February 2001 (defeated)20Megan AnwylLaborKalgoorlie14 December 1996 – 10 February 2001 (defeated)'''Katie Hodson-Thomas'''LiberalCarine14 December 1996 – 6 September 2008 (retired)Monica HolmesLiberalSouthern River14 December 1996 – 10 February 2001 (defeated)'''Alannah MacTiernan'''*LaborArmadale14 December 1996 – 19 July 2010 (resigned to contest HoR)'''Sheila McHale'''LaborThornlie14 December 1996 – 6 September 2008 (retired)25Dianne GuiseLaborWanneroo10 February 2001 – 6 September 2008 (defeated)Carol MartinLaborKimberley10 February 2001 – 9 March 2013 (retired)'''Margaret Quirk'''LaborGirrawheenLandsdale10 February 2001 – 13 March 202113 March 2021 – '''Jaye Radisich'''LaborSwan Hills10 February 2001 – 6 September 2008 (retired)Sue WalkerLiberal/IndependentNedlands10 February 2001 – 6 September 2008 (defeated)Janet WoollardIndependentAlfred Cove10 February 2001 – 9 March 2013 (defeated)31Judy HughesLaborKingsley26 February 2005 – 6 September 2008 (defeated)32Lisa BakerLaborMaylands6 September 2008 – Janine FreemanLaborNollamara6 September 2008 – 29 January 2021 (retired)'''Liza Harvey'''LiberalScarborough6 September 2008 – 13 March 2021 (defeated)'''Andrea Mitchell'''LiberalKingsley6 September 2008 – 11 March 2017 (defeated)'''Rita Saffioti'''LaborWest Swan6 September 2008 – 37''Adele Carles''Greens/IndependentFremantle16 May 2009 – 9 March 2013 (defeated)38'''Mia Davies'''*NationalCentral Wheatbelt9 March 2013 –Wendy Duncan*NationalKalgoorlie9 March 2013 – 11 March 2017 (retired)Eleni EvangelLiberalPerth9 March 2013 – 11 March 2017 (defeated)Josie FarrerLaborKimberley9 March 2013 – 29 January 2021 (retired)Glenys GodfreyLiberalBelmont9 March 2013 – 11 March 2017 (defeated)'''Simone McGurk'''LaborFremantle9 March 2013 –44''Libby Mettam''LiberalVasse18 October 2014 –45Robyn ClarkeLaborMurray-Wellington11 March 2017 – Emily HamiltonLaborJoondalup11 March 2017 – Lisa O'MalleyLaborBicton11 March 2017 – Cassie RoweLaborBelmont11 March 2017 – Amber-Jade Sanderson*LaborMorley11 March 2017 – Jessica ShawLaborSwan Hills11 March 2017 – Jessica StojkovskiLaborKingsley11 March 2017 – Sabine WintonLaborWanneroo11 March 2017 – 53''Alyssa Hayden''*LiberalDarling Range23 June 2018 – 13 March 2021 (defeated)54Hannah BeazleyLaborVictoria Park13 March 2021 – Caitlin CollinsLaborHillarys13 March 2021 – Lara DaltonLaborGeraldton13 March 2021 – Divina D'AnnaLaborKimberley13 March 2021 – Kim GiddensLaborBateman13 March 2021 – Meredith HammatLaborMirrabooka13 March 2021 – Jodie HannsLaborCollie-Preston13 March 2021 – Jane KelsbieLaborWarren-Blackwood13 March 2021 – Ali KentLaborKalgoorlie13 March 2021 – Lisa MundayLaborDawesville13 March 2021 – Rebecca StephensLaborAlbany13 March 2021 – Katrina StrattonLaborNedlands13 March 2021 – Christine TonkinLaborChurchlands13 March 2021 – 67''Merome Beard''NationalNorth West Central17 September 2022 –
Timeline ImageSize = width:1000 height:auto barincrement:12PlotArea = top:10 bottom:80 right:200 left:20AlignBars = earlyDateFormat = yyyyPeriod   = from:1920 till:2025TimeAxis  = orientation:horizontalScaleMajor = unit:year increment:5 start:1920Colors   =  id:NA  value:skyblue      legend: Nationalist Party of Australia  id:AL  value:red          legend: Australian Labor Party  id:LP  value:blue         legend: Liberal Party of Australia  id:NP  value:teal         legend: National Party of Australia  id:AG  value:brightgreen  legend: Australian Greens  id:ID  value:gray(0.6)    legend: IndependentLegend     = columns:3 left:150 top:50 columnwidth:200BarData =  barset:MLAs  bar:CardellOliver  barset:MLAs2  bar:Buchanan  barset:MLAs3  bar:Carles  barset:MLAs4PlotData=  width:5 align:left fontsize:S shift:(5,-4) anchor:till barset:MLAs  from:1921 till:1924 color:NA text:"Edith Cowan (1921–1924)"  from:1925 till:1939 color:AL text:"May Holman (1925–1939)" bar:CardellOliver  from:1936 till:1945 color:NA text:"  from:1945 till:1956 color:LP text:"Florence Cardell-Oliver (1936–1956)" barset:MLAs2  from:1974 till:1983 color:LP text:"June Craig (1974–1983)"  from:1983 till:1993 color:AL text:"Pam Beggs (1983–1993)" bar:Buchanan  from:1983 till:1991 color:AL text:"  from:1991 till:1992 color:ID text:"Pam Buchanan (1983–1992)" barset:MLAs3  from:1983 till:1996 color:AL text:"Yvonne Henderson (1983–1996)"  from:1983 till:1993 color:AL text:"Jackie Watkins (1983–1993)"  from:1986 till:1994 color:AL text:"Carmen Lawrence (1986–1994)"  from:1986 till:1996 color:AL text:"Judyth Watson (1986–1996)"  from:1989 till:2005 color:LP text:"Cheryl Edwardes (1989–2005)"  from:1989 till:2001 color:NP text:"Hilda Turnbull (1989–2001)"  from:1990 till:2008 color:AL text:"Judy Edwards (1990–2008)"  from:1991 till:2013 color:ID text:"Liz Constable (1991–2013)"  from:1993 till:1996 color:AL text:"Kay Hallahan (1993–1996)"  from:1993 till:2001 color:LP text:"June van der Klashorst (1993–2001)"  from:1993 till:2001 color:AL text:"Diana Warnock (1993–2001)"  from:1994 till:2022 color:AL text:"Michelle Roberts (1994–present)"  from:1994 till:2001 color:LP text:"Rhonda Parker (1994–2001)"  from:1996 till:2001 color:AL text:"Megan Anwyl (1996–2001)"  from:1996 till:2008 color:LP text:"Katie Hodson-Thomas (1996–2008)"  from:1996 till:2001 color:LP text:"Monica Holmes (1996–2001)"  from:1996 till:2010 color:AL text:"Alannah MacTiernan (1996–2010)"  from:1996 till:2008 color:AL text:"Sheila McHale (1996–2008)"  from:2001 till:2008 color:AL text:"Dianne Guise (2001–2008)"  from:2001 till:2013 color:AL text:"Carol Martin (2001–2013)"  from:2001 till:2022 color:AL text:"Margaret Quirk (2001–present)"  from:2001 till:2008 color:AL text:"Jaye Radisich (2001–2008)"  from:2001 till:2008 color:LP text:"Sue Walker (2001–2008)"  from:2001 till:2013 color:ID text:"Janet Woollard (2001–2013)"  from:2005 till:2008 color:AL text:"Judy Hughes (2005–2008)"  from:2008 till:2022 color:AL text:"Lisa Baker (2008–present)"  from:2008 till:2021 color:AL text:"Janine Freeman (2008–2021)"  from:2008 till:2021 color:LP text:"Liza Harvey (2008–2021)"  from:2008 till:2017 color:LP text:"Andrea Mitchell (2008–2017)"  from:2008 till:2022 color:AL text:"Rita Saffioti (2008–present)" bar:Carles  from:2009 till:2010 color:AG text:"  from:2010 till:2013 color:ID text:"Adele Carles (2009–2013)" barset:MLAs4  from:2013 till:2018 color:NP text:"Mia Davies (2013–present)"  from:2013 till:2017 color:NP text:"Wendy Duncan (2013–2017)"  from:2013 till:2017 color:LP text:"Eleni Evangel (2013–2017)"  from:2013 till:2021 color:AL text:"Josie Farrer (2013–2021)"  from:2013 till:2017 color:LP text:"Glenys Godfrey (2013–2017)"  from:2013 till:2022 color:AL text:"Simone McGurk (2013–present)"  from:2014 till:2022 color:LP text:"Libby Mettam (2014–present)"  from:2017 till:2022 color:AL text:"Robyn Clarke (2017–present)"  from:2017 till:2022 color:AL text:"Emily Hamilton (2017–present)"  from:2017 till:2022 color:AL text:"Lisa O'Malley (2017–present)"  from:2017 till:2022 color:AL text:"Cassie Rowe (2017–present)"  from:2017 till:2022 color:AL text:"Amber-Jade Sanderson (2017–present)"  from:2017 till:2022 color:AL text:"Jessica Shaw (2017–present)"  from:2017 till:2022 color:AL text:"Jessica Stojkovski (2017–present)"  from:2017 till:2022 color:AL text:"Sabine Winton (2017–present)"  from:2018 till:2021 color:LP text:"Alyssa Hayden (2018–2021)"  from:2021 till:2022 color:AL text:"Hannah Beazley (2021–present)"  from:2021 till:2022 color:AL text:"Caitlin Collins (2021–present)"  from:2021 till:2022 color:AL text:"Lara Dalton (2021–present)"  from:2021 till:2022 color:AL text:"Divina D'Anna (2021–present)"  from:2021 till:2022 color:AL text:"Kim Giddens (2021–present)"  from:2021 till:2022 color:AL text:"Meredith Hammat (2021–present)"  from:2021 till:2022 color:AL text:"Jodie Hanns (2021–present)"  from:2021 till:2022 color:AL text:"Jane Kelsbie (2021–present)"  from:2021 till:2022 color:AL text:"Ali Kent (2021–present)"  from:2021 till:2022 color:AL text:"Lisa Munday (2021–present)"  from:2021 till:2022 color:AL text:"Rebecca Stephens (2021–present)"  from:2021 till:2022 color:AL text:"Katrina Stratton (2021–present)"  from:2021 till:2022 color:AL text:"Christine Tonkin (2021–present)"  barset:skip
Proportion of women in the Assembly Numbers and proportions are as they were directly after the relevant election and do not take into account by-elections, defections or other changes in membership. The Liberal column also includes that party's predecessors, the Nationalist and United parties and the Liberal and Country League. The National column includes the various National Party splinter groups in the 1920s and 1980s.TermLaborLiberalNationalOthersTotalWomenTotal%WomenTotal%WomenTotal%WomenTotal%WomenTotal%1921–19240 17 0.0%1 10 10.0%0 16 0.0%0 7 0.0%1 50 2.0%1924–19270 27 0.0%0 9 0.0%0 13 0.0%0 1 0.0%0 50 0.0%1927–19301 27 3.7%0 16 0.0%0 7 0.0%0 0 0.0%1 50 2.0%1930–19331 23 4.3%0 16 0.0%0 10 0.0%0 1 0.0%1 50 2.0%1933–19361 30 3.3%0 8 0.0%0 11 0.0%0 1 0.0%1 50 2.0%1936–19391 26 3.8%1 8 12.5%0 13 0.0%0 3 0.0%2 50 4.0%1939–19431 27 3.7%1 7 14.2%0 12 0.0%0 4 0.0%2 50 4.0%1943–19470 30 0.0%1 7 14.2%0 10 0.0%0 3 0.0%1 50 2.0%1947–19500 23 0.0%1 13 7.7%0 12 0.0%0 1 0.0%1 50 2.0%1950–19530 23 0.0%1 15 6.7%0 9 0.0%0 3 0.0%1 50 2.0%1953–19560 26 0.0%1 15 6.7%0 9 0.0%0 0 0.0%1 50 2.0%1956–19590 29 0.0%0 11 0.0%0 8 0.0%0 2 0.0%0 50 0.0%1959–19620 23 0.0%0 17 0.0%0 8 0.0%0 2 0.0%0 50 0.0%1962–19650 24 0.0%0 18 0.0%0 8 0.0%0 0 0.0%0 50 0.0%1965–19680 21 0.0%0 21 0.0%0 8 0.0%0 0 0.0%0 50 0.0%1968–19710 23 0.0%0 19 0.0%0 9 0.0%0 0 0.0%0 51 0.0%1971–19740 26 0.0%0 17 0.0%0 8 0.0%0 0 0.0%0 51 0.0%1974–19770 22 0.0%1 23 4.3%0 6 0.0%0 0 0.0%1 51 2.0%1977–19800 22 0.0%1 27 3.7%0 6 0.0%0 0 0.0%1 55 1.8%1980–19830 23 0.0%1 26 3.8%0 6 0.0%0 0 0.0%1 55 1.8%1983–19864 32 12.5%0 20 0.0%0 5 0.0%0 0 0.0%4 57 7.0%1986–19896 32 18.8%0 19 0.0%0 6 0.0%0 0 0.0%6 57 10.5%1989–19936 31 19.4%1 20 5.0%1 6 16.7%0 0 0.0%8 57 14.0%1993–19966 24 25.0%2 26 7.7%1 6 16.7%1 1 100.0%10 57 17.5%1996–20016 19 31.6%5 29 17.2%1 6 16.7%1 3 33.3%13 57 22.8%2001–20058 32 25.0%3 16 18.8%0 5 0.0%2 4 50.0%13 57 22.8%2005–20089 32 28.1%2 18 11.1%0 5 0.0%2 2 100.0%13 57 22.8%2008–20137 28 25.0%2 24 8.3%0 4 0.0%2 3 66.7%11 59 18.6%2013–20177 21 33.3%4 31 12.9%2 7 28.6%0 0 0.0%13 59 22.0%2017–202115 41 36.6%2 13 15.4%1 5 20.0%0 0 0.0%18 59 30.5%2021–26 53 49.0%1 2 50.0%1 4 25.0%0 0 0.0%28 59 47.4%
See also