Women in the Tasmanian House of Assembly
Introduction There have been 38 '''women in the Tasmanian House of Assembly''' since its establishment in 1856.Women have had the right to vote since 1903 and the right to stand as candidates since 1921.The first successful female candidates for the House of Assembly were Amelia Best and Mabel Miller, both Liberals, who were elected in 1955.In 1962, Miller (Best had lost election twice, in 1956 and 1959) was joined by the first Labor woman, Lynda Heaven. In 1964, both Miller and Heaven left the House, and women were not represented again until 1976, when Labor's Gill James was elected. Since then women have been continuously represented in the House.Christine Milne and Di Hollister were the first women elected to represent the Greens in 1989.Kristie Johnston was the first independent woman elected in 2021, although Mary Willey, Madeleine Ogilvie and Sue Hickey had served as independents after leaving their parties. Kathryn Hay was the first Indigenous woman elected to the Tasmanian parliament in 2002.Lara Giddings became the first female Premier of Tasmania on 24 January 2011.With the re-election of Madeleine Ogilvie on 11 September 2019, the House of Assembly became Australia's first state to elect a majority of women members in one house, with 13 of the 25 members being female.
List of women in the Tasmanian House of 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 recount, and * symbolises members that have sat as members in both the Legislative Assembly and the Legislative Council.#NamePartyElectoral DivisionPeriod of service1Amelia BestLiberalWilmot19 February 1955 – 13 October 1956 (defeated)  24 November 1958 – 2 May 1959 (defeated)Mabel MillerLiberalFranklin19 February 1955 – 2 May 1964 (defeated)3''Lynda Heaven''LaborFranklin2 March 1962 – 2 May 1964 (defeated)4'''Gill James'''LaborBass11 December 1976 – 8 February 1986 (defeated)  1 February 1992 – 20 July 2002 (retired)5Mary WilleyLabor/IndependentBass28 July 1979 – 27 May 1982 (defeated)6''Carmel Holmes''LiberalDenison25 June 1984 – 8 February 1986 (defeated)7'''Judy Jackson'''LaborDenison8 February 1986 – 18 March 2006 (retired)'''Fran Bladel'''LaborFranklin8 February 1986 – 9 April 2002 (retired)9Christine MilneGreensLyons13 May 1989 – 29 August 1998 (defeated)Di HollisterGreensBraddon13 May 1989 – 29 August 1998 (defeated)11Carole CainsLiberalBraddon1 February 1992 – 24 February 1996 (defeated)  17 July 1997 – 29 August 1998 (defeated)'''Sue Napier'''LiberalBass1 February 1992 – 19 March 2010 (retired)13''Peg Putt''GreensDenison2 March 1992 – 7 July 2008 (resigned)14'''''Denise Swan'''''LiberalLyons12 December 1995 – 20 July 2002 (defeated)15'''Lara Giddings'''LaborLyons  Franklin24 February 1996 – 29 August 1998 (defeated)  20 July 2002 – 3 March 2018 (retired)'''Paula Wriedt'''LaborFranklin24 February 1996 – 18 January 2009 (resigned)17'''Kathryn Hay'''LaborBass20 July 2002 – 18 March 2006 (retired)18''Heather Butler''LaborLyons10 May 2005 – 20 March 2010 (defeated)19'''Michelle O'Byrne'''LaborBass18 March 2006 – '''Lisa Singh'''LaborDenison18 March 2006 – 20 March 2010 (defeated)21'''''Cassy O'Connor'''''GreensDenison/Clark21 July 2008 – 22'''Elise Archer'''LiberalDenison/Clark20 March 2010 – '''Jacquie Petrusma'''LiberalFranklin20 March 2010 – Rebecca WhiteLaborLyons20 March 2010 – 25'''Sarah Courtney'''LiberalBass15 March 2014 – 10 February 2022 (resigned)Madeleine OgilvieLabor/Independent/LiberalDenison/Clark15 March 2014 – 3 March 2018 (defeated)13 September 2019 – Joan RylahLiberalBraddon15 March 2014 – 3 March 2018 (defeated)  26 February 2019 – 27 July 2020 (resigned)28''Andrea Dawkins''GreensBass9 June 2015 – 3 March 2018 (defeated)29''Rosalie Woodruff''GreensFranklin17 August 2015 – 30Jen ButlerLaborLyons3 March 2018 – Anita DowLaborBraddon3 March 2018 – Ella HaddadLaborDenison/Clark3 March 2018 – Sue HickeyLiberal/IndependentDenison/Clark3 March 2018 – 1 May 2021 (defeated)Jennifer HoustonLaborBass3 March 2018 – 1 May 2021 (defeated)Alison StandenLaborFranklin3 March 2018 – 1 May 2021 (defeated)36Janie FinlayLaborBass1 May 2021 – Kristie JohnstonIndependentClark1 May 2021 – 38''Lara Alexander''LiberalBass25 February 2022 –
Timeline ImageSize = width:1000 height:auto barincrement:12PlotArea = top:10 bottom:80 right:200 left:20AlignBars = earlyDateFormat = yyyyPeriod   = from:1950 till:2024TimeAxis  = orientation:horizontalScaleMajor = unit:year increment:5 start:1950Colors   =  id:LP  value:blue          legend: Liberal Party of Australia  id:AL  value:red           legend: Australian Labor Party  id:AG  value:brightgreen   legend: Tasmanian Greens/Australian Greens  id:ID  value:gray(0.6)     legend: IndependentLegend     = columns:3 left:150 top:50 columnwidth:200BarData =  bar:Best  barset:MHAs  bar:James  bar:Willey  barset:MHAs2  bar:Cains  barset:MHAs3  bar:Giddings  barset:MHAs4  bar:Ogilvie  bar:Rylah  barset:MHAs5  bar:Hickey  barset:MHAs6PlotData=  width:5 align:left fontsize:S shift:(5,-4) anchor:till bar:Best  from:1955 till:1956 color:LP text:"  from:1958 till:1959 color:LP text:"Amelia Best (1955–1956, 1958–1959)" barset:MHAs  from:1955 till:1964 color:LP text:"Mabel Miller (1955–1964)"  from:1962 till:1964 color:AL text:"Lynda Heaven (1962–1964)" bar:James  from:1976 till:1986 color:AL text:"  from:1992 till:2002 color:AL text:Gill James (1976–1986, 1992–2002)" bar:Willey  from:1979 till:1981 color:AL text:"  from:1981 till:1982 color:ID text:"Mary Willey (1979–1982)" barset:MHAs2  from:1984 till:1986 color:LP text:"Carmel Holmes (1984–1986)"  from:1986 till:2002 color:AL text:"Fran Bladel (1986–2002)"  from:1986 till:2006 color:AL text:"Judy Jackson (1986–2006)"  from:1989 till:1998 color:AG text:"Di Hollister (1989–1998)"  from:1989 till:1998 color:AG text:"Christine Milne (1989–1998)" bar:Cains  from:1992 till:1996 color:LP text:"  from:1997 till:1998 color:LP text:"Carole Cains (1992–1996, 1997–1998)" barset:MHAs3  from:1992 till:2010 color:LP text:"Sue Napier (1992–2010)"  from:1992 till:2008 color:AG text:"Peg Putt (1992–2008)"  from:1995 till:2002 color:LP text:"Denise Swan (1995–2002)" bar:Giddings  from:1996 till:1998 color:AL text:"  from:2002 till:2018 color:AL text:"Lara Giddings (1996–1998, 2002–2018)" barset:MHAs4  from:1996 till:2009 color:AL text:"Paula Wriedt (1996–2009)"  from:2002 till:2006 color:AL text:"Kathryn Hay (2002–2006)"  from:2005 till:2010 color:AL text:"Heather Butler (2005–2010)"  from:2006 till:2023 color:AL text:"Michelle O'Byrne (2006–present)"  from:2006 till:2010 color:AL text:"Lisa Singh (2006–2010)"  from:2008 till:2023 color:AG text:"Cassy O'Connor (2008–present)"  from:2010 till:2023 color:LP text:"Elise Archer (2010–present)"  from:2010 till:2023 color:LP text:"Jacquie Petrusma (2010–present)"  from:2010 till:2023 color:AL text:"Rebecca White (2010–present)"  from:2014 till:2022 color:LP text:"Sarah Courtney (2014–2022)" bar:Ogilvie  from:2014 till:2018 color:AL text:"  from:2019 till:2021 color:ID text:"  from:2021 till:2023 color:LP text:"Madeleine Ogilvie (2014–2018, 2019–present)" bar:Rylah  from:2014 till:2018 color:LP   from:2019 till:2020 color:LP text:"Joan Rylah (2014–2018, 2019–2020)" barset:MHAs5  from:2015 till:2018 color:AG text:"Andrea Dawkins (2015–2018)"  from:2015 till:2023 color:AG text:"Rosalie Woodruff (2015–present)"  from:2018 till:2023 color:AL text:"Jen Butler (2018–present)"  from:2018 till:2023 color:AL text:"Anita Dow (2018–present)"  from:2018 till:2023 color:AL text:"Ella Haddad (2018–present)" bar:Hickey  from:2018 till:2020 color:LP text:"  from:2020 till:2021 color:ID text:"Sue Hickey (2018–2021)" barset:MHAs6  from:2018 till:2021 color:AL text:"Jennifer Houston (2018–2021)"  from:2018 till:2021 color:AL text:"Alison Standen (2018–2021)"  from:2021 till:2023 color:AL text:"Janie Finlay (2021–present)"  from:2021 till:2023 color:ID text:"Kristie Johnston (2021–present)"  from:2022 till:2023 color:LP text:"Lara Alexander (2022–present)"  barset:skip
References