So Many Firsts

Margaret Fitzherbertâ_Ts new book follows on from her first, Liberal Women, and examines the political lives of women in the Liberal Party from Menzies to Turnbull - their achievements and work for the community. These pioneering women had many hurdles to overcome including the long fight to extend child endowment, the battle to remove the legislative barriers to married women working in the public service, along with the notion that they could do more than only represent womenâ_Ts issues. In 1948, The Mail helpfully declared of Senator Annabelle Rankin: â_oShe tackles menâ_Ts problemâ_Ts tooâ__. In the late 1950s to early 1960s, these Liberal women were arguing for equal work and equal opportunity and equal pay. (Plus ca change!) By the close of 1975, 10 Liberal women had been elected to the federal parliament compared with five from ALP, four of whom were elected in 1974 and 1975. None had taken leadership roles, in contrast to the Liberal Party where women had done so since the 1940s: Enid Lyons as a member of the Menzies Cabinet, Annabelle Rankin as Whip and then one of Harold Holtâ_Ts ministers, Ivy Wedgwood chairing Senate committees, and Kathy Martin as Assistant Whip during the blocking of supply in 1975. And three years of opposition had seen the elevation of the woman poised to be the most powerful yet: Margaret Guilfoyle. By the time Malcolm Turnbull became Opposition Leader in 2008, women achieving leadership roles in parliament was no longer remarkable. But the women themselves were. Jocelyn Newman, Judi Moylan, Amanda Vanstone were among those who expanded the legacy of the generations of women who went before them. Under Malcolm Turnbull, even more historical firsts have been achieved with Liberal women occupying the two most senior portfolios â_" Julie Bishop taking the mantle of Deputy Leader and Shadow Treasurer, and Helen Coonan as Shadow Minister for Foreign Affairs.