There have been 60 women in the New South Wales Legislative Council since its establishment in 1856. Women have had the right to stand as a candidate since 1918; the Council introduced direct election in 1978.
The first women appointed to the Legislative Council were Catherine Green and Ellen Webster in 1931, both appointed directly by the premier, Jack Lang. Green departed in 1932; after Webster's departure in 1934 women were absent from the Council until 1952, when Gertrude Melville became the first woman elected by the New South Wales Parliament to serve. Since then women have been continuously represented in the Legislative Council. The first Liberal woman to serve in the Legislative Council was Eileen Furley in 1962. The first National Party woman was Judy Jakins in 1984. The first minor-party woman was Democrat Elisabeth Kirkby, elected in 1981. The first Call to Australia/Christian Democrat woman was Marie Bignold in 1984; the first Greens woman was Lee Rhiannon in 1999. No female MLCs have been elected as independents, although Anne Press, Marie Bignold, Beryl Evans, Franca Arena and Helen Sham-Ho all left their parties and continued to sit as independents.
The first female minister in the Legislative Council was Virginia Chadwick, who was appointed Minister for Family and Community Services in 1988 by Premier Nick Greiner. Deirdre Grusovin and Carmel Tebbutt held ministerial positions in Labor governments before transferring to the Legislative Assembly.
List of women in the New South Wales Legislative Council
Names in bold type indicate ministers and parliamentary secretaries. Names in italics are of women who entered the parliament through by-election or appointment. Names marked with an asterisk (*) also served in the Legislative Assembly. Where no closing date is shown, the MLC’s term of service is unexpired.
#NamePartyPeriod of service1Catherine GreenLabor24 November 1931 – 7 September 1932 (resigned)2Ellen WebsterLabor26 November 1931 – 22 April 1934 (defeated)3Gertrude MelvilleLabor10 September 1952 – 21 August 1959 (died)4Edna RoperLabor23 April 1958 – 5 November 1978 (retired)5Anne PressLabor/Ind Labor/Liberal22 October 1959 – 5 November 1978 (retired)6Amelia RygateInd Labor/Labor7 September 1961 – 5 November 1978 (retired)7Eileen FurleyLiberal14 November 1962 – 22 April 1976 (retired)8Evelyn BarronLabor23 April 1964 – 22 April 1976 (retired)9Margaret DavisLiberal23 April 1967 – 15 September 1978 (resigned to run for LA)10Kath AndersonLabor23 April 1973 – 28 August 1981 (retired)Vi LloydLiberal23 April 1973 – 28 August 1981 (retired)12Delcia KiteLabor23 April 1976 – 3 March 1995 (retired)13Marie FisherLabor7 October 1978 – 22 February 1988 (retired)14Virginia ChadwickLiberal6 November 1978 – 5 March 1999 (retired)Deirdre Grusovin*Labor6 November 1978 – 31 May 1990 (resigned to run for LA)Dorothy IsaksenLabor6 November 1978 – 22 February 1988 (defeated) 4 July 1990 – 5 March 1999 (retired)17Franca ArenaLabor/Independent27 October 1981 – 5 March 1999 (defeated)Elisabeth KirkbyDemocrats27 October 1981 – 25 June 1998 (resigned)19Ann SymondsLabor8 September 1982 – 30 April 1998 (resigned)20Beryl EvansLiberal/Independent30 April 1984 – 3 March 1995 (defeated)Judy JakinsNational30 April 1984 – 1 July 1991 (seat abolished)22Marie BignoldCall to Australia/Independent5 December 1984 – 1 July 1991 (seat abolished)Judith WalkerLabor5 December 1984 – 3 March 1995 (retired)24Marlene GoldsmithLiberal19 March 1988 – 5 March 1999 (retired)Elaine NileCall to Australia/CDP19 March 1988 – 27 August 2002 (resigned)Helen Sham-HoLiberal/Independent19 March 1988 – 28 February 2003 (retired)27Meredith BurgmannLabor25 May 1991 – 23 March 2007 (retired)Jan BurnswoodsLabor25 May 1991 – 23 March 2007 (retired)Patricia ForsytheLiberal25 May 1991 – 22 September 2006 (resigned)Jenny GardinerNational25 May 1991 – 6 March 2015 (retired)31Janelle SaffinLabor25 March 1995 – 28 February 2003 (retired)Patricia StauntonLabor25 March 1995 – 2 September 1997 (resigned)33Carmel Tebbutt*Labor30 April 1998 – 26 August 2005 (resigned to run for LA)34Lee RhiannonGreens27 March 1999 – 19 July 2010 (resigned to run for Senate)35Amanda FazioLabor30 August 2000 – 6 March 2015 (retired)36Melinda Pavey*National3 September 2002 – 6 March 2015 (retired to run for LA)37Catherine CusackLiberal22 March 2003 – Kayee GriffinLabor22 March 2003 – 4 March 2011 (retired)Sylvia HaleGreens22 March 2003 – 6 September 2010 (resigned)Robyn Parker*Liberal22 March 2003 – 4 March 2011 (retired to run for LA)Christine RobertsonLabor22 March 2003 – 4 March 2011 (retired)42Penny SharpeLabor11 October 2005 – 5 March 2015 (resigned) 6 May 2015 –43Marie Ficarra*Liberal24 March 2007 – 6 March 2015 (retired)Lynda Voltz*Labor24 March 2007 – 28 February 2019 (retired to run for LA)Helen WestwoodLabor24 March 2007 – 6 March 2015 (defeated)46Sophie CotsisLabor7 September 2010 – 16 September 2016 (resigned to run for LA)Cate FaehrmannGreens7 September 2010 – 18 June 2013 (resigned to run for Senate) 15 August 2018 –48Jan BarhamGreens26 March 2011 – 13 February 2017 (resigned)Natasha Maclaren-JonesLiberal26 March 2011 – Sarah MitchellNational26 March 2011 – 51Mehreen FaruqiGreens19 June 2013 – 14 August 2018 (resigned to be appointed to Senate)52Courtney HoussosLabor28 March 2015 –Bronnie TaylorNational28 March 2015 – 16 September 202454Dawn WalkerGreens22 February 2017 – 23 March 2019 (defeated)55Natalie WardLiberal16 November 2017 –56Abigail BoydGreens23 March 2019 –Emma HurstAnimal Justice23 March 2019 –Tara MoriartyLabor23 March 2019 –59Rose JacksonLabor8 May 2019 –60Sue HigginsonGreens12 May 2022 – 61Nichole OverallNational13 September 2025 –
Timeline
Proportion of women in the Council Numbers and proportions are as they were directly after the beginning of Council terms and do not take into account deaths, resignations, appointments, defections or other changes in membership.
TermLaborLiberalNationalGreensOthersTotalWomenTotal%WomenTotal%WomenTotal%WomenTotal%WomenTotal%WomenTotal%1952–19550 33 0.0%0 14 0.0%0 11 0.0%0 0 0.0%0 2 0.0%0 60 0.0%1955–19581 35 2.9%0 12 0.0%0 11 0.0%0 0 0.0%0 2 0.0%1 60 1.7%1958–19612 34 5.9%0 13 0.0%0 11 0.0%0 0 0.0%0 2 0.0%2 60 3.3%1961–19641 23 4.3%0 11 0.0%0 15 0.0%0 0 0.0%1 10 10.0%2 59 3.4%1964–19672 27 7.4%1 11 9.1%0 12 0.0%0 0 0.0%2 8 25.0%5 58 8.6%1967–19703 29 10.3%2 12 16.7%0 12 0.0%0 0 0.0%1 7 14.3%6 60 10.0%1970–19733 27 11.1%3 15 20.0%0 11 0.0%0 0 0.0%0 6 0.0%6 59 10.2%1973–19764 24 16.7%4 20 20.0%0 11 0.0%0 0 0.0%0 4 0.0%8 59 13.6%1976–19784 23 17.4%3 22 13.6%0 13 0.0%0 0 0.0%0 1 0.0%7 59 11.9%1978–19815 23 21.7%2 14 14.3%0 6 0.0%0 0 0.0%0 0 0.0%7 43 16.3%1981–19845 24 20.8%1 12 8.3%0 6 0.0%0 0 0.0%1 2 50.0%7 44 15.9%1984–19886 24 25.0%2 11 18.2%1 7 14.3%0 0 0.0%1 3 33.3%10 45 22.2%1988–19915 21 23.8%4 12 33.3%1 7 14.3%0 0 0.0%3 5 60.0%13 45 28.9%1991–19957 18 38.9%6 13 38.5%1 7 14.3%0 0 0.0%2 4 50.0%15 42 35.7%1995–19997 17 41.2%4 13 30.8%1 5 20.0%0 1 0.0%2 6 33.3%14 42 33.3%1999–20034 16 25.0%1 9 11.1%1 4 25.0%1 2 50.0%2 11 18.2%9 42 21.4%2003–20076 18 33.3%3 9 33.3%2 4 50.0%2 3 66.7%0 8 0.0%13 42 31.0%2007–20116 19 31.6%3 10 30.0%2 5 40.0%2 4 50.0%0 4 0.0%13 42 31.0%2011–20155 14 35.7%3 13 23.1%3 7 42.9%2 5 40.0%0 4 0.0%13 42 31.0%2015–20194 12 33.3%2 13 15.4%2 7 28.6%2 5 40.0%0 5 0.0%10 42 23.8%2019–20234 13 30.8%3 11 27.2%2 4 40.0%2 4 50.0%1 8 12.5%12 42 28.6%2023–20276 15 40.0%6 9 66.7%2 5 40.0%4 4 100.0%2 9 22.2%12 42 47.6%
References