Not just good girls in public life

At least three female politicians from Queensland have been jailed in the past fifteen years: Pauline Hanson, and two former ministers - Labor’s Merri Rose and the Nationals’ Leisha Harvey. The former chief magistrate, Di Fingleton, went to prison for ostensibly, but not actually, over-stepping her role boundaries. Cheryl Kernot went down in a blaze of ignominy. A number of lesser known lights, many of them talented, simply left exhausted, alienated and frustrated. The unifying factor was some inability to fit in to an assigned position description. “A good, quiet, girl,” a bitter friend remarked. “That’s what they wanted.”

The third group comprises Julia Baird’s “steel sheilas”: tough girls with balls, trying to be seen as men. There are a growing number of them, anxious not to go the way of their apparently more vulnerable predecessors.

Having women on the public stage in Queensland is now much more common, and infinitely more acceptable. It is undoubtedly popular for political parties to run female candidates, whether in the city or in the bush. Peter Beattie understood this very well and capitalised on these populist sentiments. Women pull votes here, so let’s put ’em up! The public view is that women can be effective in public life because we have seen them there, and they work. Queenslanders are voting for woman candidates in increasing numbers.

In all areas of experience particular to women, such as equal pay, childcare decisions and services, opportunities for betterment in the workforce, rates of teenage pregnancy and domestic violence, as well as structural areas such as appointment to boards and positions of power, Queensland women are not doing any better than women from other Australian states. In many cases, we are still worse off, but we are no longer invisible or excluded.