Hilda Gracia Baylor AM (born 8 October 1929 in Brisbane) is an Australian retired politician. Baylor was one of the first two women elected to the Victorian Legislative Council in 1979, the other being Joan Coxsedge.
Gracia was born in Brisbane, [1] her father was in the military and the family eventually settled in Victoria. She studied fine art and teaching, and taught in secondary schools until she married. Following her first marriage she worked as a law clerk and managed one of her husband's three law practices (Richard Baylor).
She became interested in local government when she noticed the lack of a kindergarten near her home. She was elected to the Healesville Shire council in 1966, and became Shire president from 1977 to 1978, she was the first female Shire president in Victoria. At the 1979 election, she was elected to Boronia Province in the Victorian Legislative Council as a member of the Liberal Party — one of the first two women elected to the Council alongside Joan Coxsedge (Labor, Melbourne West). She held her seat until 1985 when she resigned to contest a seat in the Legislative Assembly, but her bid was unsuccessful.
She has continued to be involved in women's issues, including a term as the president of the National Council of Women (1997–2000).
Joan Elizabeth Kirner AC was an Australian politician who was the 42nd Premier of Victoria, serving from 1990 to 1992. A Labor Party member of the Parliament of Victoria from 1982 to 1994, she was a member of the Legislative Council before later winning a seat in the Legislative Assembly. Kirner was a minister and briefly deputy premier in the government of John Cain Jr., and succeeded him as premier following his resignation. She was Australia's third female head of government and second female premier, Victoria's first, and held the position until her party was defeated in a landslide at the 1992 state election.
The Parliaments of the Australian states and territories are legislative bodies within the federal framework of the Commonwealth of Australia.
The Parliament of Victoria is the bicameral legislature of the Australian state of Victoria that follows a Westminster-derived parliamentary system. It consists of the Queen, represented by the Governor of Victoria, the Legislative Assembly and the Legislative Council. It has a fused executive drawn from members of both chambers. The parliament meets at Parliament House in the state capital Melbourne. The current Parliament was elected on 24 November 2018, sworn in on 19 December 2018 and is the 59th parliament in Victoria.
Monica Mary Gould is a former Australian politician. She was a Labor Party member of the Victorian Legislative Council between September 1993 and November 2006, representing Doutta Galla Province.
Andrea Coote is an Australian former parliamentarian. She was a Liberal member of the Victorian Legislative Council from 1999 to 2014, representing Monash Province until the 2006 election and the Southern Metropolitan Region thereafter.
William Robert Baxter is a former Australian politician and a former Victorian State President of The Nationals. He was the Nationals member of the Victorian Legislative Council representing North Eastern Province from June 1978 until November 2006. He also served one term in the Victorian Legislative Assembly from 1973 to 1976.
Joan Marjorie Coxsedge is an Australian artist, activist, and a former politician. She was one of the first two women elected to the Victorian Legislative Council in 1979.
From the turn of the 20th century, women have had the right to stand for parliament and participate in government in Australia. Following federation, the government of the newly formed Commonwealth of Australia passed the Commonwealth Franchise Act 1902 allowing most women to both vote and stand at the 1903 Federal election. South Australia and Western Australia granted women the vote before federation, and the states of New South Wales, Tasmania, Queensland and Victoria also passed legislation allowing women to participate in government at the state and local levels following federation. Indigenous Australian women did not achieve suffrage at all levels of government and in all states and territories until 1962.
William Albert Landeryou was an Australian trade unionist and politician. He was a member of the Australian Labor Party (ALP) and served in the Victorian Legislative Council from 1976 to 1992, including as a minister in the Labor government of John Cain. Before entering politics he was a senior official in the Storemen and Packers' Union.
The 1992 Victorian state election, held on Saturday, 3 October 1992, was for the 52nd Parliament of Victoria. It was held in the Australian state of Victoria to elect all 88 members of the state's Legislative Assembly and 22 members of the 44-member Legislative Council.
Elizabeth Jeanette Powell is a British-born Australian politician. She was a National Party member of the Victorian Legislative Assembly from 2002 to 2014, representing the electorate of Shepparton. She was previously a member of the Victorian Legislative Council from 1996 to 2002, representing North Eastern Province.
A political family of Australia is a family in which multiple members are involved in Australian politics, particularly electoral politics. Members may be related by blood or marriage; often several generations or multiple siblings may be involved.
Pauline Therese Toner was the first female cabinet minister in the Parliament of Victoria. A member of the Labor Party, she was elected to the Victorian Legislative Assembly in 1977 and was Minister for Community Welfare Services from 1982 to 1985. She resigned from Parliament in 1989 and died on 3 March 1989.
Donna-Lee Petrovich was an Australian politician. She was a Liberal Party member of the Victorian Legislative Council from 2006 to 2013, representing Northern Victoria Region. She resigned with a year remaining of her second term in order to contest the 2013 federal election in the seat of McEwen, but was defeated by Labor incumbent Rob Mitchell.
David Charles Morris is a member of the Victorian Legislative Assembly representing the electorate of Mornington for the Liberal Party. He was elected in 2006.
Caroline Jennifer Hogg is a former Australian politician for the Labor Party. She was a member of the Victorian Legislative Council from 1982 to 1996 and a minister in the governments of John Cain and Joan Kirner.
There have been 60 women in the Victorian Legislative Council since its establishment in 1856. Women have had the right to vote in Victoria, Australia since 1908 and the right to stand as a candidate for the Victorian Legislative Council since 1923. As of September 2020, there were 17 women in the 40 member Legislative Council.
Sue deCarteret Wilding was an Australian politician.
The Australian Labor Party , commonly known as Victorian Labor, is the semi-autonomous Victorian branch of the Australian Labor Party (ALP). The Victorian branch comprises two major wings: the parliamentary wing and the organisational wing. The parliamentary wing comprising all elected party members in the Legislative Assembly and Legislative Council, which when they meet collectively constitute the party caucus. The parliamentary leader is elected from and by the caucus, and party factions have a strong influence in the election of the leader. The leader's position is dependent on the continuing support of the caucus and the leader may be deposed by failing to win a vote of confidence of parliamentary members. By convention, the premier sits in the Legislative Assembly, and is the leader of the party controlling a majority in that house. The party leader also typically is a member of the Assembly, though this is not a strict party constitutional requirement.