Rosemary Follett | |
---|---|
1st Chief Minister of the Australian Capital Territory | |
In office 11 May 1989 –5 December 1989 | |
Deputy | Paul Whalan |
Succeeded by | Trevor Kaine |
In office 6 June 1991 –2 March 1995 | |
Deputy | Wayne Berry David Lamont |
Preceded by | Trevor Kaine |
Succeeded by | Kate Carnell |
Member of the ACT Legislative Assembly | |
In office 4 March 1989 –18 February 1995 | |
Preceded by | first Assembly |
Succeeded by | Multi-member multiple constituencies |
In office 18 February 1995 –12 December 1996 | |
Preceded by | Multi-member single constituency |
Succeeded by | Simon Corbell |
Constituency | Molonglo |
Personal details | |
Born | Sydney | 27 March 1948
Nationality | Australian |
Political party | Labor Party |
Alma mater | Canberra College of Advanced Education |
Occupation | Politician,activist |
Rosemary Follett AO (born 27 March 1948[ citation needed ]) is an Australian former politician who was the first Chief Minister of Australian Capital Territory,serving in 1989 and again between 1991 and 1995. She was the first woman to become head of government in an Australian state or territory. [1]
Follett is the daughter of hansard writer Aubrey Follett,an Anglican,and his wife Judith (née Lusby),a teacher and Roman Catholic. Follett was born in Sydney in 1948,and moved with her family to Canberra in 1952. She took inspiration from female models of leadership in her own family from an early age —her mother was a teacher who had worked in naval intelligence with the Women's Royal Australian Naval Service during World War II,while her aunt,Dr Gwen (Lusby) Fleming,had been a Major in the Australian Army Medical Corps,and aunt,Elizabeth Lusby was a school prioress in the Dominican Sisters. [2] [3]
Follett attended Canberra Catholic Girls' High School. She joined the Australian Public Service after leaving school,and travelled to Darwin and Sydney. She returned to Canberra with the public service,but was required to resign when she married. She studied stenography,and worked as a secretary for various politicians over the next ten years. [2]
The 1975 dismissal of the Whitlam government inspired Follett to join the Ginninderra branch of the Labor Party,serving as its president between 1983 and 1984. In the meantime,she returned to university,studying arts and administration at the Canberra College of Advanced Education,and rejoined the public service. [4] Prior to her election to the Assembly,Follett was an elected Member for Fraser in the representative advisory ACT House of Assembly,serving between 1985 and 1986; [4] and became President of the ACT branch of Labor in 1987. [2]
Preselected to lead Labor in the period before the 1989 inaugural general election,Follett was elected to the inaugural ACT Legislative Assembly and,on 11 May 1989,was elected by the Assembly as the inaugural Chief Minister. [5] The first Assembly was characterised by a hung parliament and significant political instability. [6]
Confidence was waning in the minority Follett Labor government. On 5 December 1989,Bernard Collaery,leader of the Residents Rally group (with three members in the Assembly) moved the following motion in the Assembly: [7]
That this Assembly no longer has confidence in the Chief Minister of the ACT and the minority Labor Government and has confidence in the ability of Mr Kaine to form a government.
The vote was resolved in affirmative (10 votes to 7 votes), and Trevor Kaine was elected as the second Chief Minister. After another motion of no confidence was passed, this time against Kaine, Follett returned to office in 1991 and she led Labor to victory at the 1992 general election. Defeated by the Liberals under Kate Carnell at the 1995 general election. Follett continued to lead the ALP until the following year 1996. With a caucus of six members, Follett stood down as leader after she was tapped on the shoulder by Andrew Whitecross, the man who would become her successor and two of their colleagues. Follett then resigned from the ACT Legislative Assembly in December 1996. Simon Corbell was elected to fill the casual vacancy. [ citation needed ]
Since leaving politics, Follett has been Deputy Vice-chancellor at the University of Canberra; Chair of the Vocational Education and Training Authority; a member of the University of Canberra Council; member of the Sentence Administration Board and chair of the board of Senior Secondary School Studies. [2] She led a trade mission to Japan and was instrumental in bringing about the ACT's sister-city relationship with Nara and was a member of the Milk Authority of the ACT in 1996, and the Canberra Labor Club, Canberra Tradesmen's Club and the Australian Fabian Society. Follett was the ACT's Sex Discrimination Commissioner from 1996 to 2004. [2] On 14 April 2014, Follett received an honorary doctorate from the University of Canberra. [8]
Anne Katherine Carnell is an Australian businesswoman and former Liberal Party politician, who served as the third Chief Minister of the Australian Capital Territory (ACT) from 1995 to 2000.
The premiers and chief ministers of the Australian states and territories are the heads of the executive governments in the six states and two self-governing territories of Australia. They perform the same function at the state and territory level as the Prime Minister of Australia performs at the national level. The King of Australia and the state governors are the formal repositories of executive power; however, in practice they act only on the advice of state premiers and ministers except in extreme circumstances, such as a constitutional crisis.
Residents Rally was an Australian political party, with four candidates elected to the first Australian Capital Territory Legislative Assembly at the 1989 Australian Capital Territory general election. The party was led by human rights barrister and lawyer, Bernard Collaery. Collaery defined the party as "a community-based urban green party". The Rally formed a coalition with the Liberal Party, led by Trevor Kaine, in late 1989. However, this fractious Alliance was to last for only two years before collapsing. The Rally was unsuccessful in retaining any seats at the 1992 ACT general election.
Trevor Thomas Kaine, was an Australian politician who served as Chief Minister of the Australian Capital Territory from 1989 to 1991. Kaine was elected into a multi-member single electorate in the unicameral Australian Capital Territory Legislative Assembly, from 1989 to 2001, initially as a member of the Liberal Party and later as an independent.
The 1989 Australian Capital Territory general election was held on 4 March 1989 to elect the 1st Australian Capital Territory Legislative Assembly. This was the first direct election by voters in the Australian Capital Territory (ACT) for their power legislative body.
Wayne Bruce Berry is an Australian former politician who was a member of the unicameral Australian Capital Territory Legislative Assembly from 1989 to 2008, representing the electorate of Ginninderra for the Labor Party. Berry served as Deputy Chief Minister from 1991 to 1994, Leader of the Opposition from 1997 to 1998 and Speaker of the Assembly from 2001 to 2008.
Elections to the 1992 Australian Capital Territory Legislative Assembly was held on Saturday, 15 February, alongside a referendum on an electoral system for future elections. The incumbent Labor Party, led by Rosemary Follett, was challenged by the Liberal Party, led by Trevor Kaine. Candidates were elected to fill seats using the modified d'Hondt electoral system for a multi-member single constituency. The result was another hung parliament. However, Labor, with the largest representation in the 17-member unicameral Assembly, formed Government with the support of Michael Moore and Helen Szuty. Follett was elected Chief Minister at the first sitting of the second Assembly on 27 March 1992.
The Australian Capital Territory House of Assembly was the main elected representative body of the Australian Capital Territory between 1975 and 1986, during which time preparation began for the granting of self-government to the Territory. The Assembly had a largely advisory role, with most of the power over the Territory being in the hands of the relevant federal minister.
Craig John Duby, former Australian politician, was a member of the unicameral Legislative Assembly of the Australian Capital Territory between 1989 and 1992, elected to the multi-member single constituency Assembly as a representative of the No Self-Government Party. During his term in office, Duby was a member of the Independents Group and the Hare-Clark Independence Party. Duby was the Minister for Finance and Urban Services and briefly was the Minister for Housing and Community Services in the Kaine ministry. For part of one day, he served as the Leader of the Opposition.
Bernard Joseph Edward Collaery is an Australian barrister, lawyer and former politician. Collaery was a member of the Australian Capital Territory's first Legislative Assembly for the Residents Rally party, from 1989 to 1992. He served as Deputy Chief Minister and Attorney-General from 1989 to 1991 in the Kaine Alliance Government.
Ellnor Judith Grassby is a former Australian politician who served as a member of the multi-member single constituency unicameral Australian Capital Territory Legislative Assembly, representing the Labor Party between 1989 and 1995. Grassby served as Minister for Housing and Urban Services in the First Follett Ministry.
Paul Russell Whalan is an Australian political lobbyist and former politician who was a member of the first Australian Capital Territory Legislative Assembly. He served as the leader of the ACT Labor Party in the mid-1980s and was the leader of the party's Right faction.
The First Follett Ministry was the first ministry of the Government of the Australian Capital Territory, and was led by Labor Chief Minister Rosemary Follett and her deputy, Paul Whalan. It was sworn in on 16 May 1989, after the 1989 election when a hung parliament was the outcome. Labor, with a plurality of seats, led a minority government in the Australian Capital Territory Legislative Assembly.
The Kaine Ministry was the second ministry of the Government of the Australian Capital Territory, and was a coalition led by Liberal Chief Minister Trevor Kaine and his deputy, Residents Rally party leader Bernard Collaery. It was sworn in on 5 December 1989, when Collaery moved the following motion:
The Second Follett Ministry was the third ministry of the Government of the Australian Capital Territory, and was led by Labor Chief Minister Rosemary Follett and her deputy, Wayne Berry. It was sworn in on 18 June 1991, after a successful resolution of no confidence in the Trevor Kaine led Liberal Party was passed in the Australian Capital Territory Legislative Assembly. Following the 1989 ACT general election, Labor, with a plurality of seats, led a minority government following the failure of an Alliance government between the Liberals and Residents Rally.
The Deputy Chief Minister of the Australian Capital Territory is the second-most senior officer in the government of the Australian Capital Territory. The position has been a ministerial portfolio since its establishment in 1989. Unlike in other states and territories, the deputy chief minister of the ACT is not nominally appointed by an administrator or vice-regal, but by the chief minister.
The ACT Labor Party, officially known as the Australian Labor Party (ACT Branch) and commonly referred to simply as ACT Labor, is the Australian Capital Territory branch of the Australian Labor Party (ALP). The branch is the current ruling party in the ACT and is led by Andrew Barr, who has concurrently served as chief minister since 2014. It is one of two major parties in the unicameral ACT Legislative Assembly, and is currently in a coalition with the ACT Greens.
The Canberra Liberals, officially known as the Liberal Party of Australia, is the division of the Liberal Party of Australia in the Australian Capital Territory (ACT). The party has been in opposition in the ACT Legislative Assembly for much of its existence, but held power with the support of minor parties and independents between 1989 and 1991 and again between 1995 and 2001. It is currently the only state or territory division of either major party to be unrepresented in the Federal Parliament.
The Alliance, sometimes known as the Liberal–Residents Rally Alliance, was a political alliance between the Liberal Party, Residents Rally and Independents Group in the Australian Capital Territory Legislative Assembly.