50% of the electorate are women
and their point of view should be represented.
But it's not as a woman that I have been elected to this chamber.
It is as a citizen of the Commonwealth.
I would like to see more women in Parliament
to take part in the decision making.
AMELIA: They're strong words spoken by strong women
who were pioneers in Australian politics.
But you don't have to go back that far to find a time
when women had no say at all in the way our country was run.
Around 130 years ago, no Australian woman -
in fact, no woman in the world -
had the right to vote, let alone stand for Parliament.
But it was right here, in this very room, that things changed.
In 1894, South Australia's government
became only the second in the world to give women the right to vote.
But it also became the first in the world
to give women the right to run for election.
In 1897, South Australian Catherine Helen Spence
became the first female political candidate.
While she didn't win, she paved the way for more women to step up
in the early days of Federation.
But while most Australian women had the right to be elected
to Federal Parliament from 1902,
it took 41 years for a woman to actually win a seat.
In fact, it was two women.
In 1943, Dame Dorothy Tangney was elected to the Senate
and Dame Enid Lyons was elected to the House of Representatives,
and they walked into Parliament side by side.
DAME ENID LYONS: This is the first occasion...
..in which a woman has addressed this House.
For that reason, it's an occasion, which,
for every woman in the Commonwealth,
marks, in some degree, a turning point in history.
You could tell a lot of people weren't expecting that turning point.
There weren't even any designated female toilets at Parliament House.
All the way up to the 1980s,
only a handful of women were elected to our Federal Government.
But over the next few decades, that changed a lot.
We had female premiers,
a female governor-general,
and in 2010, a female Prime Minister.
Prime Minister, I offer you my very warmest congratulations.
It took three more years
for the first Indigenous woman to sit in Parliament.
My duty now is to work hard and make a difference.
Thank you very much, Mr Speaker.
Now we're used to seeing women
in some of Australia's most powerful jobs.
And some argue that women now have
exactly the same opportunities as men.
But others say women are still being treated differently
and that might be discouraging women from getting into politics
or staying there.
That said, most people agree we've come a long way.
When I grow up, I would probably like to be a politician, generally,
'cause I have, like, quite strong views on things.
When I see high-profile women in government,
it makes me feel, um, good,
and that, you know,
that's a potential thing that I could pursue.
Being a boy,
I think it is important
because, sometimes, women have a better idea than men.
Whenever I see politicians around
that are doing good for the community and for Australia,
I feel very satisfied
and I feel like Australia's becoming a bit more equal.