Lisa Chesters (Bendigo, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Jacinta Allan, Maree Edwards and Mary-Anne Thomas are the three women state representatives who cover my electorate of Bendigo—and there is myself as the federal member. At a local government level for the past four years we have had also had women in the role of mayor. I would like to acknowledge, as they come to the end of their term, Sharon Telford, Janet Pearce, Jennifer Anderson and Bronwen Machin, as well as Marg O'Rourke, for the great efforts they've made. It is rare to be able to stand here and say, at a local state and federal level, women are the elected leaders of our region. It is something that is not common in this country, and that is disappointing. We've quite often talked about why it works in Bendigo and why it works in central Victoria. It's not by chance; it's by hard work. It's because we belong to parties and communities that support women. If you pre-select women, women get elected—it's as simple as that.

The women that I have mentioned at the federal and state level are all Labor women. The women at our local government level who have been supported by their communities are progressive women who stood up and made a contribution. We do not know what will happen in our next council term, but I did want to place on record that in the last four years we've achieved something in central Victoria that not many other places in Australia have. I congratulate them on their term.