Amanda Vanstone and Julie Bishop important South Australian input as ministers in Liberal Party's federal ranks

Amanda Vanstone and Julie Bishop took strong stands as ministers in Coalition federal governments.
Images courtesy Australian Parliament

Amanda Vanstone and Julie Bishop, as little-l liberals achieving in a conservative environment, continued the South Australian tradition of political mavericks.

Vanstone said she didn’t defer to male authority due to growing up in a female-headed household (her father died early) and attending a school (St Peter’s Collegiate Girls) run by women.

In 1984, at 31, Vanstone was elected the youngest member of the Australian senate and was appointed to John Howard’s' cabinet in 1996 as minister for employment, education, training and youth affairs. She presided over controversial heavy cuts to jobs programs.

In 1997, she was dropped from Cabinet but came back to eventually be immigration, multicultural and indigenous affairs minister. Again, she was involved in controversies such as the “Pacific Solution” for boat people and abolishing the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Commission. She retired from politics in 2007 and became Australian ambassador to Italy. She later was chairwoman of the Royal Flying Doctor Service in South Australia and presented the ABC Radio National programme Counterpoint.

Also educated at St Peter’s Collegiate Girls School and Adelaide University, Julie Bishop was elected to the House of Representatives in 1998 representing the Western Australian seat of Curtin.

Bishop served in the Howard government with ministries for ageing, education, science, training and assisting the prime minister for women’s issues.

In 2008, Bishop was first woman of any party to become shadow treasurer. Although that was short lived, Bishop showed remarkable staying power as Liberal Party deputy leader under the terms of Brendan Nelson, Malcolm Turnbull, Tony Abbott and Malcolm Turnbull again. She retained her role a foreign minister from 2009.

Bishop was a contender, but outmaneouvred, in her bid to become prime minister in the spill that ousted Malcolm Turnbull in 2018. She resigned from parliament soon afterwards.