Kirner, Joan Elizabeth (1938 - )

In 1990 Joan Kirner was elected the first woman Premier for the State of Victoria. She held the position for two years.

Kirner entered the Victorian Parliament in 1982 as an MLC (ALP) for the Province of Melbourne West. Between 1985 and 1988 she was Minister for Conservation, Forests & Lands. In 1988 she moved to the Lower House as the member for Williamstown and was appointed Minister for Education (1988-1990) and Minister for Ethnic Affairs (1990-1991). She served as Deputy Premier from 1989-1990 and in 1992 became the Leader of the Opposition.

Kirner resigned from parliament in 1994. That same year, she was appointed Chair of the Employment Services Regulatory Authority (which position she held until 1996), and Chair of the National Committee to Celebrate the Centenary of Federation. In May 2001, as a member of the Victorian Committee for the Centenary of Federation, she organised the Women Shaping the Nation event and presentation of the Victorian Honour Roll of women in the Victorian Parliament with 756 women present.

Kirner maintains an interest in social justice, equity for women, the arts and landcare. With Moira Rayner, she co-authored the best selling Women’s Power Handbook, published in 1999 and illustrated by Judy Horacek. Kirner is co-convenor of Emily’s List, a Board member of the Australian Children’s Television Foundation, and a member of the Playbox Theatre Board. She supports a variety of organisations including the Living Museum of the West, the Women’s Circus and Positive Women.

Related Corporate Bodies

• EMILY's List Australia (1996 - )

  Co-convenor since 1996

Related Exhibitions

• Women in Australia’s Working History (2002 - )

  The life of Joan Kirner features as one of the case studies in the exhibition A Lot On Her Hands, the first stage of the Women in Australian's Working History project being undertaken at the Australian Workers Heritage Centre.

Books

• Kirner, J (Joan), Ministerial Statement on the VCE, The Education Shop, Melbourne, 1989, 12 pp. [ Details... ]
• Kirner, J (Joan), Hon. Joan Kirner, Education Speeches, 1973-1984: "From Mum to Minister.", [1996]. [ Details... ]
• Kirner, Joan and Moira Rayner, The Women's Power Handbook, Judy Horacek (illustrations), Penguin Books, Ringwood, Vic., 1999, 362 pp. [ Details... ]

Edited Books

• Scutt, Jocelynne A. (ed.), Living Generously: women mentoring women, Artemis, Melbourne, 1996. [ Details... ]

See also

• 'Women in Australia’s Working History', in Australian Workers' Heritage Centre, Australian Workers' Heritage Centre, 2003, http://www.australianworkersheritagecentre.com.au/07_education
  /working_women.htm. [ Details... ]
• Australian Labor Party (Vic. Br.); Kirner, J (Joan); Douglas, Mary, 'A Positive Partnership: Affirmative Action in the Australian Labor Party', Australian Labor Party, [Melbourne], March 1994, p. 13. [ Details... ]
• Herd, Margaret (ed.), Who's who in Australia 2002, 38 edn, Crown Content, Melbourne, 2002, 2020 pp. [ Details... ]
• Scutt, Jocelynne A. (ed.), As a woman: writing women's lives, Artemis, Melbourne, Vic., 1992, 253 pp. [ Details... ]
• Victoria, 'Economic Statement: A Statement', Government Printer, [Melbourne], 19 Jun. 1991, p. 48. [ Details... ]
• Victorian Federation of State Parents' Clubs; Kirner, Joan E, '"But I'm only a Mum;" "On Deleting the Word Only."', Victorian Federation of State School Parents' Clubs, Melbourne, 1977, p. 8. [ Details... ]