Bridget McKenzie (Victoria, National Party) Share this | Hansard source

I stand on behalf of the Nationals to offer our condolences and to support the heartfelt words spoken here in the Senate and in the other place today and extend our sympathies to Dame Margaret's family and friends. She was an outstanding parliamentarian and role model, not just because she was a woman, but because she was a tenacious senator, earning and commanding respect in what was then very much a man's world of federal parliament. She was a political ground breaker and a pivotal figure who had a profound impact on Australia and Australians. She was an inspiration for generations, an immigrant, a working mother and an accountant who became, as Dame Margaret herself described, 'the chief accountant for the country' following her appointment as Australia's first female finance minister in 1980.

Dame Margaret held four ministerial positions in the Fraser government: Minister for Education; Minister Assisting the Prime Minister in Child Care Matters; Minister for Social Security, her cabinet position; and Minister for Finance. When I recall Dame Margaret, I think of a person who wanted to be judged by her actions, not as someone motivated solely by inequality. She never let an opportunity go, though, to focus on furthering the cause of female representation. As the first woman sent to Canberra from the Victorian Division of the Country Party, now the National Party, she reached out to me on getting preselected and made sure that I had someone that had been there before that I could draw on for advice. She introduced me to a few of my Liberal Party colleagues before I actually got here.

As a senator and a minister, all sides of politics agree, Dame Margaret was outstanding. She took committee roles that aligned with her own professional experience. Because of her accounting background, Dame Margaret put her experience to use as a member of the Senate Standing Committee on Finance and Government Operations and the Public Accounts Committee. It was former Prime Minister and colleague John Howard who said that she had a very good grasp on the detail, which is something all senators need to be across. That is just one thing that is required, especially to be a successful finance minister.

For all the headlines focusing on her gender rather than her skill, it must have been a very frustrating period to be a female cabinet minister. What deserves the spotlight was Dame Margaret's tenacity in prosecuting her arguments, done with determination, nous and resolute commitment to the desired outcome. Her advocacy for improvements in child care and the expansion of maternity leave for all women earned her the respect of all sides of politics.

There's no doubt that her own work and life experience influenced her politics. As Minister for Social Security, Dame Margaret drew on her own understanding of the human impact of her portfolio. As minister, she was responsible for the most significant reforms to child endowment since the Menzies government extended it to firstborn children in 1949. Under Dame Margaret, tax rebates were removed for dependent children, and she increased the cash amount paid to parents under the renamed family allowance, which was paid directly to mothers. These changes provided a greater benefit for low-income families and addressed key concerns of opponents who argued that child endowment had not kept up with inflation.

Dame Margaret did not come from a political family. She lost her father at age 10. She was the daughter of a teacher who raised three children without the support of an extended family.

She had a long association with the Liberal Party in Victoria before her election. She recalled her pre-selection challenge as not against men but against the perception of the city-country balance of the Liberal Party representation. In politics Dame Margaret was meticulous, confident and unflappable. For that she was an inspirational role model.

Former Labor Premier of Victoria Joan Kirner said in 2003, 'Dame Margaret forged the view that women could be judged equally on political rather than personal terms.' I mention Joan Kirner because it was Kirner who, as president of the Australian Council of State School Organisations, said that Dame Margaret was also the architect of the coalition's education policy. She spoke on a range of issues in parliament, from the environment to her interests in supporting the arts. Whether finance or higher education, Aboriginal health, ASIO and intelligence agencies or drug use and abuse, Dame Margaret was a succinct and clear contributor. My colleague foreign minister Senator Payne described Dame Margaret as 'one who led by example'. For those of us who have the honour and privilege to serve in this place that is as fitting a definition of something to inspire and motivate us all. Vale, Dame Margaret.