Record-breaking number of women to enter Australian parliament

Australia Broadcast Center

05-05-2025

Australia will be represented by more women in federal parliament than ever before, after Saturday's election saw voters choose a series of women over men.
The ABC is projecting the number of women in the House of Representatives will grow by at least five and as many as 16.
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While counting is still underway, the ABC forecasts women will win at least 63 seats, 46 of which will be held by Labor, seven by the Coalition and another seven by independents.
Another three contests — in Kooyong, Ryan and Bradfield — are too close to call but will nonetheless result in a woman in parliament because both leading candidates are women.
Anne Urquhart celebrates her election win in the Tasmanian seat of Braddon.
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ABC News: Jordan Young
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On top of that, there are still 11 seats in doubt with a female contender, which therefore could result in women holding up to 74 lower house seats, although that appears unlikely.
But, even without those victories, the 48th parliament will feature more women than ever before, up on the
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In the Senate, women are again expected to outnumber men.
While some seats are still too early to call, it is likely women will hold 44 of the 76 seats.
It represents a significant rise in the number of women in parliament in just two election cycles.
In the 46th parliament, there were just 40 women in the House and 32 in the Senate.
Jess Teesdale celebrated at the Launceston Rugby Club after winning the seat of Bass.
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ABC News: Mackenzie Heard
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Labor women in Queensland could field a netball team
Sports Minister Anika Wells on Sunday pointed out the election had been particularly successful for Labor women in Queensland.
"We have gone from one woman in the House to seven women in the House," she said.
"We now have enough for an entire netball team, and we are here if you need!" — referring to a phrase often shouted around a netball goal circle.
Anika Wells says parliament now has enough women to fill a netball team.
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ABC News: Adam Kennedy
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Ms Wells said that was on top of her elevation into cabinet last year, which for the first time meant there were equal numbers of men and women at the table.
"The reason we have that is because of the leadership of Anthony Albanese, who doesn't just say that he respects women — he empowers women and he has empowered these women to defy the odds, defy the Coalition, and now join us in Canberra," she said.
Before losing on the weekend, Peter Dutton had similarly appointed 11 women to his shadow cabinet, although he had far fewer women on his backbench.
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