Bronwyn Bishop facts for kids

Quick facts for kids The Honourable Bronwyn Bishop AO
Bishop in 2012
29th Speaker of the Australian House of Representatives
In office 12 November 2013 – 2 August 2015
Deputy	Bruce Scott
Preceded by	Anna Burke
Succeeded by	Tony Smith
Minister for Aged Care
In office 21 October 1998 – 26 November 2001
Prime Minister	John Howard
Preceded by	Peter Staples
Succeeded by	Kevin Andrews
Minister for Defence Industry, Science and Personnel
In office 11 March 1996 – 21 October 1998
Prime Minister	John Howard
Preceded by	Gary Punch
Succeeded by	Warren Snowdon
Member of the Australian Parliament for Mackellar
In office 26 March 1994 – 9 May 2016
Preceded by	Jim Carlton
Succeeded by	Jason Falinski
Senator for New South Wales
In office 11 July 1987 – 24 February 1994
Preceded by	Sir John Carrick
Succeeded by	Bob Woods
Personal details
Born	Bronwyn Kathleen Setright (1942-10-19) 19 October 1942 (age 82) North Sydney, New South Wales, Australia
Political party	Liberal
Spouse	Alan David Bishop ​ ​ (m. 1966; div. 1992)​
Residence	Newport, New South Wales
Education	Cremorne Girls High School University of Sydney (no degree)
Occupation	Solicitor and company director

Bronwyn Kathleen Bishop AO (born 19 October 1942) is an Australian former politician. She was the 29th Speaker of the Australian House of Representatives from 2013 to 2015. The Speaker is like a referee in parliament, making sure debates follow the rules.

Bronwyn Bishop served in the Australian federal parliament for almost 30 years. This is the longest time any woman has served in the Australian Parliament. She was a member of the Liberal Party of Australia. She was a Senator for New South Wales from 1987 to 1994. After that, she became a Member of Parliament (MP) for the area of Mackellar from 1994 to 2016.

During her time in parliament, she was a minister under Prime Minister John Howard. She was the Minister for Defence Industry from 1996 to 1998. She was also the Minister for Aged Care from 1998 to 2001. After leaving parliament, she became a political commentator.

Early Life and School

Bronwyn Kathleen Setright was born on 19 October 1942 in North Sydney. Her father was an engineer, and her mother was an opera singer. Bronwyn took singing lessons when she was a child.

She went to Roseville Public School and then Cremorne Girls High School. In 1960, she started studying law at the University of Sydney. She later became a solicitor, which is a type of lawyer, in New South Wales in 1967. Before becoming a politician, she worked as a solicitor. She also had a small acting role in an Australian TV show called Divorce Court in the 1960s.

Political Career

Bronwyn Bishop joined the Liberal Party when she was 17 years old because she wanted to become a politician. She was very involved in the party from a young age. She became the first female president of the New South Wales Liberals from 1985 to 1987.

Serving as a Senator

Bishop early in her political career

In 1987, Bronwyn Bishop was elected to the Australian Senate. Senators represent their state in the Australian Parliament. She was the second woman to be a senator for New South Wales. She became a "shadow minister" in 1989. A shadow minister is a member of the opposition party who watches over a government minister's work. She was known for being a strong debater in parliament.

Moving to the House of Representatives

In 1994, Bronwyn Bishop decided to move from the Senate to the Australian House of Representatives. She won a special election, called a by-election, for the area of Mackellar. This area was a very safe seat for the Liberal Party.

After this move, she became a Shadow Health Minister. However, she caused some discussion when she supported tobacco advertising. This was against the views of many, including doctors and her own party. She was then moved to other shadow minister roles.

In the Howard Government

When the Liberal Party won the election in 1996, Prime Minister John Howard made Bronwyn Bishop a minister. She was the first Liberal woman from New South Wales to become a minister.

She was the Minister for Defence Industry, Science and Personnel from 1996 to 1998. Then, she became the Minister for Aged Care from 1998 to 2001. During her time as Minister for Aged Care, there was a public concern about the care standards in some nursing homes. She left the ministry after the 2001 election.

Bronwyn Bishop is a monarchist, meaning she supports Australia having the King or Queen as its head of state. She spoke out against Australia becoming a republic in the 1999 vote.

In 2005, she suggested that Muslim headscarves should not be worn in public schools if they were not part of the school uniform. She believed they were sometimes worn to show defiance. However, the Prime Minister, John Howard, did not agree with this idea.

She also tried to introduce a law to make it a crime to damage the Australian flag on purpose. This law did not pass.

In Opposition

After the Liberal Party lost the 2007 election, Bronwyn Bishop returned to being a shadow minister. She was the Shadow Minister for Veterans' Affairs. Later, she became the Shadow Minister for Seniors.

In 2011, she shared her thoughts on climate change. She questioned how much humans contribute to global warming. She suggested that climate changes naturally and that people should learn to adapt.

Speaker of the House

In 2013, after the Liberal Party won the federal election, Bronwyn Bishop was chosen to be the Speaker of the Australian House of Representatives. She was the third woman to hold this important role and the first non-Labor woman.

As Speaker, she was in charge of keeping order in the House of Representatives. However, she received criticism for being too partisan. This means she was seen as favouring her own party, the Liberal Party. For example, she asked Labor MPs to leave the House much more often than Liberal MPs. She also continued to attend Liberal Party meetings, which is not typical for a Speaker.

Travel Expenses Issue and Resignation

In mid-2015, Bronwyn Bishop faced a lot of public discussion about her use of parliamentary travel money. It was reported that she had used a helicopter for a short trip to attend a party event. The cost of this trip was over $5,000. She said it was a "mistake" and paid the money back with a penalty.

More reports came out about her travel spending, including expensive trips overseas and car expenses for attending arts events. Because of the public concern, she resigned as Speaker on 2 August 2015.

Return to the Backbench

After resigning as Speaker, Bronwyn Bishop returned to being a regular Member of Parliament. She decided to run for her seat again in the 2016 federal election. However, she was not chosen by her party to be their candidate. Instead, Jason Falinski was chosen and won the seat for the Liberal Party. This ended her long career in parliament.

After Politics

In June 2016, Bronwyn Bishop joined Sky News Live as a political commentator. She shares her opinions on current political events.

In November 2016, she attended a party to celebrate the victory of Donald Trump in the 2016 United States presidential election.

In November 2018, her official painting as Speaker was put on display in Parliament House, Canberra.

In 2020, Bronwyn Bishop was awarded the Order of Australia as an Officer. This award recognized her important service to the Australian Parliament and to women in politics.

Personal Life

Bronwyn Bishop enjoys acting as a hobby. She has appeared in charity plays like The Sound of Music and Grease. She also sang a duet with former Prime Minister Tony Abbott at a fundraiser. She supports Opera Australia and was involved with the Sydney International Piano Competition.

In 1966, she married Alan David Bishop. He was a judge. They had two daughters, Angela and Sally. Angela Bishop is a well-known entertainment reporter for Network Ten. Bronwyn and Alan Bishop divorced in 1992.

See also

• Women in the Australian Senate
• Women in the Australian House of Representatives