Carmen Lawrence facts for kids

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Quick facts for kids The Honourable Carmen Lawrence AO
Lawrence in 1990

25th Premier of Western Australia
In office 12 February 1990 – 16 February 1993
Monarch	Elizabeth II
Governor	Francis Burt
Deputy	Ian Taylor
Preceded by	Peter Dowding
Succeeded by	Richard Court
Minister for Health and Human Services
In office 25 March 1994 – 11 March 1996
Prime Minister	Paul Keating
Preceded by	Graham Richardson
Succeeded by	Michael Wooldridge
Minister for Women
In office 25 March 1994 – 11 March 1996
Prime Minister	Paul Keating
Preceded by	Ros Kelly
Succeeded by	Jocelyn Newman
Member of the Australian Parliament for Fremantle
In office 12 March 1994 – 17 October 2007
Preceded by	John Dawkins
Succeeded by	Melissa Parke
Member of the Legislative Assembly for Glendalough
In office 4 February 1989 – 4 February 1994
Preceded by	Constituency Created
Succeeded by	Michelle Roberts
Member of the Legislative Assembly for Subiaco
In office 8 February 1986 – 4 February 1989
Preceded by	Tom Dadour
Succeeded by	Constituency Abolished

Personal details
Born	Carmen Mary Lawrence (1948-03-02) 2 March 1948 (age 77) Northam, Western Australia, Australia
Political party	Labor
Profession	Psychologist

Carmen Mary Lawrence (born 2 March 1948) is an Australian academic and former politician. She made history as the first woman to become the premier of Western Australia, serving from 1990 to 1993. She is still the only female premier of Western Australia.

A member of the Labor Party, she later moved into federal politics. She was a member of the House of Representatives from 1994 to 2007. During this time, she was a minister in the Keating government.

Lawrence was born in Northam, Western Australia. She studied psychology at the University of Western Australia, earning a doctorate in 1983. Before becoming a politician, she worked as a university lecturer and researcher. She was elected to state parliament in 1986 and became a government minister in 1988. In 1990, she became Premier, following Rosemary Follett as Australia's second female head of government. After the 1993 state election, her party lost power.

In 1994, Lawrence entered federal parliament. She quickly became a cabinet minister, serving as Minister for Human Services and Health and Minister for Women until 1996. She stayed in parliament until the 2007 election. From 2004 to 2005, she was the federal president of the Labor Party. After leaving politics, she returned to the University of Western Australia as a psychology professor.

Early Life and Education
State Political Career
Federal Political Career
Notable Public Appearances
See also

Early Life and Education

Growing Up in Western Australia

Carmen Lawrence was born in Northam, Western Australia, a farming area. She spent her early childhood in the towns of Gutha and Dongara. She was one of seven children, with six sisters and one brother. Her father, Ernest Richard Lawrence, was a farmer.

School Days

From age six, she attended several Roman Catholic boarding schools. These included Marian Convent at Morawa and Dominican Ladies College at Dongara. She also went to Santa Maria College in Attadale. In 1964, she finished school with excellent results in six subjects. She also won awards for her academic achievements.

University and Early Career

In 1965, Lawrence began studying at the University of Western Australia in Perth. She graduated in 1968 with top honors in psychology. She won five prizes, including one for being the most outstanding graduate in several university faculties.

She was active in politics even then. At university, she successfully campaigned to stop the Campus Beauty Contest. In the early 1970s, she helped start the Women's Electoral Lobby in Victoria. She taught at the University of Melbourne and the Western Australian Institute of Technology. From 1979 to 1983, she lectured at the University of Western Australia's Faculty of Medicine. During this time, she also earned her doctorate in psychology in 1983.

From 1983 until she was elected to parliament in 1986, Lawrence worked for the Department of Health of Western Australia.

State Political Career

Becoming a Member of Parliament

During her time at the Department of Health, Carmen Lawrence joined the Labor Party. She first tried to win a seat in parliament in 1983 but was not successful. However, in 1986, she won the seat of Subiaco. In 1988, she became the Minister for Education. When her seat of Subiaco was changed in 1989, she won the new seat of Glendalough.

At this time, the Western Australian Labor government faced challenges. There were public concerns about past government actions.

Premier of Western Australia

In February 1990, the Premier, Peter Dowding, resigned. Carmen Lawrence, who had been a strong voice for change within the Labor Party, took his place on 12 February 1990. She became the Premier of Western Australia, with Ian Taylor as her deputy.

This was a very important moment because Carmen Lawrence was the first female Premier of any Australian State. Before her, only Rosemary Follett had been a female head of government in Australia, as Chief Minister of the Australian Capital Territory.

To address public concerns, Lawrence called for a special investigation into past government dealings in November 1990. The investigation began in March 1991.

Improving Transport

During Lawrence's time as Premier, a major transport project continued. This was the building of the Northern Suburbs Transit System, now known as the Joondalup line. She officially opened the line in December 1992. The Perth City Busport (now Elizabeth Quay Bus Station) also opened in November 1991. These projects helped improve public transport for people in Perth.

Election Defeat

In the election held on 6 February 1993, Carmen Lawrence's government was defeated. The Liberal and National parties formed a new government, and Richard Court became Premier. Lawrence remained the Opposition Leader until early 1994.

Federal Political Career

Joining Federal Parliament

On 12 March 1994, Carmen Lawrence won a special election for the federal seat of Fremantle. This allowed her to enter federal politics. Fremantle is a strong Labor Party area and was once held by former Prime Minister John Curtin.

Soon after, on 25 March 1994, she was appointed a minister in the Keating government. She became the Minister for Human Services and Health and Minister assisting the Prime Minister for the Status of Women.

Investigations and Acquittal

In May 1995, an investigation was requested into some events that happened while Lawrence was Premier of Western Australia. The investigation looked into how a certain petition was presented to the Western Australian Parliament. In November 1995, the investigation released a report.

At the 1996 federal election, the Keating government lost power. Carmen Lawrence was then appointed to the Opposition frontbench as Shadow Environment Minister. In February 1997, she faced charges related to the findings of the investigation. She stepped down from her shadow ministry role during this time. However, she was found not guilty on 23 July 1999.

Later Political Life

After being cleared, she returned to the Labor frontbench in September 2000. She became the shadow minister for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Affairs, the Arts, and the Status of Women.

During the 2001 federal election campaign, Lawrence disagreed with her party's policy on how Australia treated asylum-seekers. In December 2002, she resigned from the Shadow Cabinet. She described the party's policies on asylum and immigration as "brutal and inhumane."

On 29 March 2007, she announced that she would not run for her seat in Parliament again. This meant she would retire from politics at the 2007 Australian federal election.

Leading the Labor Party (ALP)

In 2002, the Labor Party made some changes, including allowing party members to directly elect the party's National President. Carmen Lawrence became the candidate for this position. In November 2003, she was elected president, starting her term on 1 January 2004. She used this role to advocate for better treatment of asylum-seekers in Australia. Her term as National President ended on 1 January 2005.

After Parliament

Lawrence in 2013

As she had announced, Carmen Lawrence did not run in the 2007 Australian federal election. She retired from Parliament. Melissa Parke, also from the Labor Party, took over her seat of Fremantle.

After leaving federal Parliament, Lawrence became a Professorial Fellow at the University of Western Australia in 2008. She worked on research about the causes of extreme behavior, including terrorism.

In 2016, Lawrence became the president of the Conservation Council of Western Australia. She has campaigned against companies involved in fossil fuel extraction sponsoring major sporting clubs.

In 2022, Lawrence was honored with the Officer of the Order of Australia. This award recognized her important service to the people and parliaments of Australia and Western Australia, and her work in conservation and arts administration.

Notable Public Appearances

In 1994, Lawrence gave the John Curtin Memorial Lecture, speaking about "Women and Labor – A Future Perspective."
She was named the "Number One Ticket-Holder" for the Fremantle Football Club in 1995/96.
From 2000 to 2004, she wrote for the online journal Online Opinion.
In 2005, she gave a series of lectures called Fear and Public Policy, which were later published as a book titled Fear and Politics.
In 2015, she received the Australian Humanist of the Year award. This was for her consistent humanist approach to many issues, including the welfare of Indigenous people, equality for women, and Australia's treatment of asylum seekers.