Editing Joan Kirner

{{Short description|Premier of Victoria from 1990 to 1992}}
{{Use Australian English|date=August 2016}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=November 2020}}
{{Infobox officeholder
| honorific-prefix = [[The Honourable]]
| name             = Joan Kirner
| honorific-suffix = [[Order of Australia|AC]]
| nationality      = Australian
| image            = Joan kirner.jpg
| caption          = Kirner in 1991
| order1          = 42nd [[Premier of Victoria]]
| term_start1      = 10 August 1990
| term_end1        = 6 October 1992
| monarch1         = [[Elizabeth II]]
| governor1        = [[Davis McCaughey]]<br/>[[Richard McGarvie]]
| deputy1          = [[Jim Kennan]]
| predecessor1     = [[John Cain Jr.]]
| successor1       = [[Jeff Kennett]]
| office2          = 22nd [[Deputy Premier of Victoria]]
| term_start2      = 7 February 1989
| term_end2        = 10 August 1990
| premier2         = [[John Cain Jr.]]
| predecessor2     = [[Robert Fordham]]
| successor2       = [[Jim Kennan]]
| office3          = [[Leader of the Opposition (Victoria)|Leader of the Opposition of Victoria]]
| term_start3      = 6 October 1992
| term_end3        = 22 March 1993
| premier3         = [[Jeff Kennett]]
| deputy3          = [[Jim Kennan]]
| predecessor3     = [[Jeff Kennett]]
| successor3       = [[Jim Kennan]]
| office4          = [[Australian Labor Party (Victorian Branch)|Leader of the Labor Party in Victoria]]
| term_start4      = 9 August 1990
| term_end4        = 22 March 1993
| deputy4          = [[Jim Kennan]]
| predecessor4     = [[John Cain Jr.]]
| successor4       = [[Jim Kennan]]
| office5          = Member of the [[Victorian Legislative Assembly]] for [[Electoral district of Williamstown|Williamstown]]
| term_start5      = 1 October 1988
| term_end5        = 27 May 1994
| predecessor5     = [[Gordon Stirling]]
| successor5       = [[Steve Bracks]]
| office6          = Member of the [[Victorian Legislative Council]] for [[Melbourne West Province|Melbourne West]]
| term_start6      = 3 April 1982
| term_end6        = 30 September 1988
| predecessor6     = [[Bon Thomas]]
| successor6       = [[Licia Kokocinski]]
| birthname        = Joan Elizabeth Hood
| birth_date       = {{birth date|df=yes|1938|6|20}}
| birth_place      = [[Essendon, Victoria|Essendon]], Victoria, Australia
| death_date       = {{Death date and age|2015|6|1|1938|6|20|df=y}}
| death_place      = [[Melbourne]], Victoria, Australia 
| party            = [[Australian Labor Party (Victorian Branch)|Labor]]
| spouse           = Ronald George Kirner (m. 1960)
| children         = Michael, Kate and David
| profession       = Teacher
| alma_mater       = [[University of Melbourne]]
| signature        = Joan Kirner's Signature.png
}}

'''Joan Elizabeth Kirner''' {{post-nominals|country=AUS|AC}} (née '''Hood'''; 20 June 1938 – 1 June 2015) was an Australian politician who was the 42nd [[Premier of Victoria]], serving from 1990 to 1992. A [[Australian Labor Party (Victorian Branch)|Labor Party]] member of the [[Parliament of Victoria]] from 1982 to 1994, she was a member of the [[Victorian Legislative Council|Legislative Council]] before later winning a seat in the [[Victorian Legislative Assembly|Legislative Assembly]]. Kirner was a minister and briefly [[Deputy Premier of Victoria|deputy premier]] in the government of [[John Cain Jr.]], and succeeded him as premier following his resignation. She was Australia's third female head of government and second female premier, Victoria's first, and held the position until her party was defeated in a landslide at the [[1992 Victorian state election|1992 state election]].

==Early life and career==
Born '''Joan Elizabeth Hood''' in [[Essendon, Victoria|Essendon]], [[Melbourne]], the only child of John Keith and Beryl Edith (née Cole) Hood, a [[fitter and turner]] and [[music teacher]], respectively, Kirner was educated at state and private schools. She graduated in arts from the [[University of Melbourne]], and completed a teaching qualification. She taught in state schools and became active in school and parents' organisations. In 1960 she married Ron Kirner, with whom she had three children. She was President of the Victorian Federation of States School Parents' Clubs, an influential education lobby from 1971 to 1977 and its executive officer from 1978 to 1982. She was appointed to several government advisory bodies on education.<ref>{{Cite web|url = http://www.abc.net.au/radionational/programs/throsby/vale-joan-kirner/6525984|title = Vale Joan Kirner|website = Radio National|date = 5 June 2015|access-date = 2016-03-03}}</ref>

==Entry into state politics==
Kirner joined the [[Australian Labor Party (Victorian Branch)|Labor Party]] in 1978 and became a member of its [[Labor Left|Socialist Left]] faction.<ref>{{Cite news|url=http://www.theage.com.au/victoria/victorias-first-female-premier-joan-kirner-dies-aged-76-20150601-ghefxh.html|title=Victoria's first female premier Joan Kirner dies aged 76|last=Dow|first=Aisha|date=2015-06-02|newspaper=The Age|access-date=2016-03-09}}</ref> In 1982, she was elected as a Labor member of the [[Victorian Legislative Council]], the upper house of the [[Parliament of Victoria|Victorian Parliament]]. In 1985, she was elected to the Cabinet of [[John Cain Jr.]]'s Labor government and became Minister for Conservation, [[Minister of Forests|Forests]] and Lands. She proposed the [[Flora and Fauna Guarantee Act 1988]], the first Australian legislation, which gave legal protection of rare species.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://vnpa.org.au/page/publications/nature-news-hub/vale-joan-kirner-_-1938_2015|title=Victorian National Parks Association / Publications / Nature news hub / Vale Joan Kirner - 1938-2015|website=vnpa.org.au|access-date=2017-03-02|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170303020154/http://vnpa.org.au/page/publications/nature-news-hub/vale-joan-kirner-_-1938_2015|archive-date=3 March 2017}}</ref> While Minister, and in association with Heather Mitchell from the [[Victorian Farmers Federation|Victorian Farmers' Federation]], Kirner was instrumental in the formation of the first [[Landcare Australia|Landcare]] groups.

At the 1988 election, Kirner shifted to the [[Victorian Legislative Assembly|Legislative Assembly]], becoming MP for [[Electoral district of Williamstown|Williamstown]], and was promoted to the Education portfolio.<ref name=remember>{{cite web|title=Kirner, Joan Elizabeth|work=Re-member|publisher=Parliament of Victoria|url=http://www.parliament.vic.gov.au/re-member/bioregfull.cfm?mid=1212|access-date=8 August 2013|archive-date=5 September 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120905061121/http://www.parliament.vic.gov.au/re-member/bioregfull.cfm?mid=1212|url-status=dead}}</ref> In this portfolio, Kirner carried out a series of controversial reforms aimed at reducing what Kirner saw as the class-based inequity of the education system, culminating in a new system of assessment, the [[Victorian Certificate of Education]].<ref>{{Cite news|url=http://www.theage.com.au/victoria/the-feminist-legacy-of-joan-kirner-20150604-ghgrdj.html|title=The feminist legacy of Joan Kirner|last=Power|first=Rachel|date=2015-06-06|newspaper=The Age|access-date=2016-03-03}}</ref>

==Premiership==
Later in 1988 Kirner was elected deputy leader of the party and became [[Deputy Premier of Victoria]]. When Cain resigned after a collapse in his political support in August 1990, Kirner was elected Labor leader and thus became Victoria's first female [[Premier of Victoria|Premier]]. By this time the Labor government was in deep crisis, with some of the state's financial institutions on the brink of insolvency, the budget deficit unsustainably high and growing and the Labor Party deeply divided on how to respond to the situation. The party hoped that the elevation of a popular woman as its new leader would improve its position, but Kirner never succeeded in gaining control of the crisis into which the state had plunged. The conservative-leaning Melbourne newspaper, the ''[[Herald Sun]],'' reacted unfavourably to a Premier from the Socialist Left, dubbing her "Mother Russia". She was lampooned alternatively as a sinister [[commissar]] and as a frumpy housewife in a polka-dot dress. She seemed unfazed by the ''Herald Sun'' and gradually won some respect, though she was unable to improve the government's standing significantly.

During 1991 and 1992 Kirner took several decisions to cut government spending and raise revenue to some extent, however her government failed to cut spending in many areas including education. Most of the Kirner Government attempts to cut spending were actively opposed by trade unions and some members of the government. The interest bill alone was $3.5&nbsp;billion per year,<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.houserefinancing.com.au/news/1992/9/16/labor-and-coalition-at-odds-over-reduction-in-state-debt/|title=Labor And Coalition at Odds Over Reduction in State Debt|work=houserefinancing.com.au|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151023123319/http://www.houserefinancing.com.au/news/1992/9/16/labor-and-coalition-at-odds-over-reduction-in-state-debt/|archive-date=23 October 2015}}</ref> the government sold off trains and trams and leased them back. Another decision was the sale of the state-owned [[State Bank of Victoria]] to the [[Commonwealth Bank]] in 1991.<ref>Hugo Armstrong (1992), "The Tricontinental Affair", in [[Mark Considine]] and Brian Costar (eds.), ''Trials in Power. Cain, Kirner and Victoria 1982–1992'', Melbourne University Press, Carlton, Chapter 3<!-- ISSN/ISBN needed --></ref>

Kirner went into 1992 knowing she faced a statutory general election, one which opinion polls gave her virtually no chance of winning. She waited as long as she could, finally calling an [[1992 Victorian state election|election for October]]. It was obvious as soon as the writs were dropped that Labor would not win a fourth term. Although she remained personally more popular than the [[Liberal Party of Australia (Victorian Division)|Liberal]] [[Leader of the Opposition (Victoria)|Opposition Leader]], [[Jeff Kennett]], it was not nearly enough to overcome Victorians' growing anger at Labor. The Coalition's "Guilty Party" campaign did much to stoke this anger, targeting many Ministers in the Kirner Government and providing examples of concerns in their portfolios.

The campaign attracted controversy with ALP ads stating that if the Liberals won the election it would institute the same policies that were implemented in New Zealand by the then Fourth National Government.
New Zealand Prime Minister [[Jim Bolger]] responded in reference to the campaign, "You know, they say that the show’s never over until the fat lady sings. Well, I think it was her we heard warming up in the wings this week".

The "fat lady" was in reference to Kirner being overweight. Bolger refused to apologise for this remark citing that he himself was overweight and did not want to make "an international incident" out of it.
It did, however, anger women from Bolger's own [[New Zealand National Party|National Party]].<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/nz-leader-stands-by-his-fat-lady-insult-1539710.html |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20220609/https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/nz-leader-stands-by-his-fat-lady-insult-1539710.html |archive-date=9 June 2022 |url-access=subscription |url-status=live|title = NZ leader stands by his 'fat lady' insult|website = [[Independent.co.uk]]|date = 22 October 2011}}</ref>

The Coalition won the election in a landslide, scoring a 19-seat swing—the second-worst defeat that a sitting government has ever suffered in Victoria. The Liberals actually won enough seats that they could have governed in their own right. Kirner remained Opposition Leader for a short period before resigning. She retired from Parliament in 1994 and was succeeded by one of her former aides for the electorate of Williamstown, future premier [[Steve Bracks]].<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.abc.net.au/news/vic-election-2014/guide/will/|title=Williamstown - Victorian Election 2014 |website=ABC News|access-date=2016-03-03}}</ref>

A portrait of Kirner painted by [[Adelaide]] artist [[Annette Bezor]] in 1994<ref name=daao>{{cite web|url=https://www.daao.org.au/bio/annette-bezor/|title=Annette Bezor|website=Design & Art Australia Online| access-date=2 April 2020}}</ref> hangs in Queen's Hall at Parliament House Victoria.

==Life after Parliament==
[[File:Joan Kirner AC, 2013.jpg|thumb|right|160px|Kirner in 2013]]
After leaving Parliament, Kirner remained active in community affairs and politics. Initially this led her to a leading role in the Landcare movement. Subsequently, she devoted her energies to the Australian affiliate of [[EMILY's List Australia]], an organisation which promotes [[pro-choice]] women's careers in politics. Kirner was one of the leaders of the movement in the Labor Party to adopt a policy of setting targets for the number of women candidates in winnable electorates. She repeatedly publicly supported candidates identified with her Socialist Left faction.
From January 2006, Kirner was the Chair of the Ministerial Advisory Committee for Victorian Communities.

Kirner was also a board member of [[Museum Victoria]], operators of [[Melbourne Museum]], [[Royal Exhibition Building]], [[Scienceworks (Melbourne)|Scienceworks Museum]] and [[Immigration Museum, Melbourne]].
Kirner was a long-time advocate of abortion law reform to legalise abortion. She was an avid supporter of the [[Essendon Football Club]].<ref>[[Jim Main]], ''Aussie Rules: For Dummies'' (2nd edition, 2008), p. 13.</ref>

In 1993, she famously appeared on ''[[The Late Show (1992 TV series)|The Late Show]]'' with colleague [[David White (Australian politician)|David White]], MLC for [[Doutta Galla Province|Doutta Galla]], in a musical skit performing [[Joan Jett]]'s "[[I Love Rock 'n' Roll]]". This brief performance was covered nationally by the media.

In an August 2009 interview with [[GTV-9]], Kirner revealed that she had suffered a heavy near-fatal fall at a meeting 18 months earlier. She also revealed that she had [[osteoporosis]] and was blind in one eye.<ref name=Higginbottom>{{cite web|author=Higginbottom, Nick|title=Former Premier Joan Kirner tells of nearly {{sic|di|eing|nolink=y}} after fall|work=Herald Sun|date=4 August 2009|url= http://www.heraldsun.com.au/news/former-premier-joan-kirner-tells-of-nearly-dieing-after-fall/story-e6frf7jo-1225757585823|archive-url= https://archive.today/20130808003306/http://www.heraldsun.com.au/news/former-premier-joan-kirner-tells-of-nearly-dieing-after-fall/story-e6frf7jo-1225757585823|url-status= dead|archive-date= 8 August 2013|access-date=8 August 2013}}</ref>

==Death==
In August 2013, it was announced that Kirner had been diagnosed with [[esophageal cancer]] and was undergoing chemotherapy and radiation treatment.<ref name=Cook>{{cite web|author=Cook, Henrietta|title=Cancer battle for Joan Kirner, former Victoria Labor premier|work=The Age|date=6 August 2013|url=http://www.theage.com.au/victoria/cancer-battle-for-joan-kirner-former-victoria-labor-premier-20130806-2rb0r.html|access-date=6 August 2013}}</ref> Kirner died on 1 June 2015, 19 days short of her 77th birthday.<ref name=deathref>{{cite news|title=Former Victorian premier Joan Kirner dies aged 76|url=http://www.abc.net.au/news/2015-06-01/former-victorian-premier-joan-kirner-dies/6513086|access-date=1 June 2015|work=ABC News|date=1 June 2015}}</ref>

==Honours==
On 26 January 1980, she was named a Member of the [[Order of Australia]] for her community service.<ref>{{cite web|title=Joan Elizabeth Kirner AM|url=https://honours.pmc.gov.au/honours/awards/881146|archive-url=https://archive.today/20121130055753/http://www.itsanhonour.gov.au/honours/honour_roll/search.cfm?aus_award_id=881146&search_type=simple&showInd=true|url-status=live|archive-date=30 November 2012|publisher=[[Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet (Australia)|Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet]]|access-date=11 June 2012}}</ref>

On 1 January 2001, Kirner was awarded the [[Centenary Medal]].<ref>{{cite web|title=Joan Elizabeth Kirner|url=https://honours.pmc.gov.au/honours/awards/1119914|archive-url=https://archive.today/20121127031738/http://www.itsanhonour.gov.au/honours/honour_roll/search.cfm?aus_award_id=1119914&search_type=simple&showInd=true|url-status=live|archive-date=27 November 2012|publisher=[[Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet (Australia)|Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet]]|access-date=11 June 2012}}</ref> In the same year she was inducted onto the [[Victorian Honour Roll of Women]].<ref>{{Cite web |date= |title=Honourable Joan Kirner AC |url=https://www.vic.gov.au/honourable-joan-kirner-ac |access-date=2025-03-13 |website=State Government of Victoria |language=en-au}}</ref>

On 11 June 2012, she was named a Companion of the [[Order of Australia]] for "eminent service to the Parliament of Victoria and to the community through conservation initiatives, contributions to gender equality, the development of education and training programs and the pursuit of civil rights and social inclusion."<ref>{{cite web|title=Companion (AC) in the General Division of the Order of Australia – The Queen's Birthday 2012 Honours Lists |url=http://www.gg.gov.au/res/file/2012/honours/qb2012/Media%20Notes%20AC%20%28final%29.pdf |publisher=[[Official Secretary to the Governor-General of Australia]] |page=[http://www.gg.gov.au/res/file/2012/honours/qb2012/Media%20Notes%20AC%20(final).pdf#page=6 6] |date=11 June 2012 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120616221648/http://www.gg.gov.au/res/file/2012/honours/qb2012/Media%20Notes%20AC%20%28final%29.pdf |archive-date=16 June 2012 }}</ref>

In May 2017, the Victorian Government recognised her legacy by offering 25 scholarships to young women, who will participate in the Joan Kirner Young and Emerging Women Leaders program.<ref>{{cite web|title=Joan Kirner Young and Emerging Women Leaders program|url=http://www.vic.gov.au/news/joan-kirner-young-and-emerging-women-leaders-program.html|website=Victorian Government|access-date=20 June 2017}}{{Dead link|date=February 2021 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}</ref>

In May 2019, the new specialist maternity and paediatric centre at [[Sunshine Hospital]] was named the Joan Kirner Women's and Children's Hospital.<ref>[https://www.vhhsba.vic.gov.au/news/joan-kirner-women%E2%80%99s-and-children%E2%80%99s-hospital-officially-opened Joan Kirner Women's and Children's Hospital officially opened]</ref>

One of two tunnel-boring machines (TBM) to be utilised on the [[Metro Tunnel]] project is named ''Joan'', in honour of Kirner.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Taylor |first1=Alistair |title=Melbourne Metro's first TBM arrives, named after Victoria's first female premier |url=https://www.urban.com.au/news/melbourne-metros-first-tbm-arrives-named-after-victorias-first-female-premier |website=Urban |date=12 February 2019 |access-date=15 August 2019}}</ref> This TBM was officially launched on 15 August 2019.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Zhuang |first1=Yan |title=A saint, a cricket captain and a former premier: Metro Tunnel project to break ground |url=https://www.theage.com.au/national/victoria/a-saint-a-cricket-captain-and-a-former-premier-metro-tunnel-project-to-break-ground-20190815-p52hcf.html |website=The Age |date=15 August 2019 |access-date=15 August 2019}}</ref>

==See also==
* [[List of female heads of government in Australia]]

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==External links==
* {{Australian Women and Leadership|WLE0237b|Kirner, Joan Elizabeth}}

{{s-start}}
{{s-par|au-vic-lc}}
{{s-bef|before=[[Bon Thomas|Herbert "Bon" Thomas]]}}
{{s-ttl|title=Member for [[Melbourne West Province|Melbourne West]]|years=1982–1988}}
{{s-aft|after= [[Licia Kokocinski]]}}
{{s-par|au-vic-la}}
{{s-bef|before=[[Gordon Stirling]]}}
{{s-ttl|title=Member for [[Electoral district of Williamstown|Williamstown]]|years=1988–1994}}
{{s-aft|after=[[Steve Bracks]]}}
{{s-off}}
{{s-bef|before=[[Rob Mackenzie]]}}
{{s-ttl|title=Minister for Conservation, [[Minister of Forests|Forests]] and Lands|years=1985–1988}}
{{s-aft|after=[[Kay Setches]]}}
{{s-bef|before=[[Caroline Hogg]]}}
{{s-ttl|title=[[Minister for Education (Victoria)|Minister for Education]]|years=1988–1990}}
{{s-aft|after=[[Barry Pullen]]}}
{{s-bef|before=[[Robert Fordham]]}}
{{s-ttl|title=[[Deputy Premier of Victoria]]|years=1989–1990}}
{{s-aft|after=[[Jim Kennan]]}}
{{s-bef|before=[[John Cain Jr.]]}}
{{s-ttl|title=[[Premier of Victoria]]|years=1990–1992}}
{{s-aft|after=[[Jeff Kennett]]}}
{{s-ppo}}
{{s-bef|before=[[John Cain Jr.]]}}
{{s-ttl|title=Leader of the [[Australian Labor Party (Victorian Branch)|Labor Party]] in Victoria|years=1990–1993}}
{{s-aft|after=[[Jim Kennan]]}}
{{s-end}}

{{Premiers of Victoria}}
{{Leaders of the Labor Party in VIC}}
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