Heather Joyce Southcott, AM (15 November 1928 – 21 November 2014) was an Australian politician, representing the

South Australian House of Assembly The House of Assembly, or lower house, is one of the two chambers of the Parliament of South Australia. The other is the Legislative Council. It sits in Parliament House in the state capital, Adelaide. Overview The House of Assembly was creat ...

seat of

Mitcham Mitcham is an area within the London Borough of Merton in South London, England. It is centred southwest of Charing Cross. Originally a village in the county of Surrey, today it is mainly a residential suburb, and includes Mitcham Common. It ha ...

(now Waite) for the

Australian Democrats The Australian Democrats is a centrist political party in Australia. Founded in 1977 from a merger of the Australia Party and the New Liberal Movement, both of which were descended from Liberal Party dissenting splinter groups, it was Australia ...

. She was the first woman to lead a parliamentary political party in Australia. Southcott was born in

Adelaide Adelaide ( ) is the capital city of South Australia, the state's largest city and the fifth-most populous city in Australia. "Adelaide" may refer to either Greater Adelaide (including the Adelaide Hills) or the Adelaide city centre. The dem ...

and graduated with a pharmacy degree from the

University of Adelaide The University of Adelaide (informally Adelaide University) is a public research university located in Adelaide, South Australia. Established in 1874, it is the third-oldest university in Australia. The university's main campus is located on N ...

. She initially worked at the Adelaide Repatriation Hospital; however, her marriage in 1952 forced her to resign from the public service and she subsequently continued her career in private retail pharmacy work. She was a co-founder of the Women Pharmacists Group and was involved in numerous organisations, including the National Council of Women, Women's Electoral Lobby and the Electoral Reform Society. Southcott joined the

Liberal and Country League Liberal or liberalism may refer to: Politics * a supporter of liberalism ** Liberalism by country * an adherent of a Liberal Party * Liberalism (international relations) * Sexually liberal feminism * Social liberalism Arts, entertainment and ...

in the 1960s, but resigned in 1973 as part of the split that formed the Liberal Movement. She did not rejoin the LCL when the LM was reabsorbed into the party in 1976, but rather followed

Robin Millhouse Robin Rhodes Millhouse, QC (9 December 1929 – 28 April 2017) was, at various times, the 39th Attorney-General of South Australia, the first Australian Democrats parliamentarian, and the Chief Justice of both Kiribati and Nauru and a judge of ...

into the

New LM The New Liberal Movement (New LM) was a South Australian political party which existed from 1976 to 1977, with one member of parliament. In 1976 the Liberal Movement dissolved and three of its four parliamentary members rejoined the Liberal Pa ...

and then in 1977 into its successor party, the Democrats. She was a prominent party official in South Australia from the party's early days, serving on the national executive for several years, becoming a key supporter of Senator

Janine Haines Janine Winton Haines, AM (née Carter; 8 May 1945 – 20 November 2004) was an Australian politician who was a Senator for South Australia from 1977 to 1978 and again from 1981 to 1990. She represented the Australian Democrats, and served as t ...

, and serving as both state secretary and national deputy president at the time of her own election to parliament. She entered parliament at a May 1982 by-election upon the resignation of Millhouse, then the Democrats' sole House of Assembly MP and state leader. She was defeated by Liberal candidate Stephen Baker, at the state election six months later. During her six months in parliament, she served as the party's state parliamentary leader, which would make her the first woman to lead an Australian parliamentary political party; however Lance Milne is also given as the Democrats' leader at that time. After leaving parliamentary politics, she was a long-serving National President of the Democrats. She was made a

Member of the Order of Australia The Order of Australia is an honour that recognises Australian citizens and other persons for outstanding achievement and service. It was established on 14 February 1975 by Elizabeth II, Queen of Australia, on the advice of the Australian Gove ...

(AM) in June 1991 for service to the community, particularly in the field of women's affairs. She was the great aunt of Liberal Party parliamentarian

Andrew Southcott Andrew John Southcott (born 15 October 1967) is an Australian politician and medical practitioner. He was the Liberal member for the House of Representatives seat of Boothby from the 1996 election until he stood down at the 2016 election. E ...

.Condolence motion

, 4 December 2014

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Southcott, Heather 1928 births 2014 deaths Australian Democrats members of the Parliament of South Australia Members of the South Australian House of Assembly Women members of the South Australian House of Assembly Heather

See also

References

External links