Margaret June Craig AM (née Lynn; born 8 December 1930) is a former Australian politician who was a

Liberal Party The Liberal Party is any of many political parties around the world. The meaning of ''liberal'' varies around the world, ranging from liberal conservatism on the right to social liberalism on the left. __TOC__ Active liberal parties This is a li ...

member of the Legislative Assembly of

Western Australia Western Australia (commonly abbreviated as WA) is a state of Australia occupying the western percent of the land area of Australia excluding external territories. It is bounded by the Indian Ocean to the north and west, the Southern Ocean to th ...

from 1974 to 1983, representing the seat of Wellington. She was a minister in the governments of Sir

Charles Court Sir Charles Walter Michael Court, (29 September 1911 – 22 December 2007) was a Western Australian politician, and the 21st Premier of Western Australia from 1974 to 1982. He was a member of the Liberal Party. Early life Court's family e ...

and

Ray O'Connor Raymond James O'Connor (6 March 1926 – 25 February 2013) was an Australian politician who served as the premier of Western Australia from 25 January 1982 to 25 February 1983. He was a member of parliament from 1959 to 1984, and a minister in ...

, and was only the second woman in Western Australia to serve as a government minister (after Dame

Florence Cardell-Oliver Dame Annie Florence Gillies Cardell-Oliver, DBE (née Wilson; 11 May 1876 — 12 January 1965) was a Western Australian politician and political activist, often known publicly as simply Florence Cardell-Oliver. She was the longest-serving fem ...

Early life

Craig was born in

Perth Perth is the capital and largest city of the Australian state of Western Australia. It is the fourth most populous city in Australia and Oceania, with a population of 2.1 million (80% of the state) living in Greater Perth in 2020. Perth is ...

, and went to Presbyterian Ladies' College in Peppermint Grove. An excellent sportswoman, she represented Western Australia at tennis, and later studied physical education at the

University of Western Australia The University of Western Australia (UWA) is a public research university in the Australian state of Western Australia. The university's main campus is in Perth, the state capital, with a secondary campus in Albany, Western Australia, Albany an ...

and the

University of Melbourne The University of Melbourne is a public research university located in Melbourne, Australia. Founded in 1853, it is Australia's second oldest university and the oldest in Victoria. Its main campus is located in Parkville, an inner suburb nor ...

. In 1951, she married Frank Craig, whose father,

Les Craig Leslie "Les" Craig CMG (23 November 1892 – 9 February 1966) was an Australian politician who was a member of the Legislative Council of Western Australia from 1934 to 1956, representing South-West Province. Craig was born in York, a town i ...

, was a member of the Legislative Council for over 20 years. Her own great-grandfather,

Robert John Lynn Sir Robert John Lynn (31 January 1873 – 5 August 1945) was a British Ulster Unionist Party politician. In March 1924 he was knighted. Parliamentary career He was elected as the Member of Parliament (MP) for Belfast Woodvale from 1918 gene ...

, had also sat in the Legislative Council.Craig, Margaret June (1930 - )
– Australian Women's Register. Retrieved 17 August 2014.

Politics

A member of the Liberal Party since 1950, Craig was elected to the seat of Wellington, in the state's south-west region, at the 1974 state election, becoming the first woman in the Legislative Assembly since Dame

's retirement in 1956 (and the fourth woman overall). Following the Court government's retention at the 1977 state election, she was named Minister for Lands and Forests, becoming only the second woman to serve in a WA cabinet. The ministry was reconstituted in 1978 after a portfolio reshuffle, with Craig now Minister for Local Government and Minister for Urban Development and Town Planning. The latter portfolio was regarded by previous ministers as difficult, and Craig later wrote that she was disappointed she had failed to implement a "grand reshaping" of the town-planning system, despite the introduction of several smaller "technical" changes. Following the 1980 state election, at which the government was again returned, there was speculation that the

premier Premier is a title for the head of government in central governments, state governments and local governments of some countries. A second in command to a premier is designated as a deputy premier. A premier will normally be a head of governm ...

, Sir

, would retire. Craig was considered a potential candidate to replace him (along with

Bill Grayden William Leonard Grayden (born Wilbur Ives; 5 August 1920) is an Australian former politician. He was a member of parliament across six decades, serving in the Western Australian Legislative Assembly (1947–1949, 1956–1993) and the Australian ...

Cyril Rushton Edgar Cyril Rushton (23 November 1922 – 23 August 1992) was an Australian politician who was a Liberal Party member of the Legislative Assembly of Western Australia from 1965 to 1988. He served as a minister in the governments of Charles Cour ...

, Ray Young, Jim Clarko, and his deputy,

), but had little partyroom support. Court eventually resigned in early 1982, and was replaced by O'Connor, who retained Craig in his new ministry. The seat of Wellington was abolished in a redistribution prior to the 1983 election, and was largely incorporated into a new seat, Murray-Wellington. Despite this new seat being regarded as safer, Craig chose to contest another new seat,

Mitchell Mitchell may refer to: People *Mitchell (surname) *Mitchell (given name) Places Australia * Mitchell, Australian Capital Territory, a light-industrial estate * Mitchell, New South Wales, a suburb of Bathurst * Mitchell, Northern Territo ...

, which incorporated areas on the outskirts of Bunbury. At the election, won by Labor in a landslide, Mitchell was won by Labor's candidate, David Smith. Craig was one of four ministers to lose their seats, along with Young, Bob Pike, and Richard Shalders. Both before and after her parliamentary career, she had been involved in community and charitable organisations, notably as the national president of the

Save the Children Fund The Save the Children Fund, commonly known as Save the Children, is an international non-governmental organization established in the United Kingdom in 1919 to improve the lives of children through better education, health care, and economic ...

. She was named 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 ...

(postnominals AM) in 1994, for "service to the community".CRAIG, Margaret June
– It's An Honour. Retrieved 17 August 2014.

References

, - , - , - {{DEFAULTSORT:Craig, June 1930 births Living people Members of the Order of Australia Members of the Western Australian Legislative Assembly People educated at Presbyterian Ladies' College, Perth Politicians from Perth, Western Australia University of Melbourne alumni University of Melbourne women University of Western Australia alumni Liberal Party of Australia members of the Parliament of Western Australia Women members of the Western Australian Legislative Assembly

Early life

Politics

See also

References