Pru Goward
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Prudence Jane "Pru" Goward (born 2 September 1952) is a former Australian politician and was a
Liberal 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 m ...
member of the
New South Wales Legislative Assembly The New South Wales Legislative Assembly is the lower of the two houses of the Parliament of New South Wales, an Australian state. The upper house is the New South Wales Legislative Council. Both the Assembly and Council sit at Parliament Ho ...
from 2007 to 2019, representing the seat of
Goulburn Goulburn ( ) is a regional city in the Southern Tablelands of the Australian state of New South Wales, approximately south-west of Sydney, and north-east of Canberra. It was proclaimed as Australia's first inland city through letters pate ...
. She was the
New South Wales ) , nickname = , image_map = New South Wales in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of New South Wales in AustraliaCoordinates: , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = Australia , established_title = Before federation , es ...
Minister for Family and Community Services and
Minister for Social Housing The Minister of Housing is a minister in the government of New Zealand with responsibility for the government's house-building programme. The position was established in 1938 as Minister in charge of Housing, and has most commonly been known a ...
, from January 2017 to March 2019 in the Berejiklian government, and the Minister for Prevention of Domestic Violence and Sexual Assault, from 2015 until March 2019. Goward has also previously served as the
Minister for Mental Health Ministers of Mental Health are specific Government Ministers with a responsibility over mental health. History Not many countries have dedicated ministers for mental health, however a minister with another name may be responsible for it. By c ...
, Minister for Medical Research, and Assistant Minister for Health between April 2015 and January 2017, and the Minister for Women between 2011 and January 2017, in the
second The second (symbol: s) is the unit of time in the International System of Units (SI), historically defined as of a day – this factor derived from the division of the day first into 24 hours, then to 60 minutes and finally to 60 seconds ...
Baird government and the Minister for Planning during 2014 and 2015. With the first Berejiklian government she returned to Community Services portfolio which she previously held between 2011 and 2014, in the
O'Farrell O'Farrell is an anglicised form of the Old Irish patronym ''Ó Fearghail''. People with the surname * Barry O'Farrell, Australian politician * Bernadette O'Farrell (1924–1999), Irish actress * Bob O'Farrell, American baseballer * Brett O'Farrel ...
and first Baird governments. Prior to entering politics, Goward served as the Australian Federal
Sex Discrimination Commissioner The Sex Discrimination Commissioner is an Australian federal government position established to oversee the operation of the ''Sex Discrimination Act 1984''. The position was created alongside the Act as one of the specialist commissioners of the ...
and Commissioner Responsible for Age Discrimination with the Australian
Human Rights and Equal Opportunity Commission The Australian Human Rights Commission is the national human rights institution of Australia, established in 1986 as the Human Rights and Equal Opportunity Commission (HREOC) and renamed in 2008. It is a statutory body funded by, but opera ...
. In 2019, Goward became an academic with
Western Sydney University Western Sydney University, formerly the University of Western Sydney, is an Australian multi-campus university in the Greater Western region of Sydney, Australia. The university in its current form was founded in 1989 as a federated network ...
.Professor Pru Goward joins University of Western Sydney. '' University of Western Sydney News Unit''. 9 August 2019. https://www.westernsydney.edu.au/newscentre/news_centre/more_news_stories/professor_pru_goward_joins_western_sydney_university. Accessed 6 February 2020.


Early life and personal background

Goward was born to Gerald Goward and Zipporah Riggs, and was raised in Adelaide. She attended Morphett Vale Primary School,
Willunga High School Willunga High School is a government high school in the town of Willunga, South Australia, located about south of the Adelaide city centre. Notable alumni *Harold Thomas (artist), the designer of the Australian Aboriginal Flag. *Jona Weinhofe ...
and gained entrance to Woodlands Church of England Girls Grammar School on a half scholarship. She graduated with a Bachelor of Arts (Econ) (Hons) in 1974 from
Adelaide University 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 was married from 1973 to 1983 to university lecturer Alastair Fischer, whom she met while studying at Adelaide University. Goward married journalist David Barnett in 1986. Goward and Barnett maintained a close personal friendship with former prime minister
John Howard John Winston Howard (born 26 July 1939) is an Australian former politician who served as the 25th prime minister of Australia from 1996 to 2007, holding office as leader of the Liberal Party. His eleven-year tenure as prime minister is the s ...
for many years, and jointly wrote a biography of Howard in 1997. Barnett died in August 2022, aged 90. She is the mother of three daughters, former model and actor
Kate Fischer Tziporah Atarah Malkah (born Katherine Helen Fischer; 30 November 1973) is an Australian former model and actress. Early life and career Kate Fischer was born on 30 November 1973 in Adelaide, South Australia, the daughter of future Australian ...
, Penny Fischer, and Alice Barnett. She has two granddaughters.


Career

Goward joined ABC TV and Radio in 1980, firstly as a reporter with '' Nationwide'', then as a political correspondent on the ''
7.30 Report ''The 7.30 Report'' is an Australian week-nightly television current affairs program, which was shown on ABC1 and ABC News 24 at from 1986 to 2011. In 2011, it evolved into '' 7.30'', a revamped current affairs program. History ''The 7.30 Repor ...
'', and later as host of the 2CN ''Morning Show'' and ''Daybreak'' on
Radio National Radio National, known on-air as RN, is an Australia-wide public service broadcasting radio network run by the Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC). From 1947 until 1985, the network was known as ABC Radio 2. History 1937: Predecessors an ...
. In 1994, Goward was the narrator of the ABC's 5-part documentary series ''The Liberals: Fifty Years Of The Federal Party'', which detailed the events of the
Liberal Party of Australia The Liberal Party of Australia is a centre-right political party in Australia, one of the two major parties in Australian politics, along with the centre-left Australian Labor Party. It was founded in 1944 as the successor to the United Au ...
from 1944 to 1994. She has also worked as a high school teacher, a university lecturer in economics, a broadcast journalism lecturer at
University of Canberra The University of Canberra (UC) is a public research university with its main campus located in Bruce, Canberra, Australian Capital Territory. The campus is within walking distance of Westfield Belconnen, and from Canberra's Civic Centre. UC ...
, a media consultant and freelance writer. She was Executive Director of the
Office of the Status of Women The Office for Women is an office within the Australian Government "to deliver policies and programmes to advance gender equality and improve the lives of Australian women". History In March 1983, the Office of Women's Affairs changed its name ...
in the Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet from 1997 to 1999. In this position, Goward criticised the business community for the "primitive attitudes" that kept women out of senior executive ranks and boardrooms. At the time of her appointment, she was criticised by
Anne Summers Anne Summers AO (born 12 March 1945) is an Australian writer and columnist, best known as a leading feminist, editor and publisher. She was formerly First Assistant Secretary of the Office of the Status of Women in the Department of the Prime M ...
, a previous Executive Director, and
Carmen Lawrence Carmen Mary Lawrence (born 2 March 1948) is an Australian academic and former politician who was the Premier of Western Australia from 1990 to 1993, the first woman to become the premier of an Australian state. A member of the Labor Party, sh ...
, a prominent female politician, for her perceived inexperience and political connection to the Howard government. Goward was the Sex Discrimination Commissioner at
HREOC The Australian Human Rights Commission is the national human rights institution of Australia, established in 1986 as the Human Rights and Equal Opportunity Commission (HREOC) and renamed in 2008. It is a statutory body funded by, but opera ...
, a five-year tenure she began in July 2001. In this role, she called for the introduction of paid maternity leave, a position rejected by the Howard government. Howard extended her tenure for an additional three years in July 2006. However, she successfully ran for New South Wales state parliament in March 2007. Pru Goward, while Minister for the Department of Family and Community Services, initiated the Going Home Staying Home reforms which redistributed funding for youth refuges across the state."Specialist Homelessness Services Going Home Staying Home South Eastern Sydney District."
''Fact Sheet October 2014''. New South Wales Department of Family and Community Services. October 2014.
In August 2019,
Western Sydney University Western Sydney University, formerly the University of Western Sydney, is an Australian multi-campus university in the Greater Western region of Sydney, Australia. The university in its current form was founded in 1989 as a federated network ...
announced that Goward had been appointed Professor of Social Intervention and Policy.


Parliamentary career

In 2006, Goward nominated for Liberal Party preselection for the
New South Wales ) , nickname = , image_map = New South Wales in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of New South Wales in AustraliaCoordinates: , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = Australia , established_title = Before federation , es ...
state parliament in seat of
Epping Epping may refer to: Places Australia * Epping, New South Wales, a suburb of Sydney ** Epping railway station, Sydney * Electoral district of Epping, the corresponding seat in the New South Wales Legislative Assembly * Epping Forest, Kearns, a he ...
in Sydney's north-west, but was defeated by the former President of the
Right to Life The right to life is the belief that a being has the right to live and, in particular, should not be killed by another entity. The concept of a right to life arises in debates on issues including capital punishment, with some people seeing it as ...
Association, Greg Smith. She was subsequently preselected unopposed for the seat of Goulburn, to replace retiring Liberal frontbencher
Peta Seaton Peta Luise Seaton (born 9 October 1959) is an archaeologist and former New South Wales politician who was a member of the state's Legislative Assembly representing the Southern Highlands for the Liberal Party from 1996 until her retirement ...
. Goward was expected to win the seat, however an unexpectedly strong swing to Labor in the Southern Highlands area of the seat put her victory in doubt on election night. Her main contender, the Independent Mayor of Goulburn, Paul Stephenson, conceded defeat on 29 March 2007. Goward was quoted as saying that she "didn't expect to win it. I knew I was behind the whole time, even four days before the election we were told I was five points behind, so I'm just so grateful." As the minister responsible for child protective services there have been reports of inadequate staffing and services to meet the need. As the state's Community Services Minister, Goward announced in mid-March 2014 that around 300 harbourfront public housing properties will be sold under the management of Government Property NSW, with the proceeds reinvested into the public housing system. Considered historic structures, the harbourfront properties are located at Millers Point, The Rocks and on Gloucester Street, and include the Sirius complex, a high-rise, 79-unit apartment complex near the Harbour Bridge. The government expects to generate hundreds of millions of dollars from the sales and Goward explained, as a justification of the sale: "In the last two years alone, nearly 7 million has been spent maintaining this small number of properties. That money could have been better spent on building more social housing, or investing in the maintenance of public housing properties across the state." Due to the resignation of
Barry O'Farrell Barry Robert O'Farrell (born 24 May 1959) is a former Australian politician who has been Australia's High Commissioner to India and non-resident Ambassador to Bhutan since May 2020. O'Farrell was the 43rd Premier of New South Wales and Minis ...
as premier, and the subsequent ministerial reshuffle by
Mike Baird Michael Bruce Baird (born 1 April 1968) is an Australian investment banker and former politician who was the 44th Premier of New South Wales, the Minister for Infrastructure, the Minister for Western Sydney, and the Leader of the New South W ...
, the new Liberal Leader, in April 2014 in addition to her existing responsibilities as a minister, Goward was appointed as the Minister for Planning; and lost the portfolio of Family and Community Services. Following the 2015 state election, Goward was sworn in as the Minister for Mental Health, the Minister for Medical Research, the Minister for Women, the Minister for Prevention of Domestic Violence and Sexual Assault (a newly created portfolio), and the Assistant Minister for Health in the second Baird government. Following the resignation of Baird as premier and the election of
Gladys Berejiklian Gladys Berejiklian (born 22 September 1970) is an Australian former politician who served as the 45th premier of New South Wales and the leader of the New South Wales division of the Liberal Party from 2017 to 2021. Berejiklian became a member ...
as Liberal leader, in January 2017 Goward was sworn in as the Minister for Family and Community Services, the Minister for Social Housing, and the Minister for Prevention of Domestic Violence and Sexual Assault., In December 2018, she announced that she would not be contesting the next election in March 2019.


Controversies

In May 2007, Goward was caught speeding in a school zone. This was her second driving offence for 2007. Goward said "It was extremely careless on my part and like thousands of other drivers I deeply regret it." In February 2014,
Katrina Hodgkinson Katrina Ann Hodgkinson (born 10 March 1966) is a former Federal Vice President of the National Party of Australia and a former Australian Member of Parliament. She was a member of the New South Wales Legislative Assembly, representing Cootamundr ...
, the Nationals member for Burrinjuck, which bordered Goulburn to the west, announced that she would be seeking Nationals preselection for Goulburn, then occupied Goward. Her decision followed a statewide
electoral redistribution Redistribution (re-districting in the United States and in the Philippines) is the process by which electoral districts are added, removed, or otherwise changed. Redistribution is a form of boundary delimitation that changes electoral distri ...
by the
NSW Electoral Commission The New South Wales Electoral Commission is a statutory agency with responsibility for the administration, organisation, and supervision of elections in New South Wales. It reports to the Government of New South Wales, NSW Government Departmen ...
that resulted in Burrinjuck being renamed as
Cootamundra Cootamundra, nicknamed Coota, is a town in the South West Slopes region of New South Wales, Australia and within the Riverina. It is within the Cootamundra-Gundagai Regional Council. At the 2016 Census, Cootamundra had a population of 6,782. ...
after being significantly redrawn, with effect from the 2015 state election. Her announcement resulted in a dispute between the Nationals and Liberals; and on 28 February, Hodgkinson announced she would withdraw her nomination for Goulburn. Hodgkinson subsequently contested the newly constituted seat of Cootamundra, and won the seat for the National Party. In October 2021 Goward was criticised for being tone-deaf and classist following her publication of a column in the ''
Australian Financial Review ''The Australian Financial Review'' (abbreviated to the ''AFR'') is an Australian business-focused, compact daily newspaper covering the current business and economic affairs of Australia and the world. The newspaper is based in Sydney, New Sou ...
'' titled 'Australia's social underclass is not a force to be ignored', in which she referred to lower-income Australians with the derogatory term 'proles'.


Awards

Goward was awarded a
Centenary Medal The Centenary Medal is an award which was created by the Australian Government in 2001. It was established to commemorate the centenary of the Federation of Australia and to recognise "people who made a contribution to Australian society or go ...
in 2001 for services to journalism and women's rights.


References


External links


Profile of Pru Goward at the Human Rights and Equal Opportunity CommissionOfficial Website of Pru Goward


Publications

* * , - {{DEFAULTSORT:Goward, Pru Members of the New South Wales Legislative Assembly Liberal Party of Australia members of the Parliament of New South Wales University of Adelaide alumni Australian biographers Australian public servants 1952 births Living people Politicians from Adelaide Recipients of the Centenary Medal 21st-century Australian politicians Women members of the New South Wales Legislative Assembly 21st-century Australian women politicians