Just by making a decision to stay out of politics, you are making the decision to allow others to shape politics and exert power over you. And if you are alienated from the current political system, then just by staying out of it, if you do nothing to change it, you simply entrench it. Joan Kirner Read Quote
I’m a workaholic. I would not pretend to be anything else. I rarely go to bed before one o’clock in the morning. I might kind of have a spa between half-past twelve and one and relax, and that’s when I do my thinking, or my non-thinking. That’s when I have a bit of space for myself. Joan Kirner Read Quote
A lot of young women ask me, ‘Can you go into politics and maintain your ideals?’ Well, I think you can. You might not, in any one interview, tell the whole truth, but to deliberately deceive the public who’ve elected you is totally unacceptable. Joan Kirner Read Quote
Isn’t that what we come into politics for? To say to people: ‘You can do it, too – there is a chance to serve your community. There is a chance to shape it co-operatively and democratically, without fear or favour.’ And that is what I tried to do. Joan Kirner Read Quote
To have been the first woman premier of Victoria was not only a great opportunity but also a great chance to say to the young women of Victoria – Liberal or Labor – ‘You can do it, too.’ Joan Kirner Read Quote
Mum was an absolutely determined woman. She was determined I would have a good education, and they went without all sorts of things to ensure it. Joan Kirner Read Quote
Men are rarely questioned on their spouses or their partners, and nor should they be. And the question to ask is why is this done to women? Joan Kirner Read Quote
It’s okay, when we as women are in a serving role. But it’s not okay, it appears, still, when we have full access to power. Joan Kirner Read Quote
