Appointment of the first women's adviser to a Prime Minister

Press release appointing Elizabeth Reid to the Prime Minister's staff.

Transcript

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PRIME MINISTER

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PRESS RELEASE No. 73

8 April 1973

[underlined] APPOINTMENT TO PRIME MINISTER’S STAFF

The Prime Minister announced today the appointment to his personal staff of Ms Elizabeth Reid, 30, a senior tutor, in philosophy at the Australian National University. Ms Reid will conduct research and advise the Prime Minister on a range of domestic issues, especially those bearing on the welfare of women.

Ms Reid was born in Taree, New South Wales. She has worked for the Bureau of Census and Statistics and for Control Data, Australia. She has been active in women's organisations, including the Women's Electoral Lobby, the Women's Liberation Movement and the Association for the Study of Woman and Society. She was educated at Canberra High School and the Australian National University, where she graduated Bachelor of Arts with first-class honours in Philosophy. She also holds the Degree of Bachelor of Philosophy in the University of Oxford.

Ms Reid’s salary will be in excess of $10,000 a year. The precise figure will be determined by the Public Service Board.

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CANBERRA, A.C.T.

About this record

The Whitlam Government was the first government in the world to appoint an adviser on women’s affairs. Elizabeth Reid provided advice to the Prime Minister and Cabinet on all Cabinet submissions and assessed their potential impact on women. This signified a change in attitude to women’s issues and the value of women in politics.

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