Roslyn Joan Kelly AO (née Raw; born 25 January 1948) is an Australian former politician. She was a member of the Australian House of Representatives, having represented the Division of Canberra from 18 October 1980 to 30 January 1995. She was a minister in the governments of Bob Hawke and Paul Keating.

Early life and ACT politics

Kelly is the daughter of Michael and Patricia Raw. She studied at the University of Sydney and received a degree in teaching in 1968 and worked as a secondary school teacher from 1969 until 1974. Kelly was elected to the then advisory Australian Capital Territory House of Assembly as a member for Canberra in 1974. She was a member of the assembly until 1979.

Federal politics

Kelly was elected to the House of Representatives in 1980. In 1983, she was the first Australian Federal MP to give birth while in office. She resigned from the ministry on 28 February 1994 and from parliament 11 months later on 30 January 1995. The resulting by-election on 25 March 1995 saw the loss of the Canberra electorate to the opposition Liberal Party. She was formerly married to journalist Paul Kelly, whose surname she has retained.

Kelly was made an Officer (AO) of the Order of Australia in 2004 for service to the community through promoting corporate environmental responsibility and fostering dialogue between business and conservation groups, to the Australian Parliament, and to women's health.

When acting as minister of Arts, Sport, the Environment, Tourism and Territories, Kelly gave support to research at the Riversleigh World Heritage Area and was honoured for this in the naming of a new species Priscileo roskellyae in 1997.

See also

  • List of the first women holders of political offices in Oceania

References

  • Caricature by John Henry Spooner
  • Would it help if I ditched the whiteboard? cartoon by Geoff Pryor