Judy Spence describes the press reaction to her being appointed the first woman Police and Corrective Services Minister, and the unfair questioning as none of her male predecessors had been police officers, and in fact she had spent 6 years as Aboriginal Affairs Minister, and responsible for juvenile justice and child protection in which roles she had dealt extensively with the police and corrections system.
Judy Spence outlines her priorities when Minister for Consumer Affairs and Women (1998-2001) including widening reach to include women outside south-east Queensland. She describes rewriting the legislation covering the debt bound Building Services Authority and the Auctioneers and Agents Act left moribund by Denver Beanland, and addressing the problems of marketeering on the Gold Coast.
Judy Spence discusses her motivation for joining the Labor Party and the importance of the Bjelke-Petersen regime in politicising her. She describes her preselection for the electorate of Mt Gravatt, then not thought to be a winnable Labor seat, and her election to state parliament on 2 December 1989 with the Goss Government, 11 women were elected at that election.
Ruth Matchett describes how she returned to social work at the Children's Court, which sparked her interest in juvenile justice. Main achievements were practical changes as the government was not interested in legislative change in this era. She discusses her involvement in the Domestic Violence Taskforce and how this led to a higher public profile and involvement in the development of social policy. In 1989 she was taken 'off-line' to develop the Women's Policy Unit when Beryce Nelson (1989) was the Minister.
