Maureen Colquhoun served in Parliament as an MP from 1974 to 1979. During this time she became known as a supporter of gender-based protections such as abortion, gender balance, and rights for sex workers.
During Colquhoun’s time as a politician, she was a minority in the political field as there were fewer than 30 female MPs in Parliament.
Shortly after it was revealed the MP was in a relationship with a woman, Colquhoun had difficulty fighting off to deselect her in 1979.
At the time, Colquhoun addressed the situation in a Gay News interview saying her sexuality and identity has “nothing whatever to do with my ability to do my job as an MP”.