LABOR'S Yvette Berry has become the first daughter of an MLA to follow her father into territory politics. The 44-year-old daughter of the ACT's longest-serving politician, Wayne Berry, became one of six women to gain a seat in the 17-person Legislative Assembly.
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Hearing of her success yesterday afternoon, the mother of two said in the past week she had felt like a woman about to give birth. ''This whole campaign has felt like a pregnancy.
''At first I felt a bit sick and wondered what I was getting myself into, and then I got used to it and did the hard slog.
''This past week, I was nesting, getting ready by mowing the lawn and doing the gardening.
''I'm very nervous but excited. It doesn't feel real.''
Four of the elected female MLAs - Katy Gallagher, Joy Burch, Mary Porter and Ms Berry - are from Labor. The other two - Vicki Dunne and Giulia Jones - are Liberals.
Ms Berry said campaigning was harder for a woman, particularly one who had to juggle life on the hustings with family responsibilities. ''And women generally aren't as competitive as men are,'' she said.
Ms Berry beat Greens leader Meredith Hunter for the final seat in Ginninderra.
One of the newcomer's aims is to give women a louder voice in ACT decision making.
Before politics, she worked in United Voice, a union with a hefty proportion of women who care for children and the elderly.
In this way Ms Berry is similar to her father, who came through the union movement, although he represented workers from the male-dominated firefighting sector.
Mr Berry, who retired in 2008 after 19 years in the Assembly, said working hard was the secret to longevity in the Assembly. ''I'm happy for her [Yvette],'' he said.
''She's doggedly stuck to her program.''
The two other new faces confirmed for the Assembly were Giulia Jones and Andrew Wall from the Liberals.
For Ms Jones, it was a case of third time lucky. She has finally entered politics after running unsuccessful campaigns for the Assembly in 2008 and for federal parliament in 2010.
The 32-year-old, who has four children under the age of seven, said she felt daunted and humbled to be representing Molonglo.
She gets inspiration from her hard-working mother, a migrant from Italy.
The Liberals' Andrew Wall, 28, must now make the move from his family's small business in the construction industry to the Assembly as a representative of Brindabella.
Mr Wall started his working life at a McDonald's restaurant and has been voted in after his first attempt at being elected.
Labor's Mick Gentleman - not quite a newcomer to politics - has been elected for the seat of Brindabella and is returning to the Legislative Assembly after a four-year absence.
