“I’m a member of the Animal Justice party and, to me, that means defending the non-human constituents largely ignored in politics. It means going up against traditionally patriarchal, inherently violent systems where animal abuse and sexism can form a dangerous alliance.”

“I’ve actually had two abortions, not one,” she tells me in her office… Her foes have long laboured over her visible tattoos, her past work as a stripper and topless waiter and her thick eyelashes. In the eyes of conservatives, her life and appearance are incompatible with the dry, non-partisan world of politics. Why? Because Purcell doesn’t care to keep female sexuality, let alone hers, out of the chambers.

“I really thought they would do better than this. It is gutless, it is spineless, it is shameful. They’ve shown the worst of themselves, and now they’ll see the worst of me.”

By the time I meet Graham at Parliament House, I’ve already met Purcell. She was one of the four women at the Healesville track. She’d told me: “We run an underground rescue ring from the office.”

Several reviews have found perpetrators of family violence use overt threats and actual harm to animals as a mechanism to attain and maintain control of their family. In one Victorian study, 53% of family violence survivors said their partner had hurt or killed one of their pets.

“The scars and damage of online harassment to female politicians are a burden across party lines. The language I am wearing, even silently, is considered unparliamentary, and could be breaking the rules of the House. If I can’t wear it, why aren’t we doing more to stop them saying it?”

A Victorian parliamentary inquiry has recommended recreational duck hunting be completely banned from 2024.

The recommendations were made by a nine-person committee, which found duck hunting had "acute animal welfare" issues and contributed to the loss of large areas of public land.

9News apologized for the edited photo of the member of a state Parliament, Georgie Purcell, which it said was a result of “automation by Photoshop.

Animal Justice Party MP Georgie Purcell says the VRT evidence and off-track deaths show disturbing animal cruelty in Victoria's greyhound racing industry is "hiding in plain sight" and must be examined in the same way South Australia's government has promised an inquiry after footage of animal abuse was uncovered last week.

Our domestic politics may have been dominated by the Voice referendum, but there was so much more that happened in 2023.

Join Hack's Dave Marchese with Victorian Animal Justice Party MP Georgie Purcell and Yamatji writer and former WA Liberal leader Zak Kirkup.

Animal Justice Party MP and committee chair Georgie Purcell introduced the motion to launch the inquiry. She says the investigation will focus on carbon dioxide gassing methods used in abattoirs and forms of confinement, including sow stalls and gestation crates.

Georgie Purcell, an Animal Justice party MP, told the parliament on Wednesday about dogs “routinely going missing and being illegally exported and killed”. In a motion, she called for a “digital system to improve greyhound traceability through an automated whole-of-life tracking system”.

Should we ban pet cats once and for all? Why is politics such a difficult and sometimes dangerous place for women? And should we lower the voting age to 16? Host Jo Lauder is joined by Animal Justice Party MP Georgie Purcell.

The youngest woman in Victoria’s state parliament made her first speech on Tuesday, speaking about her experience being outed as a stripper and topless waitress when images were posted on social media without her consent while she was at university.

Georgie Purcell revealed she's been targeted for months with thousands of chilling threats. Purcell wants laws to protect politicians, and is determined to keep fighting for animal rights. She will see the duck shooting inquiry through to the end. “I want to see more women in politics, not less. I’ve decided I will endure this.”

Threatened species of birds have been pulled from wetlands across the state, as shooters and animal rescue groups squared off on day one of Victoria’s duck- hunting season. But Animal Justice Party MP Georgie Purcell said this season must be the last because “it’s disgracefully cruel”.

An Animal Justice Party (AJP) Member of Parliament has called for the end to the controversial upper house group voting ticket system, while also accepting she wouldn't have been elected without it.