She likened her latter years to that of former Australian Prime Minister Julia Gillard’s.
“Towards the end, some of the sexist banter came out again, but for most of the time it wasn’t an issue.
“But where it was an issue was when I became leader of the opposition. And I think there may be a factor in common here with Julia Gillard’s experience, in that I challenged a man for the job and I won.”
It was in that role where she batted off numerous attacks over her married life, and lack of offspring.
“I often say I never chose to have children, it just wasn’t something that was on my agenda. I had other things I wanted to do with my life.
“And I think it’s important to state that clearly, because it’s not everybody’s destiny to have children. It is a choice and you can make that choice.”