Prominent former female politicians have applauded the rise of Julia Gillard to become Australia’s first female Prime Minister, but lament the manner in which she took power from Kevin Rudd last week.

Joy Leishman, who served as Caboolture mayor for eight years, said she was “thrilled to bits” at Ms Gillard’s appointment, but admits it came at the expense of fairness.

“I was absolutely thrilled to bits, party politics aside, to see that we got our first female Prime Minister,” she said. “And to think that she was sworn in by our first woman Governor-General I thought was a very special day in the Australian nation.

“But as someone who understands the Australian psyche – we believe in a fair go – I think what happened to Kevin Rudd was just awful, and I don’t think it displays the character of Australians.”

Yvonne Chapman, the first woman in the Queensland Cabinet and who later served as Pine Rivers mayor for 14 years, said she felt “ashamed” over how Ms Gillard rose to power.

“I am absolutely appalled, as an Australian, that they should get rid of the Prime Minister in such a way,” Mrs Chapman said.  “We must be the laughing stock of the whole of the world.

“Admittedly her being the first woman Prime Minister is something to be congratulated. But the first time we have a female Prime Minister she gets there in such dreadful circumstances.

“I think sometimes women who get into positions of power tend to put themselves over and above the men.

“If she genuinely does what we hope she’s going to do, she’ll probably stand out, but not if she just follows on suit behind what Rudd was doing before and she just wants to be there as the figurehead.”

Labor candidate for the Dickson electorate, Fiona McNamara, said she was “very excited by the prospect of the first female Prime Minister in Australia”.

“I think it is a wonderful achievement for her and if it inspires other women that’s a great thing because we need the Parliament to reflect the population,” she said.

 “I’ve found her to be a very open and honest and approachable person, and I think that’s what she’ll bring to the leadership.

“She’ll be open to people’s ideas and suggestions and to reflect what the community needs.”

The Liberal Party’s Member for Dickson, Peter Dutton, said Ms Gillard’s elevation to the country’s top job was “a victory for the puppeteers of the Labor Party”, namely the “faceless union bosses and factional warlords”.

“Julia Gillard owes her ascension to the Prime Ministership to these unelected people who pull the strings in Labor Governments, and have delivered appalling government in Queensland through Anna Bligh and who have deposed two Premiers in recent years in New South Wales,” he said.

“People shouldn’t be fooled by pre-election soothing words from a new Prime Minister who has been at the heart of all the Federal Government decisions.”

Vicki Williams from the Zonta Club of Pine Rivers, which seeks to improve the status of women in society, said Ms Gillard could be a good role model for women.

She also noted that “society is more critical of a woman doing the job.”

“I do believe that if you have a man for a job and a woman for the same job, the woman has to be twice as clever as the man to hold that job down,” she said.  

“I think it’s time for women to come into their own – whether Julia Gillard is the one or not, we’ll see.”

Ms Gillard is the sixth woman to become the head of a federal government this year, along with the leaders of Switzerland, Kyrgyzstan, Costa Rica, Trinidad and Tobago and Finland.