PARTICIPATORY DEMOCRACY

Ms BEDFORD (Florey) (15:38): In 12 months there will be several elections, one federal, one local and one state. Living in a peaceful participatory democracy is a great privilege despite what some may think, and brings rights and responsibilities. We have the right to enjoy all the freedoms in the country that Australia can give us, and I believe that we have the responsibility to take part in elections and to be informed about policies and candidates and to use our votes wisely—whether that decision be made on a single issue or after deliberation, taking many things into consideration.

Each individual has the right to choose how involved they want to be in our democracy and in deciding who they will support. In two of the forthcoming elections voting is compulsory, and in local elections voting remains optional or voluntary. In the UK, more people apparently watched Big Brother than voted in the last election, and having voluntary/optional voting affects the number of people who take part in the election, particularly if the ballot is conducted by post. This means that in the busy lives most of us have these days voting is often the last thing on people's minds.

Voting is a lot like a contract: you only wish you had taken more notice if things do not work out. If everyone I spoke to who said they wished things were different or better became involved, maybe by reading more about what parliaments or councils do, or by getting to know their local representatives, and perhaps even deciding to join a political party and really getting involved, then things would truly be different.

In Florey we are planning our next public forum on Monday 29 April, which I am calling 'Everything you've always wanted to know but were afraid to ask about parliaments and elections'. The experts on the panel will be Lynn Arnold, well known to us all here as a former South Australian premier and head of national and international NGOs, and Clem Macintyre from the University of Adelaide, an academic and political authority who facilitates the Parliamentary Internship Program here each year.

They will be talking on one of the topics to start and then when we get into questions and answers I am sure there will be plenty of lively debate, and I will be there to act as MC and to give a perspective on what a candidate does and their role in trying to win your vote. The importance of voting should never be underestimated: several very crucial elections throughout the ages were won by one vote. For instance, I am told Adolf Hitler actually won one of his internal party elections by a single vote. That outcome could have definitely changed the course of history had it been different.

It is no secret that I have become very interested in the history of women and their role in democracies all over the world. Here in South Australia women were the first in the world to receive dual franchise: the right to vote and the right to stand for election. Because women in the UK and the US took so long to win the vote, the struggle here in Australia seems to have been overlooked. The stories of some of the heroines of that struggle for the vote all over Australia have been brought to life by a doyenne of Australian folk music.

At the recent National Folk Festival held in Canberra over Easter, a woman called Phyl Lobl premiered her new show Dames & Dare-Devils for Democracy. It is full of fact and folklore about ten Australian suffragists. Phyl created the show with the help of Christine Wheeler, Kate Delaney, Shayna Stewart, Sophie Leslie, Marie Le Brun, Michael Roberts and Stuart Leslie. Phyl is a true believer of the folk scene in Australia and was mentored by the famous Glen Tomasetti and Peter Mann, and her early influences included the Melbourne Bush Music Club.

Phyl has performed widely throughout the world, recording for the Larrikin label, and has toured Britain, the USA and New Zealand. She represented Australia at the Cologne song festival and was folk music advocate on the Music Board of the Australia Council for the Arts for three years, receiving a Gramme Squance Award. With a lifelong engagement in the folk arts, Phyl continues to present the Australian experience to a variety of audiences using folk arts and lore. Phyl has appeared at all 47 National Folk Festivals, which is quite an amazing feat.

Phyl created the performance when she heard about South Australia's Muriel Matters and was inspired to do so because she felt that, if she was someone who actually cared but did not know about Muriel, then many others probably would not, either. As she spoke to her circle of friends, Phyl realised the story of many other Australian women involved in gaining votes for women were unknown and their exploits unsung as well.

So, with the power of arts as being both an educative and entertainment tool, she created Dames and Dare-Devils. She talks about people like Henrietta Dugdale, Louisa Lawson, Edith Cowan, Vida Goldstein, Maybanke Anderson, Maggie Ogg, Rose Scott, Emma Miller, Dora Montefiore, and of course Muriel has a song in there as well.

Elected representatives do an important job and so the story of how we become elected representatives is important also, and we should have the trust of the public. If the public do not trust us then our democracy will not work as well as it should or it can. Elected representatives need to earn that trust, and I will be working as hard as I have always done every day until the next election, and represent my electorate to the best of my ability so that they not only are helped with whatever problems they may have but also learn the story of how Australia won the vote.