Motions

Women's Suffrage Anniversary

Ms BEDFORD (Florey) (11:02): By leave, I move my motion in an amended form:

1. That in the opinion of this house, a joint committee be established to inquire into and report on matters relating to the 125^th (quasquicentenary) anniversary of women's suffrage and to consider—

(a) the significance of the Adult Suffrage Bill 1894;

(b) the courageous political campaign by the South Australian suffragists, unions and women's rights movements;

(c) recognition of Aboriginal women in South Australia, who gained the right to vote in 1894 but were denied the right to vote at Federation until 1967;

(d) ways to commemorate the 125^th anniversary of women's suffrage in South Australia; and

(e) any other related matter.

2. That, in the event of a joint committee being appointed, the House of Assembly shall be represented thereon by four members, of whom three shall form a quorum of assembly members necessary to be present at all sittings of the committee.

3. That a message be sent to the Legislative Council transmitting the foregoing resolution and requesting concurrence thereto.

Speaking to the motion, I remind the house that a very similar motion was passed in the 53^rd parliament and, in fact, that committee had met to begin deliberations. I am grateful for the leadership of the then minister for the status of women (member for Ramsay), who led this initiative and refer you all to her speech in parliament on 18 May 2017 when she spoke about the beginnings of the suffrage movement in South Australia.

So many people came together, from women's rights movements, unions and across the wider community, to follow our nearest neighbour, New Zealand, into a brave new world. But the women of New Zealand advised South Australia to ask for the right to stand as well and the rest, as they say, is history. Dual suffrage was granted here, a world first and something of which we can be immensely proud, in 1894.

The social and industrial needs of women were the catalyst for the agitation and activism. The women and their male supporters knew enfranchisement would give them the capacity to influence their life's direction and living standards. This is still the case today. We must value the vote and our democracy where we all have a say in changing laws and, more importantly, where the power of the pencil rather than the gun changes governments.

It must be noted that South Australia was a free colony, so our settlers wanted a say in the establishment of everything in their new home. While bringing all the traditions from the old country, they also brought the troubles. But they were also determined to make their democracy responsive and universal. For example, initially all Aboriginal people were to enjoy the same rights and freedoms. The right to vote was extended to Aboriginal people but lost at Federation, with more than 60 years passing before their rights were restored by referendum in 1967.

Women in South Australia were involved in factory, domestic and other low-paid work. It was the plight of these women that led to the role of Augusta Zadow and other factory inspectors and their work on conditions and wages, and then to the work of others, concentrating on improving housing, education and health issues. Families had important needs, too, and many of the women married to the leaders of the colony began their work to ensure better conditions for everyone, women such as Mary Colton, Rosetta Birks, Annie Chambers, the state's first public vaccinator—a timely thought when we consider the broad national debate continuing to this day and this week's debate here in the chamber on meningococcal disease—to name only a few. There were hundreds of them, and we need to make their inspiring stories known as well.

It was an exciting but hard environment establishing Adelaide and beyond, but the new ideas took root and things were possible for women. It is why people such as Muriel Matters (born and raised in South Australia) and others from all around Australia were able to travel to the mother country taking the message from the Dora Meeson Coates 1908 banner, 'Trust the women mother as I have done', and make such an impression in the struggle for the vote over there.

That message, and the banner carried by the women in the Australian and New Zealand delegation in the women's suffrage parade in London in 1911, was returned to Australia as a gift from the UK for the bicentenary. It now hangs near the Senate chamber in Canberra, and I hope this artefact is something we may be able to borrow to display for our celebrations. The activities for the 125^thanniversary will encourage people to learn more about and understand better why our democracy is so important and how they can draw parallels with the activism of those days and use the participatory part of our democracy to achieve their aspirations now.

Here in this chamber, we deliberate in the presence of the images of the three widely acclaimed leaders of the South Australian suffrage movement—Catherine Helen Spence, Mary Lee and Elizabeth Webb Nicholls. It is the latter story of Elizabeth Webb Nicholls I hope to champion more widely in the coming year, as it was her work and the network of women in the Woman's Christian Temperance Union throughout the state that gathered the bulk of the signatures on our monster petition. Those original women were connected to their communities and achieved the support necessary to swell the numbers of people, both male and female, who signed the petition.

In the activities for the quasquicentenary, I hope to see as much enthusiasm as was seen in 1984 when people all over the state became involved in projects (particularly the tapestries) and activities which saw a new optimism, which, as the member for Ramsay said in her speech last year, underpinned the suffrage movement all those years ago. I hope, too, that the committee can gather many of those involved in the centenary activities and learn from their work 25 years ago and perhaps even commission a new updated history book following on from the acclaimed In Her Own Name, by Helen Jones.

This is a celebration about our future, too, and getting everyone involved in knowing they have a part to play in shaping the future. It will require a funding commitment, and I hope the government will resource the committee and the projects that follow from it appropriately and adequately. I look forward to the deliberations and promoting the work of the committee, and commend the motion to the house.

The Hon. V.A. CHAPMAN (Bragg—Deputy Premier, Attorney-General) (11:08): It is with pleasure that I rise to indicate that the government will be supporting this motion, as we did in opposition when the matter was debated in similar form in May 2017. I further indicate that we agree to the amendment as foreshadowed in that motion, to identify the complement of proposed nominees from this house. They will join with an equal number in the Legislative Council upon the passage of this motion.

I indicate that the government's representative minister in respect of women, the Hon. Michelle Lensink, has continued to be active in this space. Immediately after the election, she wrote to a number of organisations to encourage their continued support in participating in celebrations of this kind. The confirmation by the member's motion that a joint committee will be established is welcome and appreciated.

In addition to the matters raised by the member in relation to the history of suffrage in South Australia and proposed and/or recommended projects, it is timely to remember that here in our own chamber two tapestries hang as a result of work done during the 1994 centenary celebrations. If members are not aware, they were placed in the bank diagonally opposite on North Terrace. It was a bank in those days, and since that time it has been a few other things and is now a Jamie Oliver restaurant. In any event, there it sat, and South Australians were able to participate in the making of these tapestries for the purposes of recording for posterity the significant events of 1894 and highlighting the very significant areas of law reform that this very chamber and indeed this parliament has progressed.

Also in this chamber is the portrait of Joyce Steele, the first female member of the House of Assembly. She was elected in 1959 as the member for Burnside. She is there, gloriously displayed in Versace blue, and long may she reign. During the same election, Dr Jessie Cooper was also elected to the Legislative Council. Sadly, we do not have a portrait of her. If I were to confirm one of my continuing aspirations, even though I am not a member of the august body of the Legislative Council, it is that they consider recognising her in a fitting manner.

Of course, they will have to nominate this, but there is plenty of space on that side. There are huge portraits of presidents hanging there, so surely they could recognise the first female member, especially as she had to fight a Supreme Court challenge to her election. An unhappy LCL candidate by the name of Frank Chapman—no relation, I might add—challenged the constitutional validity of her election at the time through the Supreme Court. In short, it was to challenge her capacity on the basis that the word 'he' was referred to in the Constitution.

Even though there were acts interpretation laws for 'he' to be read as 'he and she', the reality was that she was unable to progress to sit in the Legislative Council without that challenge. The challenge having concluded, the then Playford government amended the state constitution to make absolutely sure that such a challenge would not occur again in the future. It took 65 years for women to get into parliament after this groundbreaking legislation passed, but we are here now and we are here to stay. I hasten to add that my grandmother retired from her business when she was 90, so I look forward to a long stint on this side of the house, I can tell you.

It is also important to remember the significance of the times when this legislation passed, back in 1894, and the subsequent elections that followed. It is worth remembering that women got the vote and, of course, the right to get into parliament, as I referred to, by the passage of this legislation. Some would argue that that was almost by accident because of the level of drunkenness in the colony at the time and the aspiration of various groups in the women's community to ensure that there were stricter laws in relation to the management, distribution and sale of alcohol.

Nevertheless, they wanted a say, and they ultimately got it through this legislation. They were not able to vote prior to that date; however, Aboriginal men were. They had the privilege to vote from 1857, along with other men in South Australia. Scandalously, one can say that now in today's contemporary time. However, back in 1901, all Aboriginal people were precluded from being on the roll after Federation. We had this rather interesting scenario in South Australia where black men could vote between 1857 and 1894, which was then added to by white women, but then after Federation, all Aboriginal people were disenfranchised.

The member indicates that they were unable to participate in a vote until after a referendum in 1967. My recollection is that Sir Robert Menzies changed the law in 1961 to enable voting. What occurred in the 1967 referendum was the right to be recognised as a citizen of Australia for the purposes of being included in the census. That was a groundbreaking referendum and it was fantastic that it passed, but I think the actual right to register to vote predated that.

Nevertheless, today both men and women, whatever their colour or sexual orientation, can sign up to be a voter in the state, as long as they are over the age of 18 years. Of course, there are some restrictions in relation to mental capacity, and soon there will be one in relation to voting while serving three or more years in prison. This has already been forfeited at the commonwealth level and will soon apply to the state. It is important to recognise this significant milestone in our history, which was internationally groundbreaking and which I am very pleased to support as we progress.

Finally, of the many organisations that were very active in this space, the Christian Woman's Temperance Union—which was certainly on a mission, on the march and all sorts of things, and from whom I still receive some notices from time to time—has been a powerful advocate in relation to matters that have affected women and children in this state throughout its history. In particular, the work of Elizabeth Webb Nicholls—and I am pleased to see the mover of the motion agrees—should be more acknowledged in the process that we undergo.

Thank you to the female members of the parliament who fought hard to celebrate at the centenary. We will now have a new era of women who will ensure that we record to posterity those who have fought for the quasquicentenary. I support the motion.

Ms HILDYARD (Reynell) (11:17): I rise to wholeheartedly support this motion and also to concur with the words from the members for Florey and Bragg. We can all be very proud that here in South Australia we have an inspirational tradition of activist women who were fearless advocates for equality and who took giant steps forward for the status of South Australian women—women such as Catherine Helen Spence, the first female to stand as a political candidate in Australia, and others who shaped the early battles for equality.

This was, indeed, a remarkable group of campaigning women who brought women together and relentlessly and collectively organised around their cause and won. It was through the extraordinary efforts of Catherine Helen Spence and her fellow activists that in December 1894 South Australia very proudly became the first Australian state to allow women to vote. At the same time, women were granted the right to stand in state elections—the first place in the world to do so—and in 1861 here in South Australia female ratepayers were granted the right to vote in municipal and local council elections.

In 1919, Susan Grace Benny was the first female local government councillor in Australia. Grace, as she was known, was elected to Brighton council in our beautiful southern suburbs. In 1986, South Australian Senator Janine Haines became the first female to lead an Australian political party and, also in 1986, Labor's Anne Levy became president of the South Australian Legislative Council, the first female to be a presiding officer of a house of parliament in Australia. Of course, we cannot forget that Australia's first female prime minister, Julia Gillard, also hails from Adelaide.

These pioneering triumphs for women's equality were the result of commitment and sheer hard work over many years by very determined women. Their impressive legacy spurs us on to continue to progress rights for women across the globe. I fundamentally believe that there are equal numbers of women and men with merit in any particular vocation, profession or industry. This is the case in politics, in the corporate world, in sport and in community services. If those equal numbers of women and men of merit are not reflected in the make-up of your organisation, something is not working and you need to do something about it.

I am proud to be part of a party, the great Australian Labor Party, that is doing something about it. It has rules and a deeply embedded plan for change that mean we are making significant progress towards equal representation of women and men in our parliaments. We still have progress to make, and make it we will. We have these rules, a plan and commitment to progress because we know that diversity in decision-making and parliaments that are representative of our communities always make for better outcomes. It is my hope that those opposite and their colleagues in parliaments across the country support and encourage more women to enter parliament, too. Their party, our parliaments and our community will be better for it.

I strongly support the establishment of a joint committee to report on matters relating to the 125^th anniversary of women's suffrage. I congratulate the member for Ramsay on her efforts in our last parliament in this regard and the member for Florey on bringing this motion today. It is an excellent opportunity to reflect on our history, to celebrate the achievements of those who came before us and particularly to recognise the struggles faced by Aboriginal women. I wholeheartedly agree with the member for Bragg that our record on ensuring that Aboriginal women, and all Aboriginal people, can vote is indeed scandalous.

This committee will also give us an opportunity to create strategies to advance the status of all women and girls in every aspect of South Australian community life. It is always only by tackling the difficult issues together that real progress is made. Social and economic change for women is almost always a tough battle, and I look forward to working alongside my colleagues and the many individuals and organisations fighting the good fight until all the challenges facing women are met and won. I very much look forward to working with as many girls and women in South Australia as possible to ensure that many voices shape our 125^th celebration and that many voices are involved in determining what we focus on together for the future to secure equality in every aspect of community life and our economy.

Ms BETTISON (Ramsay) (11:22): I rise today to support this motion by the member for Florey. I recognise her continuing interest in supporting women and their involvement in politics. I am pleased to say that I am a lifetime member of the Muriel Matters Society, as I hope all my female and male colleagues will seek to be. This motion putting forward a joint committee follows on from my proposition in the last parliament to continue this work. This is something we should be extremely proud of in South Australia: not only were we one of the first to support women to have the right to vote but we were the first to allow women to stand for parliament.

I hope that we have a re-enactment of the 1894 debate because history tells me that there was what one called a 'rider' to make it fall over, but instead of falling over it actually went through. It was considered a bridge too far to allow women to stand for parliament, God forbid, and it was thought that it would make the vote fail. Of course, it came to parliament several times, if I remember correctly, maybe four or five times in different forms. It reminds me of some different areas of social change: it might not happen the first time, but we can build momentum, knowledge and experience and bring people with us. It might take time, but it can happen.

So one of the things I am keen to see is that we have a series of proposals come from the committee of how we can recognise this event. Perhaps we can have a modern form of the tapestry in the way of some selfies of South Australian women and girls that we upload to have a combined face of South Australian women. I would like to see that we support grants throughout South Australia that enable all communities within South Australia to apply for grants to recognise this area in their own way. I encourage the committee to consider that.

I have touched on the potential of a re-enactment, so I would like to flag to our Clerk and Deputy Clerk that we would love some money from the parliament to recognise that. I think one of the other ideas was a time line. It could be a visual time line that we have somewhere here in Parliament House about women's rights and different things we have moved, or it could potentially be a timeline on a portal and available online.

But it would not be right without my recognising the fact that we are not represented in equal numbers in this house, and that is something I think we should aspire to. Politics more than any other industry and any other area of representation is by the people for the people and we should be reflective of how we are within the population. I hope that within my lifetime we achieve that. Like the member for Bragg, I intend to be here for some time, so hopefully we will all get to celebrate that together.

But there are a few things I want to touch on that women still need to fight for, and one of the key things for me is equal pay. We know that graduates from the same course start out in their first year with women on less money than men. How is this possible? Why does this happen? We must continue to understand the unconscious bias around this and understand that we are all going to have to work until we are 70—50 years of work—and within that time all of us are going to have time when we cannot work full-time because of caring needs, whether it be for children or elderly parents or our own health in fact.

That is something we have not achieved and equal pay is something we must continue to fight for. Equal pay, or lack of equal pay, goes to the issue of superannuation, and women particularly do not have the same level of superannuation as men. Most of this comes from the fact that we have breaks within our career traditionally but also because we are more likely to be casualised in the work that we do. We are seeing that now, with increasing rates of older women sliding into homelessness.

For many women who lived what we call a traditional life, there was an expectation that you would be the homemaker, that you would stay at home and look after the family, and that you would be supported and provided for by your husband. That has not always worked out. In fact, particularly when people have experienced the death of a spouse or a late in life divorce, they find that they do not have a lot of assets and, with the real estate market that has grown over the last decade or so, it is very hard for them to purchase property.

This is an area I learnt more about in my previous role as minister for social housing and minister for ageing, and I think as a nation we need to consider the differential between superannuation, because this issue of women having substantially less in their balance than men will not go away. I thank again the member for Florey for bringing this forward and I commend this motion to the house.

Ms LUETHEN (King) (11:28): I rise to speak to the motion moved by the member for Florey. I thank the member for her many years of determined advocacy on matters related to women's rights. I also thank our Deputy Premier for sharing her steadfast support for this motion and our colleagues for their support as well. I support the motion related to considering the significance of the Adult Suffrage Bill and support the points made in paragraphs (a), (b), (c), (d) and (e) and the move to appoint a committee.

I will take a moment to recap on the Adult Suffrage Bill 1894 in case anyone who may read or listen to my words is not aware. A petition with some 11,600 signatures was presented to the parliament by the then member for North Adelaide, the Hon. George Hawker, in August 1894 requesting that women in the colony be granted the right to vote. The petition can be viewed at Parliament House in Adelaide—the final roll measured 122 metres long—and is commonly referred to as the Women's Suffrage Petition. The wording of the petition is as follows:

To the Honourable the Speaker and Members of the House of Assembly of South Australia, in Parliament Assembled:

The Petition of the undersigned Adult Residents in the Province of South Australia humbly sheweth:—

I. That your petitioners and convinced of the absolute justice of giving Women the Franchise for Both Houses of Parliament on the same terms as it is now, or may thereafter be granted to men.

This bill gave women the rights previously only granted to men. It was felt that in 1894 it was ridiculous that in that modern society of free settlers women did not have the same rights as men.

This was a significant moment in South Australia's history. In 1894, women in South Australia gained the right to vote when men had had the right to vote in South Australia since 1856, 38 years prior. In 1895, full adult women in South Australia, including Aboriginal women, won the right to vote and sit in parliament. In 1949, 54 years later, the right to vote in federal elections was extended to Aboriginal people who had served in the Armed Forces and who were enrolled to vote in state elections.

South Australian women were the second to gain the vote after New Zealand women, who secured this right in 1893. Momentously, South Australian women were the first in the world to gain the right to stand for election. Previously, South Australia had granted voting rights in local government elections to women property owners in 1861, but it took eight attempts and another 30 years before the parliamentary franchise was extended to all adult females. After private members' bills had failed, the government of Charles Cameron Kingston, who had originally opposed such a measure, adopted the proposal of the Women's Suffrage League.

I wholeheartedly support this motion today because (1) I know that I stand on the shoulders of the fearless and courageous women who come before me and (2) we recognise here, as Mary Lee said:

…the strenuous work that Australian women put into the suffrage campaigns—organising meetings, forming societies, writing speeches and delivering them, leading deputations to parliamentarians, securing signatures on petitions and making speeches.

I can only imagine how hard it would have been for these men and women to speak up 124 years ago and state the case for women to have the right to vote and to stand for parliament.

It is reported that feminists in South Australia in the late 19^th century faced an unsympathetic media. They were labelled the 'shrieking sisterhood'. The men who supported them fared no better, being called 'poor, wretched creatures' and accused of being illogical and absurd. I have read:

…this was an era, after all, when it was still lawful for a man to beat his wife 'so long as he did not use a stick thicker than his thumb'.

But these women were not to be stopped. In my maiden speech, I talked about the change we in this 54^th parliament can lead in our South Australian community today, and I was heartened by so many colleagues agreeing that it is time for a safer South Australia. Although today it is no longer lawful for a man to beat his wife, 124 years later we have talked about one in four children growing up watching and listening to this violence happening in our Australian homes today.

Violence is costing our community billions of dollars and it is still robbing too many people of the chance to live their best life possible. Experiencing violence in childhood, as I can personally attest, can adversely impact your health, your self belief and your confidence, which, of course, then impacts your ability to run for positions in government. The perpetration of men's violence against women is understood to be a manifestation of historically unequal power relations between men and women.

So 124 years after women gained the right to vote, we are still discussing the need for more research to understand which aspects of gender inequality have the most impact on violence against women. I have read that in 1894 male principles were severely tried by the idea that women should step out of their allotted role as guardians of the home to enter the sphere of male power. Cartoonists worried about who would cook the tea when women entered public office.

When I doorknocked in King, many women said to me after I introduced myself, 'I will just get my husband.' One woman, a mother in her 30s, said, 'I will let my husband know you are here when he gets home from work, as he makes these decisions for us.' Thankfully, there were many other couples who had this discussion with me together.

When I doorknocked, I wanted to hear from every person their thoughts on what would improve their quality of life and I wanted to hear their aspirations for our South Australian community. Men and women, young and old—I wanted to hear from everyone. I did wonder whether the women who were deferring their opinions to their husbands had knowledge of how hard the brave suffragettes had fought for our right to vote and to stand for parliament.

I support this motion because I wish to provide further information to our community and cause more robust discussion about where we have come from, where we are today in terms of equal rights and representation, and what deeds, not words, are needed to progress us towards a time when the gap in female representation, which exists today across all levels of government, is not so substantial. This motion provides an opportunity to review, question, highlight and provide education on the current levels of female representation in local, state and federal government and to further explore the barriers to entry.

On 18 December 2019, South Australia will celebrate 125 years since the passage of a bill granting women the right to vote and to stand for parliament. The campaign at that time to gain public support was a collective effort by men and women. I personally have strong support from men and women in the Liberal Party to help me to believe in myself and to campaign to earn the trust of the electorate and to represent them well.

As I have shared, minister David Pisoni prompted me to consider running for parliament when he asked me, 'What will you do to make children safer in our community?' I will always thank him for asking this question and for his ongoing counsel. Similarly, I thank the Speaker of the house, the education minister and the member for Bragg for their ongoing counsel. I am proud to say that I feel very supported to be here today in this government and in our party. Both men and women have a depth of life experience to offer unique perspectives and this is valuable to decision-making and serving the community. I ask all of us here to consider how we make these opportunities to serve more accessible and a reality for those who wish to serve.

As the member for Bragg did, I recognise today the important tapestry hanging on the government side of this house above us: 'A woman's place is in the house.' It refers to this house: Parliament House. I thank the member for Florey again for raising this important motion, which I support in full. I look forward to opportunities for lots of robust discussion and lots of input from men and women in the planning and decision stages of our preparation for the 125-year celebrations. I look forward to lots of actions and delivery of change with my colleagues in the house and in the community.

Time expired.

Mr TEAGUE (Heysen) (11:38): I rise also to support the motion. At the outset, I wish to recognise the member for Florey and others who have already contributed. This morning, I want to mention one famous South Australian in particular, Muriel Matters. Muriel Matters, born in 1877, was just 17 years old in 1894. She went on to advocate for reforms that she was to both benefit from and advocate for worldwide, and she has become very famous and well known for her work.

I mention Muriel Matters because, on 26 April last year, I was fortunate to be present, along with my wife, Dr Maria Teague, at Matilda Bookshop at Stirling in my electorate of Heysen, for the launch of a book about Muriel Matters called Miss Muriel Matters. I commend it to all members. It tells the story of her wonderful life. I mention it in particular because I was fortunate to be in a full room at Matilda Bookshop, as so often happens on the evening of a book launch, and present also were the member for Florey and the former member for Heysen, Ms Isobel Redmond.

It was not lost on me that night that we were there talking about Miss Muriel Matters and the proud history of her journey, and in that very room was—if the member for Florey will permit me—living history of just how current and recent the steps and journey that we are commemorating really are. The member for Florey was elected in 1997 and has been in this place for more than 20 years now. The former member for Heysen, Ms Redmond, was elected in 2002, and, significantly, was the first female to lead a major party in our state—living, current, reform, development, advancement, all very important.

That occasion has stayed in my mind particularly in the context of the anniversary that we look forward to celebrating next year. I particularly want to recognise Joanna Hill and Gavin Williams, the proprietors of Matilda Bookshop, for the great work they have done in bringing great books like Miss Muriel Matters to the public. I wholeheartedly put an ad in for that: if you do not already have a copy of the book, do yourself a favour, as Mr Meldrum would exhort us to do.

I want to also briefly reflect on the proud history of reform in South Australia. I think it is worth noting that the 1861 Local Government Act, although not proactively taking reformist steps at that stage, did not specifically exclude women. At that time, women voted in municipal elections and it formed a part of the foundation for the moves that were to follow later in the century in that that participation was cited as an example when women's suffrage was being brought to the fore as a state matter.

I also want to note the role of the man for whom the district of Stirling is named, Dr Edward Stirling, who was a Strathalbyn local, who later built a home at Stirling and became the first chair of the Stirling district council. In 1885, Edward Stirling proposed a resolution to grant the franchise for both houses to property-owning single women and widows. That proposition ultimately failed in the short term but, again, laid the groundwork for the reforms to come.

I recognise that South Australia, in leading the way, benefited from the good work of women and men from the outset. I certainly join with others in both recognising our history and advocating for the continued importance of further reform in this area so that we may continue to claim a proud history in this state in advancing all aspects of equality of participation and representation.

Ms BEDFORD (Florey) (11:44): In closing the debate, I would just like to let the Deputy Premier know that the Woman's Christian Temperance Union had some marvellous activities for History Month. It has a vast archive of ephemera, in particular postcards between Mary Lee and Elizabeth Webb Nicholls. These relics, remnants of past history, are just sitting there. It is just amazing to see little postcards that had zipped across to Adelaide to let each of them know what they were doing.

In my contribution, I neglected to mention Serena Thorne Lake, who was also one of the main agitators at the time, and her links to the Methodist Church. The Wesleyan Methodists in particular were very involved in making sure that social justice issues that we are all concentrating on as well were a part of what the suffrage movement was focused on. One of the famous women involved, Jessie Ackermann, visited Australia at the time and said that a seat in parliament is not a reward for past services but an opportunity for further work. It is such a wonderful saying. I am even thinking of embroidering that on a cushion just so I can remember that every day of my life.

I am truly grateful for the Deputy Premier's support and leadership, along with that of the minister, the Hon. Michelle Lensink, and all the government members who have spoken today. I also thank the opposition members, who I know are behind it, and members of other parties in the Legislative Council who I know are supporting this as well. I would also like to acknowledge the work of the Hon. Steph Key and everything she has done for women in South Australia.

I also acknowledge the work of people such as Sandra Kanck, Diana Laidlaw and Anne Levy, just to name a few of the women who have been in parliament over the years, agitating for the rights of women. In reflecting on what the member for King has said, I think we need to say 'deeds and words', because deeds and words are what we need, along with the dollars I know the government will give us to make sure that this truly happens and is worthwhile.

I would also like to mention the Centre for Democracy, which is on the corner of North Terrace and Kintore Avenue in the Institute Building. It is a place that former premier Jay Weatherill established and somewhere I hope that people will go and look at what is going on. I know that it will play a vital role in the quasquicentenary, which is of course for all South Australians, all the men and women, to reflect on all we have achieved and all that lies ahead, knowing that their influence in this place exists because of the vote.

I will be doing my best to promote South Australia and its place in the world nationally and internationally. Those works have already started because South Australia is a focus, along with the story of Muriel Matters in the education centre at Westminster—a place I hope you all get to visit at some point. I commend the motion to the house.

Motion carried