Parliamentary Committees

Joint Committee on the 125th Anniversary of Women's Suffrage

Ms BEDFORD (Florey) (11:06): On behalf of the member for Reynell, I move:

That the interim report of the committee be noted.

Not having expected to be in this position, I am happy to wax lyrical about the work of the committee, which we tried to form before the last election, as we know, but it was re-formed with the help of the current government and has worked diligently to identify ways to make prominent the 125^th anniversary, or the quasquicentenary, of women's dual right to both stand for office and vote in this state.

Before I go into the actual work of the committee, I want to inform the house that I have just returned from New Zealand where they celebrated their quasquicentenary of voting yesterday. I was pleased to be able to convey to them your message, Mr Speaker, and can report that Speaker Mallard was very impressed. He has never received anything like it, he said.

The other thing that also worried me a little bit was that no-one in New Zealand seemed to understand that South Australia was very close behind them and had been inspired by them to ask for the right to stand as well as the right to vote. I think we have made some very good connections with New Zealand. I know the member for Reynell has worked very hard to make sure that the Commonwealth Women Parliamentarians' conference and dinner will be here next year in November. That will be part of a whole year of commemorative events.

The committee took advice from a great number of people. I do not have the paperwork in front of me now, but it is pretty clear that the Office for Women will be working very hard to bring together a full program of events. The education department will also be working collaboratively with them, and the members of the house are going to be invited to be part of it as much as they can be. There will be an enormous amount of information disseminated.

I think it is our opportunity not only to bring home the importance of voting and the whole importance of the democratic process, which in those days was driven by petitions and the fact that petitions now have to regain their place in the democratic process as a way of beginning debate on all sorts of subjects, but also to send home the message that democracy happens every day. The vote is important and valuable, and democracy is one of the best parts of the Australian way of life, where governments change by the use of a pencil rather than a gun. We know that leaders of parliamentary parties or governments can change almost easier than using a pencil really. The whole method of the way politics works has to be looked at in general. This quasquicentenary will give us that opportunity to do so next year.

We looked at the work of the centenary committee and saw the marvellous things that happened there. One of the things that I brought back from New Zealand was the amount of work that was done to identify the Maori women who were leaders. I think we can do a great deal of work in that space next year with our Indigenous women and identify the leaders of the Indigenous people of the Adelaide Plains, the Kaurna people, and start to look at ways we can make their history at that time really relevant. The Maori women told me that Maori women were not disenfranchised by their menfolk but by the settlement of British colonists. That was a really different way to look at it.

They have some marvellous exhibitions in their libraries and their institutions. Parliament has a program of wonderful things going on. I think it is a really good time for us to ramp up the sorts of things we do to bring to everyone's mind that democracy, as I said, happens every day and we can be part of it. You do not have to be in parliament to be part of democracy. You can go and see your member of parliament and make things happen.

Again, in New Zealand, they did something that we talked about on the committee. We are going to do our very best to adopt a program very similar to the RSL Virtual War Memorial where people go and look at a soldier. Hopefully, we will be looking at a significant woman in our family or adopt someone who has signed the petition. That is something they did in New Zealand. People looked at the various signatures on the petition and then created some history around each of those signatures. I think that is a really terrific thing that we can adopt. I hope we will have all sorts of wonderful events next year.

I will stop at those comments. I was not actually ready to speak, but now we have everybody ready to speak, so that will be marvellous.

The Hon. V.A. CHAPMAN (Bragg—Deputy Premier, Attorney-General) (11:11): I support this motion to receive and note the report of the 125^th anniversary of women's suffrage, entitled Interim Report. It has the interesting fore-quote from Tennyson's The Princess: 'The woman's cause is man's: they rise or sink together, dwarfed or godlike, bond or free.' How apt.

Firstly, may I thank those who are members of the committee: the Hon. Michelle Lensink, the Hon. Tammy Franks, the Hon. Irene Pnevmatikos, the Hon. Connie Bonaros, and members of our House of Assembly, being the members for Reynell, King, Elder and of course the wonderful member for Florey. Obviously we have to give different titles depending on the house. Equally, all of them have made a contribution in providing this report to us.

The importance of giving an interim report, they claim, is to raise awareness of the celebrations in 2019, to highlight what activities the Office for Women, Department for Education, History Trust of SA and other community organisations and NGOs will do or are proposing to do, and to really encourage members of our house, now that we are noting this report, to take an active interest in the celebrations of this in respect of sharing their experiences with their colleagues and the community and their constituencies. I think that is a worthy cause.

I stood here yesterday talking about the feminisation of farming. It took us 65 years to get women in the parliament after the law changed; nevertheless, it is important that we recognise the important event to give suffrage—that is, the right to be able to participate in voting and, as has been pointed out, uniquely, the world-first opportunity to stand for parliament. Much has been said about the circumstances surrounding that, that is, attempts to sabotage women's right to vote by adding in what they considered to be the untenable and unacceptable opportunity to stand for parliament that would so offend the members of the house that it would be thrown out of the chamber. Well, that failed. That conduct should be a lesson in how to deal with the political strategy of bills in the parliament.

We as members of the female gender are the beneficiaries of suffrage, having the opportunity to be here. I consider the other gender—or genders, I have to say these days—is better for it. Some might not think so; nevertheless, we are here to stay. Finally, I think the general community also benefits from the diversity of representation.

Perhaps our next challenge in relation to parliamentary representation is to ensure that we also have a diversity of cultural backgrounds. I am proud because I know that a number of my colleagues on this side of the house have very varied and interesting cultural combinations in their history, and they are proud of that. I am sure that members of the opposition are equally proud of their heritage, whatever mixture that may be. I think we should be proud of that, but we also need to recognise the members of contemporary migrants to South Australia and their opportunity to have a voice in our house.

The Adult Suffrage Bill 1894 comes up for its quasquicentenary next year. It will be a proud occasion of celebration. Some of the recommended events include nominations for national honours by the Australia Day Council of South Australia; events with women artists at the Adelaide Fringe; a panel discussion on gender equality organised by the Australia Day Council; social media campaigns, such as 'What does suffrage mean to you?' and 'Do you know that…'; Women's History Month; the Gladys Elphick Awards; a gender equality symposium; a symposium on past research by recipients of the Catherine Helen Spence Memorial Scholarship and other women academics; and of course, Youth Parliament. These are all opportunities the Office for Women will exploit for the purpose of ensuring that we are all active in this space.

I also want to thank those who made very considered written submissions to the committee, including the Multicultural Communities Council of SA, the Council of the Ageing SA, the Multicultural Affairs division of the Department of the Premier and Cabinet, the National Council of Women South Australia Inc., and the Woman's Christian Temperance Union of SA Inc. I am not sure how many members have regular correspondence from the Woman's Christian Temperance Union, but I think—

Ms Bedford: Everybody does.

The Hon. V.A. CHAPMAN: Yes; I certainly still receive them, and they are still an active organisation. Next time you drive past a little hall sitting on the side of the road, which has 'Woman's Christian Temperance Union of SA Inc.' across its arched frame, spare a thought for the fact that they have contributed to the advancement of good and proper law in this state for over 100 years. I thank them for their continued efforts in that regard, together with those of the National Council of Women, which has had a very strong presence as an overarching body of women's organisations in our state and indeed throughout Australia. I particularly recognise the South Australian chapter of the council today.

I can recall the centenary celebrations in 1994, which was some time ago. I also recall the women representatives in the parliament, from across the political divide, being very active in this space. They ensured the development and creation of the magnificent tapestries which now hang in the chamber. I think at one stage I said to the Hon. Graham Gunn that they would remain here and be removed over my dead body. He had a slightly different view, but they are here and he is gone. He of course made a very extensive contribution to the parliament, but that was not one of his best ideas. In any event, they are still here.

For the benefit of members who may not know, tapestries are the formal record on which we record historical events of significance. Accordingly, tapestries were commissioned. All women in South Australia—in fact, anybody, but mostly women—from all across the state were invited to go into the ground floor of the bank across the road—it is a Jamie Oliver restaurant now—where these were displayed. There was an opportunity for each person to put a stitch into the tapestry.

Literally thousands of women turned up to do that because they were very proud of what it stood for, not just for themselves but also for their girls and grandchildren who would follow and know their legacy, so it is significant that we recognise the centenary celebrations. As a matter of record, some recommendations were provided in the report from that committee at the time, and they were very keen to recognise the importance of having a family-friendly environment that would encourage women to join the parliament and make a contribution.

At any one time, we have women in the parliament who have the care and responsibility of young children, aged parents or a disabled member of their family, for example, and they carry a significant load in being away for very long hours. I am very pleased that in the time I have been here the rules have changed—for example, to enable there to be the minimum use of late-night sittings. To do that, we start earlier in the mornings, subject to being able to accommodate committee obligations. This was a direct result of an acknowledgement by this parliament that people have these other commitments and that it would be of benefit, if we were genuine about encouraging women to stand for parliament, that they do so.

Much will be said about the trail and the struggle for women to get the vote. It was a long journey. As recommended by the mover of the motion, I also endorse the significance of the leadership of women in our Indigenous communities and that this should play a role in our celebrations next year.

Ms HILDYARD (Reynell) (11:22): First of all, I acknowledge and thank the member for Bragg and the member for Florey for their words. I also thank all the members of our committee: the member for Florey; the member for Elder; the member for King; our Chairperson, the Hon. Michelle Lensink; and other members from the other place, including the Hon. Irene Pnevmatikos, the Hon. Tammy Franks and the Hon. Connie Bonaros. In thanking those members for their efforts, I particularly note the incredible collaborative spirit in which the committee came together to make sure that we celebrate this quasquicentenary well in South Australia and that we use it to think about the challenges and the opportunities that lie ahead.

I think that I expressed many of these sentiments when I spoke recently about the 125^th suffrage anniversary celebration in New Zealand, as did other members of this house. When thinking about our celebrations next year, and when I reflected on those that are happening in New Zealand this year, it was very hard not to think about those celebrations and to speak about them without mentioning the incredible tradition of activist women here in South Australia, women like Catherine Helen Spence and Mary Lee, who are of course just behind me on the wall here. They really knew how to bring together a cohort of women to fight for a cause and how to relentlessly continue to fight for that cause and win.

I think it is fair to say that on many occasions when the committee met, we reflected on their journey and their fight and how their struggle continues to spur us on to continue to make sure that we are doing what we can to improve the status of women in South Australia and beyond. I think it is also fair to say that, in preparing and thinking about these celebrations, we also reflected on the trailblazing work of Joyce Steele and Molly Byrne, former members of this house. Of course, Joyce Steele is here in this room and Molly Byrne's picture is elsewhere in this house. I place on the record my absolute thanks to them for what they have done. Without their work and willingness to fight, I certainly would not be standing here in this parliament, nor would other women members of parliament.

Thank you again to all members of the committee. We were very clear when we came together that, as well as loudly and proudly celebrating 125 years since that struggle to ensure that women in South Australia could vote, we wanted to make sure that we reached out beyond these walls into every corner of our South Australian community to encourage every individual and every organisation to also celebrate this milestone, to celebrate our history and to look together to the future.

As is in the report, one of the things that we have done, and the Office for Women has done, was write extensively to organisations all over South Australia to invite them to be part of the celebrations and part of that thinking about our future. Many women's and community organisations have been invited to participate and so have sporting organisations and, very importantly, a number of school groups. In the celebrations, we want to reach into every corner of our community and encourage people to think about our history, celebrate this milestone and think about our future together.

The thing I wanted to put on record today—and I know the Hon. Michelle Lensink from the other place has written to every member of parliament in relation to this issue—

Mr BROWN: Mr Speaker, I draw your attention to the state of the house.

The SPEAKER: As a quorum is not present, please ring the bells.

A quorum having been formed:

The SPEAKER: A quorum is present. Member for Reynell.

The Hon. J.A.W. GARDNER: Point of order, sir: there were several members of the opposition, during that quorum call while the bells were ringing, who exited the chamber upon learning that it was a quorum. My understanding is that that is directly against standing orders. I believe the member for Lee was one of them, and there may have been others. I would encourage you to reflect on it.

The SPEAKER: I pointed out yesterday that it is against standing orders for a member to leave when a quorum is not present and the bells have been rung. I did not see it, Minister for Education, because, I have to admit, I was counting the numbers present in the house, but I do remind members that if they are caught doing so it is a breach of standing orders.

Mr Pederick: Name them!

The SPEAKER: I might consider doing that as well. The member for Reynell was on her feet.

Ms HILDYARD: Thank you very much, Mr Speaker. As I was saying—and I am glad there are more members in the house when I say this—one of the—

An honourable member: We just want to hear what you have to say.

Ms HILDYARD: Thank you very much.

Members interjecting:

The SPEAKER: Order! Members on my right will be quiet.

Ms HILDYARD: One of the things that we were very, very clear about in the objective for our committee was to make sure that we encouraged South Australians across the breadth of South Australia not only to participate in these celebrations but also to use this celebration as an opportunity to reflect on the past fights we have had to have to reach this point and to reflect together on what we need to continue to do together, and what communities can continue to do together in their particular sphere of influence, to continue to advance the status of women.

One of the things the committee was very clear about was that all of us in this place and in the other place have a very strong role to play in raising awareness and inviting members of our particular communities to be involved in this celebration. I use this opportunity to encourage every member of this place, and also members in the other place, to reach out to their communities, to talk with their local sporting clubs, their church groups, their community organisations and groups, and their civic organisations, and have a conversation with them about what they might be able to do together to mark this very important quasquicentenary with their particular community or organisation. That was a very clear objective, a very clear outcome from the committee in relation to the role that MPs can have in encouraging communities to be involved.

Another issue that came up very clearly in our discussions was around various policies and practices and the particular environment here in Parliament House and what we can do as a parliament to look at those policies, practices and our environment to make sure that this environment here is as welcoming and accommodating as is possible to women in South Australia, both women members of parliament and staff members, as well as women in our community who come to visit us. As you will see in the report, there is a very clear focus on that, and I look forward to driving that work with members of the committee and all members of parliament in the future.

There was another area of focus for us. We heard fantastic evidence from a number of people, including the Department for Education, and we spoke a lot, both with the department and with each other, about the need to make sure that we are involving young women in these celebrations. We made a decision that next year when, thankfully, we have the opportunity to have our CWP conference and event here, later in the year, we think of a way to make sure we open that up to young South Australian women and girls to be involved in that event and to learn more about parliament.

What is very clear is that, despite our enormous advancements over the past 125 years, we still have a long way to go. Just last sitting week, many of us spoke about the terrible prevalence of violence against women and the gender inequality that underlies that violence against women that lies as its root cause. We have spoken many times—I have certainly spoken many times—in this house about the inequity in representation here in parliament. We do still have challenges ahead, and I very much hope that as well as next year being a great opportunity for celebration—and we have much to be hopeful about for our future—we also use that time to reflect on what we can do together to better advance those issues.

In closing, I want to say thank you also, and place on record my thanks, to everybody who contributed to the committee's discussions, findings and recommendations. We had an incredible array of witnesses come to provide information to us. I particularly enjoyed hearing from former senator Natasha Stott Despoja, and also from the Hon. Carolyn Pickles and the Hon. Anne Levy, about their reflections of our celebration here in 1994.

It is a celebration that I remember. I remember being in awe of those women and the work they were doing to advance the interests of women, and it was absolutely wonderful to hear directly from them about the struggles they were facing at that time and also the sense of achievement that they had about how far they had come in that 100 years. It was very special to have those women along and to have those conversations. I can also say that we saw some incredible photos from that 1994 conference that included many current and former members of the house. It was really lovely to see that material, and I hope that many of those women are also part of our celebrations next year in 2019.

In closing, can I also place on record my wholehearted thanks to Lauren Williams and Meredith Brown, who worked so hard and very patiently with the committee. The committee is made up of incredibly busy women, so it was difficult to get us all in the same place every time at exactly the same time, but we got there in the end. We would not have been able to do that without the incredible work of the staff who supported us.

Mrs POWER (Elder) (11:35): It is my great pleasure to rise today in support of this motion. As we all know, 2019 will mark 125 years since the Adult Suffrage Bill 1894 was passed here in the South Australian parliament, granting women the right both to vote and to stand for parliament. By way of a history lesson for those who may be listening in, the bill was passed in this place on 18 December 1894. It received royal assent when Queen Victoria signed it on 2 February 1895, it was proclaimed on 20 March 1895 and gazetted on 21 March 1895. South Australia at that time led our great nation as the first state in Australia to grant women the right to vote and to stand for parliament.

This committee, the Joint Committee on the 125^th Anniversary of Women's Suffrage, and its report serve to raise awareness of this important anniversary and to encourage all fellow members of parliament to support the celebration of this important milestone through attendance at the many and varied events that will occur throughout the next year. It is a privilege to serve on this committee and to recognise the courageous political campaign by many women and men who have paved the way for women such as me and those around me to stand here today.

I would like to acknowledge and pay tribute to the other committee members: the Hon. Michelle Lensink, who chaired the committee; the member for Reynell, the deputy chair; the member for Florey, who is not only an active committee member but an active fighter for women's rights and the place of women in this house and outside it; the member for King, whose title, when I was typing my notes, was autocorrected to 'the member for kind', which I think would also be appropriate; the Hon. Tammy Franks from the other place; and the Hon. Irene Pnevmatikos from the other place. I would also like to acknowledge Lauren Williams and Meredith Brown, who did an incredible job of supporting the committee.

There are a number of people who I think really gave our committee strength, and they were the people who came along to make submissions verbally and those who sent them in writing. I would just like to take this opportunity to acknowledge them: Mr Greg Mackie OAM and Mandy Paul from the History Trust of South Australia, the State Library of South Australia and the Centre of Democracy; Ms Fiona Mort and Ms Annie Francis from the Office for Women; Ms Ann-Marie Hayes from the Department for Education; Jenny Scott from the State Library of South Australia; Natasha Stott Despoja AM, former senator; Steph Key, former member for Ashford; and the Hon. Carolyn Pickles, the former leader of the opposition in the upper house.

We received written submissions from the Multicultural Communities Council of South Australia, the Council of the Ageing, Multicultural Affairs from the Department of the Premier and Cabinet, the National Council of Women of South Australia and the Woman's Christian Temperance Union of South Australia. Celebrating the 125^th anniversary of women's suffrage is a way we can shine light, create awareness and drive the conversation forward. Next year, there will be a coming together of government and non-government agencies and community organisations with events throughout the year, opening up opportunities for the broader community, in particular women and girls, to be involved in celebrations. The courageous political campaigns for women's suffrage that drove the outcome of women's right to vote is a true example of democracy in action.

By growing awareness of women's suffrage and supporting an understanding of what this means, we hope to inspire the broader community to continue to stand up and advocate for what they believe in. We certainly have a lot of work still to do. We know that women remain under-represented in the South Australian parliament and, in fact, we are not even close to equal representation of men and women in government at all levels. Further, this is only one needle in a haystack of measures related to gender equality, such as the pay gap, violence against women and women in senior positions on boards and as chairs.

Next year, as we mark the 125^th anniversary, I encourage everyone to get involved and be part of the celebrations or simply have their own conversations around their own dining room tables. It is a great opportunity for women, mothers, sisters and girls to get together to think about their place at the table. As the beautiful tapestry behind us shows, a woman's place is in the house—being this house.

I think it is also a great opportunity for men—fathers and brothers—to think about how they can support women to feel a sense of equality in all aspects of life. I believe that, by reflecting on the past and what has been achieved and by celebrating such a significant proud milestone in our history, we are reminded that each of us is born with an innate power to shape the world around us, to challenge the status quo and to reimagine a different future and set about creating that.

The power and courage that lived in all those women and men who fought for us to be able to vote and stand for parliament all those years ago live in all of us. We must all call it forth, and what better time to do that than next year as we celebrate the 125^th anniversary of women's suffrage.

Mr PICTON (Kaurna) (11:41): I will add some comments to welcome the interim report of the Joint Committee on the 125^th Anniversary of Women's Suffrage. This is going to be a very important milestone in celebrating our very proud history in South Australia of giving women suffrage—the right to vote—and also allowing women the right to run for parliament. We are proud that we were the first place in the world that allowed women the right to run for parliament and, of course, the second place in the world, after New Zealand, to give women the right to vote.

Of course, South Australia was a leader in a number of ways, particularly back in those times, in terms of democratic institutions and making improvements to our system of democracy that were then followed around the world. This is one of them and a very significant one. Like other members, I take many school groups in to visit parliament and it is always important to point out, particularly in this room, the tapestries that we have that I believe were put here during the 100^th celebration of women's suffrage.

I ask the kids, 'Did you know that it was only 120-odd years ago that women did not have the right to vote and did not have the right to run for parliament?' Luckily, all the kids think that that is incredibly unfair and that it is completely impossible to think of a time when it would be appropriate for women not to have the right to vote. I think it is important that we continue to remind people of the great history that we have in advancement here in South Australia, and that is why I think that a number of the recommendations are very important, in terms of the work the JPSC and the government do, in marking this celebration.

In particular, I also think the recommendation of practical measures that we can take to improve things to make parliament more family friendly and a place where we can encourage more women to run and stand and enter parliament is absolutely important. We should not just be marking this 125^th anniversary with notes, events and displays of our remembrance of the history. We should be marking it with real actions that demonstrate our continued commitment to progressing the rights of women.

That is why I think recommendation 6 is so important in the report that we have received—that there should be an audit of the ways in which parliament can become more family friendly for visitors, staff and members and that the Standing Orders Committee, in collaboration with the Clerks, undertakes and reports to the houses a review of the standing orders for gender neutrality and to ensure that the orders do not impede women entering political life.

We have seen advances down this path in recent years. The former member for Hartley, Grace Portolesi, led a committee that looked at the balance of work and family life. Around that time, as I recollect, there were changes made to the standing and sessional orders to enable a more family-friendly approach to the sitting times, where business did not start at 2 o'clock in the afternoon and go until the wee hours of the morning but started at an appropriate time of 10.30 or 11am.

In terms of our standing orders, there is more that we can do to make things more appropriate. It is difficult for people with families to have a place in this parliament without significant support from other people in terms of child care and other arrangements, particularly when we get here on the day and do not know exactly when we will be finishing. That is very difficult, and I hope that this is where we can make advances in terms of changes not only to the standing orders but to the facilities and design of this building.

There are clear limitations in the facilities this building provides for women, or men for that matter, who have children and who need to bring children into this house, in terms of child care, day care, nursery, breastfeeding, etc. There is a lot of work we could do to improve that, and I hope that the JPSC, the Clerks and the government pay close attention because taking some practical measures to improve that would be a fitting way to mark this 125^th anniversary.

Sadly, we do not have equality in terms of the number of men and women in this house, and that is an area we need to significantly improve. If we look at the comparisons between us and other states, we are behind. I will not jump into the political reasoning behind that, but say only that we need to examine every reason why that is the case. Clearly, there is an element of political culture that leads to a number of women saying, 'Well, this is not necessarily something that I want to get involved in.' In terms of our political culture, that is a barrier we need to look at.

As to the elements that have been outlined in this recommendation around the facilities in this building being appropriate for women with kids and that the sitting hours and other standing orders be appropriate, I hope that they are taken seriously by you, sir, as Speaker, by the JPSC and by the government. I hope that we see some strong action taken on those measures as a way of not just remembering what happened 125 years ago but of collectively saying that we have more to do and that we will do more.

Ms LUETHEN (King) (11:47): I rise to speak on the report from the Joint Committee on the 125^th Anniversary of Women's Suffrage. What a privilege to be part of this committee to discuss frankly with my parliamentary colleagues across the parties and houses how we can work together to recognise this important celebration. It has been valuable to hear from the Office for Women, the Department for Education, past parliamentarians and other people and organisations their views and experiences and to hear from those who were involved in the 100-year celebrations.

Today, one goal in delivering this update is to ask for my colleagues' help to highlight information about the events occurring next year and also, importantly, to remind parliament that we have an obligation to ensure that women do not face impediments to participating in political life and to continually review process and the physical space of parliament to ensure that it remains a family-friendly environment.

To be frank, since being elected to this place for the first time in March 2018, I have said to many of my friends that, as a mum of two children, the only friendly aspect I have found of this parliament is the children's menu in our dining room. Saying this, I am still new to this place and I hope to discover further ways that we can support parents to become community representatives in this place. I am personally very fortunate to have a husband who is a true partner in raising our family. Only last week he finished up work in his full-time role to enable him to pick up and drop off my son, to enable him to take my son to the doctor today when he is sick so that I can serve the community of King.

Having conducted many school tours now for the schools in King and having observed quite a few Youth Parliament sessions, I am delighted and encouraged by the role that our schools are playing in educating students in government and democracy in a realistic and practical way. Certainly, while these tours are happening, I talk about the balance of gender in this place.

This committee has found that the quasquicentenary anniversary of South Australian women's suffrage is a significant event and has recommended that all members should actively engage with the celebrations. The committee also noted that parliament has a role in promoting the many events and that some funding should be made available to assist organisations in planning and celebrating this significant anniversary.

This anniversary provides an opportunity for parliament to organise events that open up opportunities for the broader community, particularly for women and girls, to become involved in the celebrations of next year. There are a number of events occurring in 2019 to celebrate this anniversary that are being held by government, NGOs and community organisations. We all agree that this committee found that the parliament has an obligation to ensure that women do not face impediments to participating in political life.

I believe education is the key to this last point on encouraging women and men to explore how we can encourage more women to be successful in representing their community in parliament. I have been particularly pleased while on the committee to hear how our educators and the Department for Education are also working to promote this anniversary amongst young South Australians.

Understanding the history of women's role in politics since being granted suffrage enables us to reflect on the lack of progress South Australia and Australia in general have made in realising equal representation. It enables us to have important discussions about women's and men's roles in gender equality. I stand firmly in saying it is important that governments accurately represent the population they serve. I believe for a democratic government to be truly efficient and effective it must represent women fairly and equally.

According to UN Women, the current discrepancy between the number of men versus the number of women who hold influential decision-making positions in parliament and local government is a direct infringement on the political rights of women (UN Women, 2018). To promote gender equality, the UN believes that parliaments must accurately reflect the proportion of males and females in any given population. The Australian Human Rights Commission also shares this concern, stressing the importance of equal representation.

However, statistics clearly show that the parliament in South Australia still does not accurately reflect or represent the percentage of women in the population. It is important to identify the barriers that women face when pursuing a career in politics to give insight into the issue of under-representation in the South Australian parliament. To learn from the past and consider the opportunities of the future, 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 in Parliament House. The final roll measures 122 metres. This bill gave women rights previously only granted to men. It was felt that in 1894 it was ridiculous that in our 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 1895, all adult women in South Australia, including Aboriginal women, won the right to vote and sit in parliament. South Australian women were the second to gain the vote after New Zealand women 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 proposals of the Women's Suffrage League. This history is important because I know that I stand here today on the shoulders of the courageous women who came before me. I can only imagine how hard it would have been for men and women to speak up 125 years ago and state a 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. They were called poor wretched creatures and accused of being illogical and absurd. I have read that this was an era, after all, when it was still lawful for a man to beat his wife 'so long as he does not use a stick thicker than his thumb'. But these women were not to be stopped.

Although it is no longer lawful for a man to beat his wife 124 years later, one in four children is growing up watching and listening and being subjected to violence in our South Australian homes. It is estimated one in four women in Australia is living in violence. Again, we have to ask where the problem starts. As we have heard from advocates for eliminating violence against women, we have to stop violence and disrespect right at the start. I believe that violence is a significant impediment, robbing too many people, particularly women, of the chance to achieve their full potential. It is my personal belief that we need more women here in parliament to better advance these issues and agree on and deliver positive change.

This celebration provides opportunity to review, question, highlight and provide education on the current level of female representation in local, state and federal government today and to explore 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 stand for parliament. I highlight that the campaign to gain public support for women's suffrage was a collective effort by men and women. I am proud to share that I certainly have had strong support from men and women in the Liberal Party to help me believe in myself and to campaign to earn the trust of my electorate.

Men and women both have a depth of life experience to offer and unique perspectives. This is valuable to decision-making and serving the community. I thank the members of the 125^th anniversary committee: the Chair, the Minister for Human Services; the member for Florey; the member for Elder; the member for Reynell; the Hon. Tammy Franks; and the staff supporting the committee. I encourage everyone to be actively involved in the 125^th anniversary celebrations.

Mr DULUK (Waite) (11:58): I just want to make a brief contribution to the noting of the report of the Joint Committee on the 125^th Anniversary of Women's Suffrage, entitled Interim Report, and perhaps pick up where the member for King finished off with thanking the committee Chair, the Hon. Michelle Lensink, from the other place.

In the time I have left to me, which is only a minute or two, I would like to pay tribute to two very important women in the history of our parliament here in South Australia, one of whom is of course Joyce Steele, whose portrait is behind me. Joyce was the very first member for Davenport. Of course, I was once the member for Davenport in a previous parliament, so there is a bit of an association there.

Joyce was quite an incredible woman and a bit of an accidental politician as well. It is not something she necessarily sought, but she was elected in 1958 and became the first woman elected to this parliament. In that election, the other house also elected its first-ever female representative, and that was, of course, Jessie Cooper. Both Joyce and Jessie were Liberal and Country League members. I think that is something that the LCL can be incredibly proud of: the first women elected into this house were LCL members.

Joyce Steele served as education minister in Steele Hall's 1968 government, which of course celebrates its 50-year anniversary this year. I will also take a moment to wish the Hon. Steele Hall a happy birthday, as he will be turning 90 tomorrow. Steele Hall made a huge contribution to the South Australian parliament and to the lives of South Australians—a man who was very supportive to females in public life as well, which was so important.

Joyce Steele was education minister in Steele Hall's government and did this under trying family circumstances. She had a child who was very unwell and had a severe disability, and Joyce acted as their full-time carer whilst also being a member of cabinet. I think, for the 1960s, that was quite incredible. I just want to congratulate the parliament and the committee on this interim report, and pay tribute to two wonderful Liberal women.

Motion carried.