Period Poverty

The Hon. C. BONAROS (16:33): I move:

That this council—

1. Congratulates Isobel Marshall, co-founder of social enterprise TABOO, on her 2021 SA Young Australian of the Year award;

2. Highlights TABOO's exceptional commitment to ending the stigma surrounding menstruation in South Australia, Uganda and Sierra Leone;

3. Acknowledges the valuable work of TABOO in providing free access to menstrual hygiene products to many women and girls in need in South Australia, Uganda and Sierra Leone;

4. Recognises the significant impact period poverty has on the heath and education of women and girls;

5. Encourages all members of parliament to work towards eliminating period poverty in South Australia;

6. Notes the Commissioner for Children and Young People report and recommendations into period poverty 'Leave No One Behind'; and

7. Calls upon the state government to provide a free and unrestricted access program to menstrual hygiene products in all South Australian schools, as is occurring in other countries and Australian states.

I rise today to congratulate Isobel Marshall, co-founder of social enterprise TABOO, on her recent 2020-21 Young South Australian and Young Australian of the Year awards. Isobel is indeed a most deserving winner of those awards. She is now a full-time student at the University of Adelaide, where she is studying a Bachelor of Medicine and a Bachelor of Surgery. As a freshly graduated year 12 student, along with co-founder Eloise Hall, she established a social enterprise business, TABOO, to ensure that women all over the globe have access to safe and affordable menstrual hygiene products and appropriate education to deal with their menstrual health.

Isobel has tirelessly pursued TABOO's mission to help break cultural and social taboos surrounding menstruation in Australia and overseas. TABOO does this through selling their own brand of organic cotton pads and tampons, with all profits dedicated to sanitary health projects in developing countries as well as in Australia. They offer a top-quality brand of menstrual hygiene products that enable customers to practically combat period poverty by subscribing to support the provision of those products to disadvantaged women and girls in Uganda and Sierra Leone.

TABOO also facilitates the donation of pads and tampons to disadvantaged women requiring emergency care in South Australia. They have partnered with St Vincent's Women's Crisis Centre to offer TABOO customers the option to subscribe to TABOO's pads and tampons on behalf of a woman who is requiring emergency accommodation in SA. Free access to pads and tampons provides vital and practical support for these women, as financial pressures and dangers of leaving the centre can come with significant stress and burdens. This is an issue that I have spoken about at length in this place. TABOO also supports the Ngaanyatjarra Pitjantjatjara Yankunytjatjara Women's Council.

What a joy and delight it was to see Isabel share the podium for the Australian awards with such an impressive group of women. Women like Australian of the Year, Grace Tame, an outstanding advocate for survivors of sexual assault; Senior Australian of the Year, Dr Miriam-Rose Ungunmerr Baumann AM, Aboriginal activist, educator and artist; and Local Hero of the Year, Rosemary Kariuki, advocate for migrant and refugee women—all amazing women doing absolutely amazing work to create a difference in our communities.

Isobel has been a visionary. She is an innovative and courageous young woman who has chosen to tackle head-on what could have easily been seen as an embarrassing or private issue beyond the influence of two young South Australian women. She is doing her bit to end period poverty.

As I have said in this place before, we all have a lot of work to do in this jurisdiction to tackle period poverty, especially in our schools. We have a lot of work to do to ensure that every young girl and woman alike is able to manage their menstruation hygienically and without stigma regardless of personal or financial circumstances. We have a lot of work to do to ensure that access to sanitary products is not a barrier to girls getting the most out of their education. We have a lot of work to do to ensure that in a society as rich as ours, period poverty is brought to an end and we leave no-one behind.

Isobel Marshall is doing her bit and we ought to be doing ours. She is a deserving recipient of Australia's recognition as Young Australian of the Year and I would like to take this opportunity to congratulate and applaud her and Eloise's achievements, and TABOO's achievements, and I look forward to hearing so much more about her future and the exciting and innovative projects that TABOO undertakes.

Debate adjourned on motion of Hon. I.K. Hunter.