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House of Assembly - Fifty-Second Parliament, First Session (52-1)
2011-03-08 Daily Xml
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INTERNATIONAL WOMEN'S DAY

Mr PICCOLO (Light) (17:24): Today being the centenary of the first gathering to celebrate International Women's Day, I wish to talk about the women in my electorate and, in particular, two events organised by women in my town which highlight the contribution women are making to my community.

The first event I wish to discuss briefly is the International Women's Day event which was held on 27 February at the Gawler Racecourse, and which was organised by the local International Women's Day committee. Around 200 women, and a few men, like myself, attended the event, and I am proud to say that this event in Gawler celebrated its 10th anniversary, having been established by myself and the then deputy mayor Helena Dawkins some 10 years ago.

The event gives local women the opportunity to hear guest speakers and listen to debates regarding issues affecting the lives of women in the local community. The event is usually arranged around a guest speaker, and this year the guest speaker was Ms Sheree Sullivan. There were student debaters who spoke on a particular topic, and there were a number of singers, whom I will mention a bit later, who provided a great afternoon of storytelling, thought-provoking debates and entertainment.

Former Trinity student Ms Sheree Sullivan told the story about how she and her family became involved in 'Udder Delights', a very successful cheesemaking business in the Adelaide Hills. Sheree talked about her journey of how she, a trained jazz pianist, became a director in the family business that started as a hobby and now employs over 20 people in cheesemaking, retailing and tourism in the Adelaide Hills. Sheree's story was inspirational, and she is a wonderful role model for young women.

As I mentioned, the program also involved a debate with female students from the three local secondary schools, combining to debate the following question: that all future mayors of Gawler should be women. As you can imagine, I was appreciative that this discussion did not take place 10 years ago, as it could have been a bit embarrassing for me. The students did an outstanding job in debating the pros and cons of that argument, and I would like to put their names on record: from Trinity College, Melissa Schild and Famiko Baughan; from Gawler High School, Simone White and Kayla Gaskin; and from Xavier College, Maddy Staehr and Jordan Starick. The event was organised by local identity Judy Gillett-Ferguson.

The students provided some very well-researched arguments, and while the topic had a humorous side, both sides actually raised some very good views. The event was well-attended and I would just like to congratulate the committee who put the event together, and I would like to put their names on record. The International Women's Day committee of Gawler is chaired by Naomi Arnold-Reschke, who is the president of the Zonta Club of Gawler. The committee also consists of Maggie Gregory, also from the Zonta Club of Gawler, Linda Bertram and Joanne McClean from the Country Women's Association, and Win Nicolai and Sonia Cruickshank from the Gawler Girl Guides. Win prepared the afternoon tea for the event, which was well received, and the Girl Guides served the afternoon tea.

Other committee members include Jill Talbot from the Gawler Community House; Judy Gillett-Ferguson from the Gawler Community Gallery; Patricia Dent, a local businessperson; and Louise Drummond, another local businessperson. One of the highlights of the afternoon was the wonderful singing by the Sudanese Christian Fellowship Singers, and they sang both in their traditional language and English, and it was a great afternoon.

The other event I wish to mention is an art exhibition which was opened on Saturday. I was very proud to be asked to open this event, called 'The Connecting Weave, Thread and Culture Eco Art Exhibition', presented by the Ngarrindjeri Eco Art Cooperative. It is an exhibition which pays respects to both Ngarrindjeri culture and also the environment, and is held at the Gawler Community Gallery, Gawler Railway Station. The event was arranged by Jelina Haines, and I would like to congratulate Jelina, because not only is it an excellent exhibition but it also supports women and, in this case, women in art.

The mission of the Ngarrindjeri Eco Art Co-op, which is running the exhibition, is to provide opportunities and assistance to emerging Ngarrindjeri and non-indigenous artists living in the Coorong District and surrounding areas to fulfil their dreams and aspirations as artists. The Co-op achieves this by providing ongoing arts training, opportunities for self-employment, financial independence and clarity of purpose. By promoting financial autonomy, the co-op hopes to improve community health and wellbeing not only amongst women in the Coorong region but also in the Aboriginal community at large.

By using art as a catalyst, the co-op helps empower families and other members of the community who are in need, and ultimately promotes and supports Ngarrindjeri culture. Importantly, the art is not only a fusion of contemporary design and sustainable practices and materials but also the art speaks to us about the stories of Ngarrindjeri people. Storytelling is, unfortunately, a dying art in western culture, as we clamour for technology to find purpose and answers in our lives. The art works prepared by the women of the Ngarrindjeri people tell us about Ngarrindjeri culture, and these important stories need to be told and need to be heard.

Whether the stories are about traditional experience or the transition to contemporary society, as a community we have a lot to learn from this experience. I would like to congratulate these two women's groups for their great contribution to my community.

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