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House of Assembly - Fifty-Second Parliament, Second Session (52-2)
2012-04-03 Daily Xml
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INTERNATIONAL WOMEN'S DAY

Mr PICCOLO (Light) (15:34): As members here would know, we have recently celebrated International Women's Day. The theme of this year's event was 'Connecting girls, inspiring futures'. In response to that theme, I wrote an open letter to my electors through the letters to the editor section of the local newspapers asking people to nominate women in the community whom they believe most summed up the 'Connecting girls, inspiring futures' theme.

I particularly wanted to hear some stories about young women who had achieved despite the odds. The responses I received were quite incredible. I thought I would share with you just a few of the women's stories—about their lives and their accomplishments.

The first one I would like to talk about is Rachel Ashley who was born in 1976 and attended Mallala and Evanston Primary Schools before graduating to Gawler High School. Shortly after commencing her secondary schooling, Dr Ashley was diagnosed with scoliosis, a deformity of the spinal cord. As a consequence of the diagnosis, Dr Ashley was forced to wear a full body cast above her waist for three years.

Bear in mind that this all happened while in her formative years at high school, when being different is dangerous and everybody seeks to fit in. Despite this, Dr Ashley soldiered on through high school. She was admitted to the University of Adelaide and received a Bachelor of Science with honours in 1999. But Dr Ashley was not yet finished and in 2004 the University of Adelaide granted her a PhD for research conducted in wine grape irrigation and production at the CSIRO, Merbein.

Dr Ashley has since worked as a district viticulturist in western Victoria from 2004 to 2008 when she transferred to California's world-famous Napa Valley wine region to take a position as an executive viticulturist with Treasury Wines. Throughout the entirety of her education, Dr Ashley was self-funded. She worked (as many of us have worked) in supermarkets and never once asked for financial help from her parents, who, I hasten to add, are very proud of her achievements.

The second young woman I wish to bring to the attention of the house is also a PhD recipient—Dr Katherine Linsell. Despite being only 27, Dr Linsell is already an eminently regarded expert in her field, infestations in grains—which might be of interest to some members who represent our rural electorates. When talking about someone's personal merit it is not often helpful to speak in purely financial terms but here is a fantastic indicator of how talented Dr Linsell is: in just four years leading up to 2012, Dr Linsell obtained almost $120,000 in grants and scholarships to finish her research work. She has received numerous awards and commendations from the university and has produced a number of papers on which she is almost invariably the lead researcher.

The third story I would like to share is that of Sarah Mitchell. Sarah grew up in Freeling and attended high school in Kapunda. A talented spokesperson, she represented Kapunda High School in swimming, athletics and netball, becoming house captain in 2005. Showing a particular aptitude for netball, Sarah represented both her home town of Freeling and her district (Barossa and Light) at the country championships.

As is common with many teenagers, Sarah was struck down with glandular fever in year 11. As was to be expected, she quickly recovered and got on with things. However, a year later she once again contracted glandular fever, this time not recovering from the symptoms. After two years spent seeing various medical specialists she was diagnosed with fibromyalgia syndrome and chronic fatigue. Sarah describes FMS as like having a bad flu 24/7.

Given the nature of the illness Sarah has been unable to work and, more painfully, unable to participate in the sports she once excelled at. In 2009 Sarah's father, concerned at the impact the illness was having on her, urged her to take up motor sport. Sarah joined the Sporting Car Club of South Australia, gained her CAMS licence and purchased a 1972 HQ Holden. This proved to be the perfect outlet for Sarah's competitive nature.

Despite her illness and the fact that motor sport is a very male-dominated pursuit, Sarah has enjoyed great success, finishing near the top 10 every year she has competed. She also completed the 2011 HQ Enduro, an achievement made more impressive when one considers that almost half of all the starting cars do not make it to the finish line. Not content with her personal glories on the racetrack, Sarah has also used her skills to raise funds for charity. In her short career she has raised thousands of dollars for the Phoenix Society, Arthritis SA and other charities.

These three women are but a tiny sample of the many young women, not only in my electorate but across the state of South Australia, who are doing fantastic things for the state and its reputation. They are living role models for all of us to take after. Each of them has overcome obstacles and strived for personal success and satisfaction; strived to better themselves, their families and their communities in some way.

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