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House of Assembly - Fifty-Second Parliament, Second Session (52-2)
2012-04-05 Daily Xml
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CHAMBER TAPESTRIES

The Hon. R.B. SUCH (Fisher) (11:37): I move:

That this house, with the support of the state government, commission tapestries depicting the various aspects of life in South Australia for display in the chamber.

Members are well aware, because they are in the chamber, of the two tapestries here that commemorate and celebrate women's suffrage. Over time some people have been a bit critical of them. I think that they are appropriate and I think they are fine. I think we should add to those by having similar-sized tapestries on the other wall panels depicting life in South Australia. Tapestries are not easy to do and they are not cheap, but, irrespective of their contribution, I do not think it is appropriate to have portraits of people hanging in the chamber—their portraits should be in hallways.

This chamber belongs to the people of South Australia. It does not belong to the Liberal Party, the Labor Party or any individual, and I do not think the portraits on the wall should remain here. I think they should be replaced with appropriate tapestries. I do not know of many parliaments where portraits of former leaders or others hang in the chamber, but that is not the main issue. The main issue is to see whether the government can come to the party, along with others, to provide some tapestries in here depicting, for example, working life, sporting life and agricultural activities.

Mr Pegler interjecting:

The Hon. R.B. SUCH: The member for Mount Gambier wants a special one that focuses on Mount Gambier! If you look around the world, a lot of the United States' legislatures feature tapestries, the Danish and Israeli parliaments feature them, the Scottish parliament is working on one, and there is one in Sweden and in Hawaii. The federal parliament has a huge tapestry in the Great Hall (not in the chamber) which is replica of the painting by Arthur Boyd called Shoalhaven Landscape, and Business SA has a magnificent tapestry.

Members are saying that this is a costly exercise; it need not be. What I have suggested by letter to you, Madam Speaker, is that the government, the Speaker, could ask some of the groups in South Australia—for example, SA Unions might want to sponsor a tapestry in relation to the contribution of workers and unions over time, and the Farmers Federation might like to sponsor one relating to agriculture. Likewise, you could keep going through the various groups in the community to depict sporting life and all the sorts of things that make up the fabric of our society. They do not have to be huge tapestries, but they could be the same size as the women's suffragette frame. I think the chamber would look magnificent if it depicted life in South Australia in tapestries.

The motion is self-explanatory. I think we have some excellent paintings in the parliament building, and some of them are quite valuable. I think it is important that the parliament not only reflects the scenes of South Australia but also acknowledges the tremendous skill that people have in relation to art and craft, and that includes tapestries. When I was minister we tried to move this issue along a bit with some of the people involved in the art and craft sector. The challenge now for the government and you, Madam Speaker, if you agree with this, is to try to move it along because I think it would make this chamber look even more impressive.

The carpet in here depicts some of the aspects of agricultural life in South Australia. The upper house has the South Australian floral emblem. I think the walls would look magnificent if we hung appropriate tapestries. There would be groups in South Australia, some of whom I have mentioned, and others who would be keen to sponsor a tapestry, so it need not cost the taxpayer anything at all. It need not cost the parliament anything at all to bring about not just colour in here but, more importantly, a recognition that this parliament belongs to everyone and that we represent all the various aspects of life in this great state. I commend this motion to the house and hope that members will see fit to support it.

Debate adjourned on motion of Mr Sibbons.

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