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House of Assembly - Fifty-Third Parliament, Second Session (53-2)
2017-11-14 Daily Xml
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Ramsay, Prof. E.

The Hon. S.W. KEY (Ashford) (15:50): It is my great honour to have been a friend of and fellow activist with the late Professor Eleanor Ramsay, honorary professor at the University of Tasmania, former pro vice chancellor of equity, adjunct professor in the Hawke Research Institute of the University of South Australia and co-founder, with her husband, Emeritus Professor Michael Rowan, of Education Ambassadors Tasmania.

Professor Ramsay was a lifelong activist on many fronts as a country teacher and a feminist activist in the teachers' union, and held senior public policy positions in the state education system in South Australia, Queensland and, more recently, Tasmania. Her work also had an international focus in more recent years in New Zealand, China, Austria and, in earlier times, the UK and Spain. That is to name just a few countries that I can think of. Her ongoing work meant that she was recognised with a Centenary Medal by the Australian government for ongoing and lifelong work in education and an honorary doctorate by the University of South Australia for her contribution to education equity on a state and national level.

On a more personal note, though, Eleanor was great fun. She was a party girl, certainly in days gone by—weren't we all party people—through wonderful dinner parties. I must say that I benefited from the many fundraisers that she organised for me as a member of parliament and as a candidate and also the events that she organised with regard to being a foundation member of EMILY's List.

She was a fantastic cook. I hate to be rude to anyone else, but she was probably the best cook I have ever known and, in more recent times, it was interesting to see that she had become a dedicated gardener. Eleanor and Michael were also very happy for the time they spent on their yacht, Matilda, on which they sailed to many places and managed, for at least a couple of years, to make their home.

Later on, of course, as probably the most beautiful builder's labourer who has ever drawn breath, Eleanor worked with Michael and tradespeople on their forest house at Kettering. Deputy Speaker, you will remember our special visit to this house just after the house was built. There was an absolutely beautiful design and feeling to the house. Of course, both Eleanor and Michael were big supporters of the Muriel Matters Society. One of the reasons why we got to see the house was the support that we had from Eleanor and Michael with regard to talking about Muriel Matters in Tasmania and the research that we did there.

Eleanor was naturally very glamourous and kept very fit by exercising and jogging on a daily basis, so we were understandably shocked when she died all of a sudden on 9 October. I think about all the times that I have had with her. I remember some of the early campaigns.

One of the reasons why sexual harassment is seen as an issue and was incorporated in the Equal Opportunity Act in South Australia was the work that Eleanor and a few of us did on the South Australian Coalition Against Sexual Harassment. The downside of that activity was that you got to speak everywhere on the issue of sexual harassment, but I am very pleased that Eleanor was able to be one of the initiators of that change.

I would like to finish by saying one of Eleanor's quotes, and there are many:

Education simply transforms lives. There is no other more powerful tool to disrupt intergenerational poverty and disadvantage; there is no other more powerful tool to unlock the potential for a successful, happy, worthwhile life than education.

Vale, Eleanor Mary Ramsay.

The DEPUTY SPEAKER: I probably should not, but I want to put on record one of Eleanor's famous quotes, too. She was being given a very hard time by a gentleman harassing her. He said to her, 'What is the difference between gender and sex?' She halted for a moment, according to Michael, and said, 'One is a lot more fun.'

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