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House of Assembly - Fifty-Fourth Parliament, First Session (54-1)
2019-06-05 Daily Xml
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Question Time

Women's Suffrage Anniversary

Ms BEDFORD (Florey) (15:12): My question is to the Attorney-General. Can the Attorney inform the house about recent initiatives to promote the upcoming 125th anniversary of the granting of dual suffrage for women?

The Hon. V.A. CHAPMAN (Bragg—Deputy Premier, Attorney-General) (15:13): What an excellent question. I thank the honourable member for her question and her longstanding interest in matters relating to the history of women's suffrage. This year will celebrate the 125th anniversary of the granting of women's suffrage in South Australia. The Adult Suffrage Bill was passed on 18 December 1894, awarding South Australian women the right to vote in general elections and to stand for parliament—the first time anywhere in Australia.

We know our history well of Mrs Jessie Cooper being sworn into the Legislative Council in 1959 and, within the hour—

Ms Bedford interjecting:

The Hon. V.A. CHAPMAN: —in the lovely Versace blue, our very own Mrs Joyce Steele, the member for Burnside, who adorns our chamber, was sworn in.

The theme of this year's anniversary is 'Their triumph, our motivation'. It recognises how the extraordinary efforts of the suffragettes of the late 19th and early 20th centuries drive our continued efforts in working towards gender equality. I am very pleased to inform the house that, to commemorate this milestone, the Parliament Research Library has offered to scan and digitise the original hard copies of the various petitions submitted to state parliament, one of which is woven into the historical tapestry that adorns our chamber.

The scanned copies will be made available to both the library and the House of Assembly for separate storage and can be used for both non-profit and non-commercial purposes. The purpose of this is to promote public access to these historical documents, which have been instrumental in gaining the right to vote for the women of South Australia. It is just one way in which we honour the incredible achievement that followed years of campaigning and lobbying by men and women of South Australia.

This initiative will help commemorate their tireless campaign and pays homage to everyone who provided their signatures on these petitions for change. They put their passion into action, and we are indebted to them. I take this opportunity to express my appreciation to you, Mr Speaker—as our Speaker of the House of Assembly, your approval was required and given for actioning this publication protocol—and also to the staff of the parliamentary library, led by Dr John Weste, for implementing it.

Other initiatives that will take place later this year include a competition for schools and students, undertaken by the Department for Education, as well as a state dinner that is being organised by the Department of the Premier and Cabinet, with the support of the Office for Women. Lastly, I encourage all members to visit the website of the Office for Women to see what events are available in their electorates to commemorate this historic achievement. I thank again the member for Florey for her continued interest in this matter.

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