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Legislative Council - Fifty-Second Parliament, First Session (52-1)
2011-06-08 Daily Xml
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FEMALE LEGAL PRACTITIONERS

Adjourned debate on motion of Hon S.G. Wade:

That this council notes the centenary of the passage of the Female Practitioners Act 1911, the contribution of female practitioners in the 100 years since and the ongoing contribution of women to the state through the legal profession.

which the Hon. C. Zollo has moved to amend by leaving out all words after 'centenary' and inserting the following:

of International Women's Day and the passage of the Female Practitioners Act 1911. This council also notes the contribution of female practitioners in the 100 years since and the ongoing contribution of women to the state through the legal profession.

(Continued from 18 May 2011.)

The Hon. K.L. VINCENT (17:15): I would like to briefly place on the record my support for the Hon. Mr Wade's motion. In fact, I would be very surprised if anyone in this place did not indicate their support of this motion which obviously notes the centenary of the passage of the Female Practitioners Act and the contribution that female practitioners have made to South Australia. It is difficult for me to comprehend a time when women were excluded from the legal profession and from professional life in general, as I am lucky to have lived in times where such discrimination would be illegal—if you can call it lucky.

Imagine what South Australia would have missed out on if women were not allowed to practise law. The Hon. Mr Wade has already spoken about trailblazers such as Mary Kitson, Claire Harris and Roma Mitchell who set very high standards for those who followed in their footsteps, and made a positive contribution to this state. The Hon. Mr Wade has also made mention of the honourable Leader of the Opposition here in SA and our Prime Minister who was schooled here in South Australia but practised in Victoria; both are extremely successful women from both sides of politics.

Of course, our soon-to-be newest Green senator, the Hon. Penny Wright, is another impressive South Australian legal practitioner who worked for many years with vulnerable and disadvantaged people and has contributed much to this state. I would also like to draw attention to the somewhat quiet achievers like Aleecia Murray, Kaz Eaton and Abby Hamdan, who are among the founding board members of the Refugee Advocacy Service of South Australia; and Deslie Billich, who has worked tirelessly for this organisation representing countless numbers of asylum seekers in this state over a number of years.

Then there is Claire O'Connor, who has a long history of advocating for human rights in this state and represented the first member of the Stolen Generation to successfully sue the state for damages. Justice Robyn Layton QC is another great South Australian legal practitioner who happens to be a woman and who has made us very proud. In fact, I could probably speak all day about the wonderful array of female legal practitioners that we have here in South Australia, but I think I have said enough in that regard. Of course, I will also be supporting the Hon. Ms Zollo's amendment. It goes without saying that we should also be noting and, indeed, celebrating the centenary of International Women's Day.

The Hon. T.A. FRANKS (17:17): I rise to support the motion moved by the Hon. Stephen Wade regarding the centenary of the passage of the Female Practitioners Act and also the amendment to acknowledge that we have seen 100 years of International Women's Day. I rise as a feminist and as somebody who, over 100 years ago, would not necessarily have been able to partake equally in our society. I am pleased to say that we are making steps towards equality but, as a report under Senator Rosemary Crowley noted, when she was Minister for the Status of Women federally, we are halfway to equal as we stand while women are still not paid at an equal rate.

I commend the government and congratulate it on its announcements today on the steps of Parliament House that it will, in fact, fund the pay equity case that is being run by the ASU for our community sector workers. That is a wonderful announcement and I am very pleased to congratulate the new Treasurer for taking that initiative to ensure that this state government steps up to the plate in terms of equal pay for women in that very feminised sector. I congratulate them for their work there.

However, as we know, women still are not necessarily paid at the same level as men in terms of feminised industries and, in some cases, even when they are in the same job. We know that graduate first-year lawyers, if they are female, will be offered a lesser starting salary than a male as a typical cultural practice within some particular firms. However, I am very pleased that we are making those steps towards equality. They have been some long time in coming; although in South Australia, of course, we have a proud history of working to women's equality and of women taking the lead. As we know, women such as Catherine Helen Spence and organisations such as the YWCA, which I am pleased to say I have worked with the past, have been an integral part of these moves forward.

With the union movement and the involvement of what you would term the 'broad left', we have seen events such as International Women's Day take off around the world and fight for a range of different areas of quality. I have touched on equal pay and the right to hold particular professions, such as the legal profession, and the right as a teacher not to have to resign from your job if you got married. These are things that we take for granted to this day.

What I would also like to talk about is the new wave of rights that young women today are fighting for. Young women today are facing a world where they are told that they have equality, that it has been fought and won, and that they have inherited a planet where they have every chance of succeeding or failing, as their brothers—their male peers—do. Yet, they come out into a world where greater expectations are placed upon them to look a certain way and to behave in a certain way.

There are two areas in particular that I would like to point to; one is body image and self-esteem, which, of course, we know affect young women and girls in terms of a tendency to disordered eating on the anorexia or bulimia scale of things at a greater level than their male peers, whereas males, if they do suffer from disordered eating, are often likely to be bulking up than slimming down.

That is a scourge that I think we have to realise is part of the next battle to be fought and won by the women's movement. I find it interesting that people do not necessarily see body image and self-esteem as feminist issues; I certainly think they are. I certainly think they are the next steps towards equality. In the words of Gloria Steinem, 'Self-esteem isn't everything, but without it we have nothing.'

The final area I would like to touch on just briefly today is that of women's sexuality. We have seen around the world the International Women's Day movement take the form of marches on the street. Certainly, in the 1970s and 1980s we saw the Reclaim the Night marches take on some of the mantle that International Women's Day had started. They were marches for women's safety, the right—wherever I go, whatever I wear—to be safe on the street and free of physical abuse and also rape and violence against women.

I have certainly been on a few of those Reclaim the Night marches; I have certainly organised a few in my time. They were part of a time and place that I think the SlutWalk movement has now taken on. Before anybody thinks that that term is unparliamentary, I think there could be no finer organisation (for want of a better word in terms of organisation) than the SlutWalk movement. It started most recently because in Canada a police officer advised young women that if they did not want to be raped they should avoid 'dressing like sluts' in order not to be victimised.

The SlutWalk movement has taken off online and across the world. It is a women's movement, particularly a young women's movement, and it is inclusive of all ages and all genders. It condemns victim blaming, slut shaming and judgements that are based purely on attire. The event preaches respect for sexuality and safety for women everywhere, regardless of how they choose to dress. It also calls for understanding for victims of sexual abuse.

I would like to commend the local Adelaide chapter of the SlutWalk movement, who has a march to Parliament House this weekend. While there are many organisers, two particularly who have put their name to this are Kirsty Hughes and Mandy Threlfo. They have worked to rally a new wave of feminists to take on a new part of the battle for equality. They are making a unified statement about sexual assaults and victims' rights and the right to respect for all.

As I said, we have come a long way with the ability of women to take on particular professions. The ability of women to have equal pay draws ever closer, and the ability for women to take on roles, whether that is to stay home and care for their children or for their family, or whether it is to participate in the workforce at a part-time or a full-time level. It is all about choice, and those choices do, in fact, extend to the way in which a girl or a women looks. So, I commend the recognition of the history of the women's movement presented by this motion, but I also celebrate the future of the women's movement and wish those walking on the SlutWalk this weekend all the best.

The Hon. S.G. WADE (17:26): I would like to thank all members who contributed to this debate, particularly the comments of the Hon. Carmel Zollo in relation to the value of celebrating recorded history. I think too often we fail to thrive moving forward because we fail to reflect on what lies behind. In that respect, I also acknowledge the contribution of one of the younger members of the chamber, the Hon. Kelly Vincent, who reflected on how strange it might seem for people such as herself that these struggles have been made.

In that respect, the comments of the Hon. Tammy Franks reminded me of the comments of my own wife. My wife has an illustrious career in academia, but she often expresses amazement at the perception of women today, particularly her students, that the struggle is over. She certainly perceives that there are challenges facing professional women and the need to continue to deal with those issues.

In summing up very briefly, I would also like to flesh out my contribution earlier by recognising yet more women. I acknowledge that a number of other honourable members took the opportunity to acknowledge the vast array of female practitioners who have contributed and are contributing to South Australian society.

In my first contribution I acknowledged the contribution of judicial officers who are women and, in that context, I think it would be appropriate for me to particularly acknowledge two women who either are or recently were the head of jurisdictions within our courts. The Chief Magistrate, of course, is Elizabeth Bolton, and only recently did Christine Trenorden retire as the senior judge of the Environment Resources Development Court, after seven years of illustrious service to this state.

In briefly thanking all honourable members for their contribution and for the various commitments of support for this motion, I indicate that I will be supporting the Hon. Carmel Zollo's motion in the spirit of recognising not only the contribution of women in the legal profession but also the contribution of women across the spectrum of society, as celebrated through International Women's Day.

Amendment carried; motion as amended carried.

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