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Legislative Council - Fifty-Second Parliament, First Session (52-1)
2011-02-09 Daily Xml
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LEVY, HON. J.A.W.

The Hon. P. HOLLOWAY (15:19): I seek leave to make a brief explanation before asking the Minister for the Status of Women a question about the Hon. Anne Levy and her recent Australia Day award.

Leave granted..

The Hon. P. HOLLOWAY: The Hon. Anne Levy, former president of the Legislative Council—the first woman, I believe, to hold that office—and also minister for local government and a colleague of mine, received an Officer of the Order of Australia award in the recent Australia Day honours. Will the Minister for the Status of Women inform the house about the recent Australia Day honours conferred on the Hon. Anne Levy, the former president of the Legislative Council?

The Hon. G.E. GAGO (Minister for Regional Development, Minister for Public Sector Management, Minister for the Status of Women, Minister for Consumer Affairs, Minister for Government Enterprises) (15:20): I thank the honourable member for his most important question. Indeed, on Australia Day this year, Anne Levy, a woman who has made an enormous contribution to South Australia in many areas, but particularly in the area of women, was appointed an Officer of the Order of Australia.

This recognition is a fitting honour for a woman who has been a passionate pioneer of social reform in this state, and it is a considerable privilege for me, as ministerial successor to Anne's very impressive legacy, to be able to speak today of her accomplishments. She is also a very good colleague of mine.

As a young woman, Anne had a very promising science career in the field of genetics at the University of Adelaide, in what was—and still is for that matter—a very male-dominated academic world in the 1960s and 1970s. She made a name for herself as a very bright and spirited scientist, and this groundbreaking spirit was obviously a precursor of things to come in her parliamentary career. Her election to the Legislative Council in 1975 was the start of a parliamentary career that saw so many firsts, particularly for women—and I mentioned one of them yesterday in one of my answers to questions about how well the Labor government is doing in its representation of women.

In 1986, she became the president of the Legislative Council, the first woman to be a presiding officer—

Members interjecting:

The Hon. G.E. GAGO: I will repeat that: the first woman to become a presiding officer of a house of parliament in Australia. She was a very good president, too, I understand. Obviously I was not a member of the house at that time, but all my colleagues who were members at that time, from all sides of the fence, have remarked on what a very impressive presiding member she was and how well she administered her responsibilities.

She also played a key role in the implementation of the Equal Opportunity Act in 1983 and in the early 1990s was Australia's first ever minister for the status of women. There was certainly nothing one-dimensional about Anne's stellar parliamentary career. She also oversaw the portfolio of the arts, which was a particular passion of hers and, I have to say, still is. You can still find Anne at many arts events. She is a very keen patron of the arts and is very supportive, particularly of new and emerging artists. She also oversaw the portfolios of consumer affairs—again a legacy that I have been able to enjoy and still enjoy—local government and state supply in the Bannon and Arnold governments.

By the time Anne retired in 1997, she had amassed an inspiring record as someone willing to tackle the hard issues. She was never afraid to take on the hard issues. She worked in the fields of decriminalisation of prostitution, voluntary euthanasia, family planning and abortion law reform, to mention some of the really hard policy areas that she was prepared to take on.

Outside of parliament, Anne has been an energetic and articulate participant in a vast range of organisations, many of which share her ideals. She has been a founding member of the Family Planning Association, patron of the Supporting Mothers Association SA, founding life member of the National Foundation of Australian Women, an honorary life member of the Women's Electoral Lobby and founding member of Emily's List Australia. Ann Levy was also a member of the Council of the University of Adelaide 1975-76 and a patron of the Humanist Society and was 1986 Australian Humanist of the Year.

I have spoken of her long list of achievements in public life, which is, obviously, a very impressive record. A great honour has been bestowed on Anne, and she is a very worthy and deserving recipient of that award.

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