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Legislative Council - Fifty-Second Parliament, First Session (52-1)
2011-06-07 Daily Xml
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ANNA STEWART MEMORIAL PROJECT

The Hon. I.K. HUNTER (15:24): I seek leave to make a brief explanation before asking the Minister for the Status of Women a question about the Anna Stewart Memorial Project.

Leave granted.

The Hon. I.K. HUNTER: The Anna Stewart Memorial Project, which commenced in Victoria in 1984, is held annually to commemorate the achievements of Anna Stewart. In this state, SA Unions continues to run the wonderful Anna Stewart Memorial Project. Will the minister tell the chamber about this year's Anna Stewart Memorial Project?

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, Minister for Gambling) (15:24): I thank the honourable member for his most important question. As he noted, the Anna Stewart Memorial Project is held annually. The program works to encourage women's active involvement in the union movement, and it gives women an insight into how unions operate and how women can be more active in their unions.

As members may recall, the Anna Stewart Memorial Program involves taking a group of women union members and placing them in different unions or even their own union—they can choose to be allocated to their own union or a different union—for a two-week period. During this time participants see how the union is organised and its relationship to other unions. Participants can become involved in the issues which are important to members in union offices and meetings with members, officials and also other unions and, of course, SA Unions.

Members would know my own history with the union movement. I am a very proud member of the Australian Nursing Federation, and I was secretary of that union for a number of years. I worked in that union initially as an organiser and then went on to become assistant secretary and then secretary. They were wonderful years and very formative years in terms of my training and preparation for politics. In fact, it whetted my appetite considerably for politics.

Honourable members would also be aware that I am also a former Anna Stewart participant. In fact, I believe it was the second group to go through this particular training course, and I was very privileged to be a member at that time. I still recall only too well what a valuable experience that was for me personally in terms of gaining a much better and deeper understanding of the union movement, how it operated, how it was organised and what its relationship was to other unions.

So, in my view women are essential to the union movement, not least because they are aware of the issues that really impact on women workers. That is why I am always so pleased to support the Anna Stewart Memorial Program. I would like to place on the record here my thanks to my colleague the Hon. Frances Bedford, member for Florey, who hosted this year's Anna Stewart Memorial Program lunch. The Anna Stewart participants celebrate the end of the program with an event here at Parliament House and this year's program ran from 23 May to 3 June.

I understand the program participants enjoyed not only lunch but also a tour of this place and that they also had a session on Muriel Matters with Frances Bedford. I am sure members in this place will be aware of the member for Florey's unending enthusiasm and passion for Muriel Matters. Indeed, it is thanks to her commitment and dedication that this place has been honoured and allowed to house for a short period of time some very important historical artefacts. I am sure members will have seen the three historical items from the women's suffrage struggle that I am referring to.

As you know, Muriel Matters was born in South Australia and chained herself to the grille of the Ladies' Gallery in the British House of Commons in October 1908. The grille was a piece of ironwork placed to obscure the women's view of the parliamentary debates. The grille became a symbol of oppression of women and their exclusion, and it was Muriel's firm conviction that the grille should be removed. We are honoured to have a piece of the grille here and, in addition, South Australia can boast that we have for a time the chains that Muriel used on the grille as well as the medal that she was awarded for spending time in Holloway prison after her conviction.

These three historic items are together again after more than 100 years, and I would like to commend the Muriel Matters Society for their hard work in making the important exhibit possible. I am told the Anna Stewart Memorial participants were delighted to hear about Muriel's life and that Frances' presentation was a fitting end to another year's very successful program.

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