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Legislative Council - Fifty-Second Parliament, First Session (52-1)
2011-11-23 Daily Xml
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WOMEN'S HONOUR ROLL

The Hon. CARMEL ZOLLO (14:44): I seek leave to make a brief explanation before asking the Minister for the Status of Women a question about the 2011 Women's Honour Roll.

Leave granted.

The Hon. CARMEL ZOLLO: Initiated in 2008, the South Australian Women's Honour Roll is an important part of an ongoing strategy to increase the formal recognition of women for their contribution to the South Australian community. I ask the Minister for the Status of Women to please provide an update on the 2011 honour roll.

The Hon. G.E. GAGO (Minister for Agriculture, Food and Fisheries, Minister for Forests, Minister for Regional Development, Minister for Tourism, Minister for the Status of Women) (14:45): I thank the honourable member for her most important question and her ongoing interest in those issues pertaining to women. She has always been very supportive of initiatives to advance and enhance the role and status of women.

I had the pleasure of launching the 2011 Women's Honour Roll at a reception hosted by the Governor at Government House on 14 November. It was very generous of the Governor and his wife to host that event. This is the second occasion that they have done that. They have opened their home to us; they have made us feel very welcome, and their hospitality has been very generous and very warm. As I said, I acknowledge and am grateful for their personal commitment.

This year's event honoured the contribution of 20 outstanding women who have had a very positive impact on the South Australian community. The women represent a number of industries and communities, such as homelessness, health, emergency services, criminal justice and defence, and it is also significant that nearly half of the outstanding nominees this year are Aboriginal women.

This year's inductees included Margie Charlesworth, an inaugural convener of Women with Disabilities South Australia, an advocate for women with disability—a wonderful advocate and a tremendous woman; Gala Mustafa, an advocate for interfaith community dialogue and the first Muslim woman on the South Australian Multicultural Ethnic Affairs Commission; Terri Mitchell-Smith, activist for the rights of same-sex couples and leader in the Let's Get Equal campaign for over 10 years; and Shirley Peisley, who has been an advocate for Aboriginal people since the 1960s when she was involved in the Vote 'YES' for Aborigines campaign supporting the 1967 referendum—a longstanding activist.

It was also wonderful to see Rebecca Richards, Australia's first Indigenous Rhodes Scholar, being inducted into the honour roll and then to find out the very next evening that she was voted Young Australian of the Year in the South Australian section of the 2012 Australian of the Year awards—a very impressive woman. The achievements of these 20 remarkable women are far too numerous to recount here today. Suffice to say that their contributions have helped to make our community a very fair and just community for us all, and we are better off for their contributions and efforts.

The 2011 honour roll also celebrates the 456 women who have been nominated for the role since its inception. These women are listed on the ongoing roll, which is available on the Office for Women website. As members would be aware, the honour roll is now being held biennially to ensure that we maintain an air of prestige around the event, making it a very special event every two years. It is also my intention to continue to link it directly with other celebrations of women's achievements, such as the national awards and honours.

To that end, 10 outstanding women from the 2009 honour roll were nominated for the 2011 Australian of the Year awards, Mr President, which you might recall was part of our strategy to try to make that nexus. I am pleased to advise that, from these nominees, two made the South Australian final, so our efforts have been worthwhile. The Office for Women intends to nominate the 20 outstanding 2011 inductees for the next Australian of the Year award.

I would also like to acknowledge the work of Betty Fisher, a well-known feminist and activist in our community who created the first South Australian Honour Roll. A member of the International Women's Day committee, Betty's Women's Roll of Honour for the 20th Century in South Australia, Volume 1 was published in 2001.

Other initiatives to increase the nomination of women to national and state awards and honours include our Women Hold Up Half the Sky award, the inaugural Australia Day Council of South Australia award acknowledging the contribution of outstanding women in our community. Members will remember that this award has taken its name from the very well-known artwork of internationally recognised South Australian artist Ann Newmarch. Ms Newmarch, who lives in Adelaide, is a recipient of the Order of Australia for services to art. She is truly a remarkable woman and truly inspirational. It was very generous of her to let us use her artwork as a brand for that award.

Nominations for the 2012 Women Hold Up Half the Sky award are now open and will close on Friday 9 December 2011. The winner will be presented with the award at a reception at Government House on the eve of Australia Day 2012.

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