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Legislative Council - Fifty-Second Parliament, Second Session (52-2)
2013-10-17 Daily Xml
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RECLAIM THE NIGHT

The Hon. CARMEL ZOLLO (14:52): I seek leave to make a brief explanation before asking the Minister for the Status of Women a question regarding women's activism.

Leave granted.

The Hon. CARMEL ZOLLO: The first Reclaim the Night march took place in Australia in 1978. It is an annual march for women held every October that brings women together to speak out against violence. My question to the minister is: can she update the chamber about the 2013 Reclaim the Night event?

The Hon. G.E. GAGO (Minister for Agriculture, Food and Fisheries, Minister for Forests, Minister for Regional Development, Minister for the Status of Women, Minister for State/Local Government Relations) (14:53): South Australia has led the world in many measures that help make sure that women are fully able to participate at all levels of our community. We have always been a progressive state. As you know, we were the first colony in Australia and the fourth place in the world where women obtained the right to vote, in 1894. The gains that we have achieved have been a long hard struggle which has been fought over many years and which is a legacy that women of today should feel honoured to be the custodians of.

South Australian activists blazed the path for women's rights movements, not just locally but internationally as well. South Australia's own Muriel Matters is an iconic figure in the suffragette movement. A persistent and ambitious campaigner for voting rights, she is being honoured with a film based on her suffragette activities in the UK. I should also mention the fabulous work that Frances Bedford MP has organised and advocated for in that space. Ms Bedford has played a pivotal role in bringing forward Muriel Matters' name and her very important historic contribution, and she and her colleagues should be congratulated for that remarkable work. The film is showing as part of the Adelaide Film Festival, with a screening last Sunday 13 October and this upcoming Friday at the Palace Nova. This is a fantastic acknowledgement of a woman who dedicated her life to fighting for equal rights for women.

The fight for women's rights in South Australia may have changed, but it is certainly not over. Women still face intimidation, threats and acts of violence in public and private at an alarming rate. Violence against women is a plague on our society, which can be found, unfortunately, across all sectors of our society. It affects women of all ages, from all backgrounds and in every area. Again this year, South Australian women will let it be known that all women deserve to live free from violence, and they will march the streets to reclaim the night.

Reclaim the Night is an international movement held on the last Friday of October, where women come together in their communities to take a stand against violence, including sexual violence against women. I am advised that rallies will be held across Australia, in both metropolitan and regional communities.

Reclaim the Night is again coordinated this year by the Reclaim the Night Collective and will be held on Friday 25 October. I place on the record my appreciation of the work done by all of the organisations which are involved in that collective. I am pleased to acknowledge the small funding contribution I, on behalf of the Office for Women, have been able to make to the Reclaim the Night Collective to help coordinate the event this year, as I have done in previous years.

The 2013 Reclaim the Night event will begin with a rally in Victoria Square at 7pm, followed by a march along King William Street and down Hindley Street, ending at the Yungondi Courtyard at the University of South Australia. I am advised that approximately 500 people attended last year's event, which was a great turnout, and I am sure that this year will prove to be a big success as well.

Events such as this go beyond activism. They show all South Australians that this is a state that respects women's rights and believes profoundly in their right to safety. We do more than just believe in this principle; we act to make sure it happens. Tackling an issue as insidious as this requires an approach from all levels of society and government. The South Australian government has worked tirelessly to ensure that we are creating a society that will one day be free from gender-based violence.

This government has supported federal initiatives such as the National Plan to Reduce Violence Against Women and their Children, the National Centre for Excellence and the recently established Foundation to Prevent Violence Against Women and their Children. It is therefore most disappointing to see that, while the Coalition has indicated its support for the national plan, its contribution so far has been limited to $1 million over four years for the White Ribbon campaign—and that is a good campaign, undeniably. It is a very worthy campaign; they do very important work amongst men. In fact, the federal policy states that they will look for cost-effective ways to address violence against women, and I hope that is not a sign of worse things to come in terms of cuts to those programs.

These are not issues with which we should play politics. The wellbeing, health and safety of half of the population should be above political pointscoring. With this coming Reclaim the Night, I hope that all in both chambers and those across all levels of government will join with women across the country in expressing their ongoing and meaningful support for the issue of safety for women.

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