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Legislative Council - Fifty-Second Parliament, Second Session (52-2)
2012-03-28 Daily Xml
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ANNA STEWART MEMORIAL PROJECT

The Hon. J.M. GAZZOLA (15:37): I bring your attention, sir, to an important annual project, the Anna Stewart Memorial Project. Anna Stewart changed the lives of many Australians, being an exceptional role model for women and a representative for the rights of women in the workforce. Anna Stewart was a former journalist and Victorian union official from 1974 to 1983, when she tragically died at age 35.

Her strong involvement with the union movement was inspirational to many, and her work continues throughout the country. She began her work during a time when women comprised only one-third of the workplace, and those women faced many challenges. Women were poorly paid, lacked job security and had to fight for recognition.

Anna developed strategies and policies for women to address the important issues they faced and still face in the workplace. She worked to increase women's involvement in unions, promote both the awareness of the needs of women and the importance of women in the development and growth of unions. Following her death, her colleagues and friends wanted her to be remembered and honoured for her work and the contribution she made towards equality in the workplace.

The project was then established by the Municipal Officers Association, one of the foundation unions to the ASU, and over 1,000 women have participated across the country to date. The project is a two-week, union-run course that is held annually in all states, during which the participants visit worksites and take part in workshops and mock industrial relations hearings and listen to speakers. The aim of the project is to pay tribute to Anna Stewart and to continue her work with the involvement of women in the unions.

The project raises awareness of the needs of women members and the important contribution they make to the growth of unions. The course promotes women's understanding of the day-to-day operation of unions, encouraging the integration of women into these structures. Of course it also facilitates a greater awareness within the unions of the issues women face in the workplace in both blue and white collar occupations and aims to resolve these issues.

Of course, all this takes money and help. The South Australian program receives $5,000 from the Minister of the Office for Women annually, and SA Unions funds the rest.

Many well-known women learnt their ropes through this project, including Fay Donaghy, who participated in the very first South Australian group of the Anna Stewart Memorial Project in 1986. She is the Australian Services Union industrial team leader. There is also Melanie Sjoberg, who became a manager of workforce relations at PSWR. In 1988, Gail Gago participated, stating:

I have always had a strong sense of what needed to be done—the Anna Stewart Memorial Project helped me to understand how to do it.

In 1991, Kate Reynolds was a participant. As most of us know, she became an Australian Democrats member of this Legislative Council.

Anna Stewart was a role model to women and demonstrated that women could capably and effectively balance work and family. She also helped to raise awareness of issues that parents face while at work, including child care and maternity leave. Anna led the first campaign in the seventies for child-care facilities in male dominated workplaces, such as car plants. She also fought for pay equality and brought our attention to sexual harassment in the workplace and how to prevent it. Anna Stewart worked with the ACTU in the process of fighting for maternity leave.

I conclude by saying that the Anna Stewart Memorial Project is an excellent project, and many women can benefit from taking part in the two-week course. It is important that we all recognise Anna's work and continue to encourage women to become active union members. Women unionists are lucky to have Anna's example to support them in the struggles they still face today. This year, the project is being conducted in May, and I wish the recipient and the ASU all success in the venture.

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