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Legislative Council - Fifty-Fifth Parliament, First Session (55-1)
2023-05-03 Daily Xml
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Motions

Hogan, Ms M.

The Hon. I. PNEVMATIKOS (16:25): I move:

That the Legislative Council expresses its deep regret at the death of labour movement leader Michelle Hogan and places on record its sincere appreciation for her activism and the profound contributions she made to the wellbeing and empowerment of South Australian women.

I rise today to commemorate the life of Michelle Hogan, a fierce and dedicated unionist, activist, feminist and friend to many. I would first like to welcome Michelle's family, Robert and Sarah, her sisters and her many friends, comrades and colleagues who have come in today to listen as this parliament pays tribute. I extend my sincerest condolences to all of those who knew and loved Michelle as you grieve this significant loss.

I knew Michelle mostly in a professional capacity. I rarely saw her without a smile on her face, even when the work was tough. Her commitment to fighting for the rights of workers, especially for those of women, was both obvious and inspiring. She advocated relentlessly for fair wages, dignified working conditions and equitable treatment for all.

I cannot speak to the personal loss. I know it is profound. What I can speak to with profound admiration are the contributions she made in her life. The labour movement and the state of South Australia have lost a citizen who worked tirelessly on behalf of others to make this state a better place. In that regard, her loss is one that we all share in. Although the loss is mighty, I do not want to speak only of grief today. I wish to speak in gratitude because there is much in Michelle's extraordinary life that she would be thankful for.

For the past five years, Michelle was the chair of the Working Women's Centre and was wholly and profoundly committed to advocating for working women. She was their defender, their advocate and their dear friend. Her strength, leadership, courage and support guided the centre through tumultuous times so that it could remain devoted to supporting and empowering women, especially during hardships.

Her career in education, community services, project management and civil society spanned almost 40 years and reflects her commitment to improving the lives of South Australians. She served on the management committee of SACOSS in the eighties and nineties. In the early 2000s, she became the assistant secretary of the United Trades and Labour Council (SA Unions), a first for working women in our state.

Here she was a driving force of the Anna Stewart Memorial Project, a program aimed at training and empowering union women, strengthening the union movement's advocacy for women workers and promoting leadership of working women in their representative associations and unions. Michelle's drive towards justice and equality was also clear in her role on the Port Adelaide Enfield council. As an elected councillor, she moved the motion that saw the Port Adelaide Enfield council become the first council in this country to support a raise to the JobSeeker payment.

Michelle was also a long-term supporter and volunteer for the May Day Collective and APHEDA Union Aid Abroad. She additionally ran the Dale Street Women's Health Centre in Port Adelaide for an extended period.

Michelle was truly an extraordinary force in the South Australian labour and feminist movements. She went above and beyond in the service of others. The thousands that showed up to attend her memorial service and funeral are testament to this fact. The family and friends who spoke and attended came from incredibly diverse backgrounds and differing spheres of Michelle's life and work.

The massive group of diverse people who watched via live stream and attended in person is a reflection of Michelle. It is a reflection not only of what she did and what she gave but also of the strength of her character and the love she inspired. It is a reflection of a deep commitment to solidarity and the rights of her fellow men and women. It is a reflection of her commitment to the empowerment of every person and dignity for all. It is a reflection of the way she used her generosity and warmth of spirit to lift others up. It was a reflection of a life well lived. Vale Michelle Hogan.

The Hon. N.J. CENTOFANTI (Leader of the Opposition) (16:30): I rise to speak on behalf of the opposition on this motion. The South Australian Liberal Party acknowledges the late Michelle Hogan as a dedicated and prominent South Australian unionist and feminist. In researching this speech, I was reminded of a quote by a renowned Australian geographical adventurer, Robyn Davidson, who said: 'I learned that you are as powerful and strong as you allow yourself to be.'

Those who knew Michelle well have characterised her as being someone of strength and of good character. The Minister for Foreign Affairs, Senator the Hon. Penny Wong, stated that Michelle practised her values in all that she did, recognising the importance of the application of those values. Michelle deeply believed in an approach of unionism and comradeship to achieve political and social equity for all South Australians.

I understand that she was a dedicated and passionate woman, committing four decades—her whole career—to advocating for fairer work conditions and greater life balance, especially for female workers. She did this through both paid work and voluntary service. She held several official paid union positions over her career, including on the United Trades and Labor Council and as assistant secretary for SA Unions.

Michelle was a dedicated supporter of several not-for-profit organisations, including the Anna Stewart Memorial Project, the May Day Collective and APHEDA Union Aid Abroad, and she was a longstanding chair of the Working Women's Centre of South Australia. As if that was not enough, she was also a councillor for the City of Port Adelaide Enfield.

One cannot deny that Michelle Hogan lived a life dedicated to the cause of workers' rights. As the honourable member notes, this motion recognises Michelle's activism and contribution to the wellbeing and empowerment of women in this state. Western Australian environmental campaigner Professor Anne Poelina once said:

Leaders have a responsibility to open doors and create opportunities for others and to support them to reach their full potential.

I understand that Michelle Hogan embodied this for the women's worker movement. The Liberal Party are pleased to support the motion in her name.

The Hon. T.A. FRANKS (16:33): Michelle's death leaves a chasm in our hearts and an absolutely enormous, gaping hole in the thread and the fabric of our community. She was a beautiful, colourful, vibrant and staunch thread in that fabric. I express my deepest sympathies and support for her partner, Robert, and her family as they grieve what is a significant loss to them and a significant loss to all in her community.

I share my condolences with Michelle's many friends, comrades and colleagues, including those she knew through the Working Women's Centre and the so many other causes and communities she belonged to, connected with and built. The gathering for her funeral and, of course, here today is testament to Michelle Hogan's impact, her leadership and her legacy.

Michelle was an amazing activist, an advocate, a feminist and a friend. Her career and her life involved significant work in women's community services, women's health, civil society and the trade union movement. The recorded history—or should I say herstory—will show us that one of her notable achievements was that Michelle was assistant secretary of the UTLC of South Australia (now SA Unions) during the early 2000s. She broke that glass ceiling and she bashed down that patriarchal brick wall.

We also know she volunteered her time and her energy to work with the May Day Collective, APHEDA Union Aid Abroad and the National Trust in her local area of Port Adelaide. Those contributions are less well recorded but certainly will be just as long-lasting. Michelle was an elected local councillor in the Semaphore ward of the Port Adelaide Enfield local council. Indeed, there her love of that part of the world is shared by myself—that same little patch of the world that Michelle lived in for so any decades that I have only now lived in for a year but have long loved.

I do not know what the event was when I first met Michelle, but I know it was in North Adelaide as part of the Women's Health Statewide program when she was a manager of the Dale Street Women's Health Centre. I remember, as a young women's program manager for the YWCA of Adelaide, working with the many young women that Michelle inspired on a project called 'A young mermaid's guide to planet earth'. That was a series of publications and, indeed, performances, one of which I remember well was Agender, which clearly is something worthy of reflection upon as we see culture wars deny people's very own identity and continue to have a meaningful reason to be advocated and experienced.

I will miss her vibrancy, her intellect, her kindness and her determination. She was unrelenting in her pursuit for her causes, and I am proud to say are my causes and many of the progressive community of our state's causes. Her legacy does include her contribution to the Anna Stewart Memorial Project—a project that has trained and emboldened a generation of union women—but her legacy definitely lies in those particularly young women, many of us now not so young, whom she inspired and whom she emboldened. We have lost a leader, we have lost a friend, we have lost a comrade and we have lost a sister, but we will continue to live her legacy.

I reiterate my condolences for her partner, Robert, her children and grandchildren. I extend my deepest condolences to her many friends in the union and the women's and community sector movement. Michelle brought art and working life together in a way that we have not seen since those times in the early 2000s and is often remembered when we hear the words of one of the songs that the Born on Monday Choir sang at her funeral, which is:

From birth until life closes

Hearts starve as well as bodies

Give us bread, but give us roses

Michelle gave us bread and she gave us roses. Vale Michelle Hogan.

The Hon. J.M.A. LENSINK (16:38): I also rise to make some remarks in relation to this motion. Michelle Hogan was not well known to me, but certainly the many causes that she championed and the list of organisations she was involved in are incredibly impressive. In fact, when you look at that one wonders how someone could find the time to do the many things that she was engaged in.

It is in her role as the chair of the Working Women's Centre that I wish to particularly thank her for her service for five years, an organisation which is incredibly important in the lives of working women in South Australia and for the diverse range of services that it provides to a lot of women who, if it did not exist, would struggle to find the services that they need.

It is really in no small part to her leadership that she played such a significant role as chair of the Working Women's Centre. A quick look at their website will demonstrate the diversity of issues, whether it is family violence, work, discrimination, a whole range of industrial rights and the many services that the Working Women's Centre provides.

As a government, we worked closely with the Working Women's Centre and we were very grateful for the role that they played in their ongoing services and also through COVID, when they undertook projects and assisted in some very challenging times for working people and all people. I think they were there to provide support to many otherwise marginalised South Australians. Vale Michelle Hogan.

The Hon. C. BONAROS (16:40): On behalf of SA-Best I, too, would like to echo the sentiments expressed by my honourable colleagues today and extend our deepest condolences to the family and loved ones of Michelle Hogan following her passing on 8 March.

I did not know Michelle personally other than through work but, like every woman in this place and outside this place, I have felt the benefits of her lifelong advocacy and commitment to advancing workers' rights and women's rights. Michelle's legacy as a role model, a generous mentor and a champion for justice issues and gender equality lives on in the empowerment of women in this state.

Today, there is a gallery filled not just with loved ones but other trailblazing South Australian women who over decades, alongside Michelle, have fought tirelessly to make this a better place for all of us and for our daughters and for our children's daughters. For that, we are all forever grateful. Their presence today is a reflection of the high esteem we all hold Michelle in.

To Michelle's family: I know there are really no words I can offer today, but I hope you can take comfort in what has been said today about the extraordinary and profound impact Michelle has made and that her legacy will continue to make. Finally, I acknowledge her friends in the chamber, in particular, the Hon. Tammy Franks and the Hon. Irene Pnevmatikos who I know had a lasting personal friendship with Michelle. Rest in peace. May your memory be eternal.

The Hon. I. PNEVMATIKOS (16:42): I thank all members for their contributions today. Everyone highlighted a particular aspect or a particular experience with Michelle. At the end of the day, it is a sad loss. I commend the motion to the chamber.

Motion carried.

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