Susan Templeman (Macquarie, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

International Women's Day is an opportunity to celebrate, and events in my electorate of Macquarie demonstrated to me the enormous commitment many people have made to ensure that women are more able to fulfil their potential than ever before at the different stages of their lives.

I attended a number of events organised by North Richmond Community Centre, Women with Altitude, the community sector in the Hawkesbury, The Women's Cottage and Springwood Neighbourhood Centre. One of the highlights was singing with Suze Pratten and her choir, and also meeting at North Richmond Belinda Greene, a mum with two young children, who told her story of joining the CWA to learn to crochet while there was still a generation around to teach her, and finding herself playing an integral role in the Wilberforce branch. I should also note that Belinda has been chosen as the face of the latest Hawkesbury phone book.

The Women with Altitude panel, chaired by founder Andrea Turner-Boys, covered a range of issues that working women face—everything from glass ceilings to quotas on boards. I happily explained that quotas are one of the reasons why this side of the House is so well represented by women. It is not that there are not capable women on the other side; there is simply what I hope is an unconscious bias that sees them passed over. I was pleased to receive a petition from Hawkesbury community groups, including Bligh Park, North Richmond and Glossodia community centres calling for equal pay for men and women. Their research shows that, in the Hawkesbury, men are 50 per cent more likely than women to earn $1,000 a week or more. I think that shows that we must not value the jobs that men tend to do more than those that women do.

Former Hawkesbury councillor Christine Paine joined me for another event with The Women's Cottage, a terrific women's service in Richmond. One issue that I spoke of was the vital role of the 1800RESPECT phone and online counselling service for victims of domestic violence and sexual assault. For seven years 1800RESPECT has been run by specialist counsellors from Rape and Domestic Violence Services Australia, but last month they were given less than a week to tender for the service they deliver. This service needs to stay a specialist counselling service and not become a call centre. I would urge Medibank Health Solutions to show some respect to the victims of rape and domestic violence, and urge the government not to allow organisations to profit from providing these services.

My week ended by sharing the stage at Springwood with Denise Newton from Grandmothers Against Detention; Delilah Scott, a representative on the Blue Mountains Youth Council; and Chell Ellery, founder of the Queen of Hearts Community Foundation. Spending the week with all these women was an absolute delight. They are incredible women, and I was proud to be bold with them.