Alice Jordan-Baird (Gorton, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Hansard source

After a weekend celebrating International Women's Day, I rise in this chamber once again to talk about the incredible contribution of women to modern Australia. When women unite, we are unstoppable. Last Friday I attended the International Women's Day March for Working Women at Victorian Trades Hall. I rallied with our mighty union movement, including the Transport Workers' Union and the Rail, Tram and Bus Union and was honoured to hear the stories of these powerful union women—like Gia from the RTBU, who I'm proud to support in the 'It's a Bloody Mess' campaign for access to clean, safe and private toilets for Aussie women working in transport.

There's a reason I attend these rallies as a proud member of the Transport Workers' Union. It's because I grew up with a mum who was one of the first women to work on Melbourne City Loop at a time when the railways were dominated by men. It's because I grew up around women who taught me the value of fighting for what's right—like my sister Emily, an infrastructure lawyer who's working on some of Melbourne's major transport infrastructure projects, and my late sister Clara, who worked as a lawyer and paved the way for housing estates to be built in Melbourne's western suburbs. Clara encouraged me and many other young women to get involved in the Labor Party, where real change is made.

I'm surrounded by women in my local community across my electorate of Gorton who inspire me every single day, like Emily Attard, a Caroline Springs local who as a teenager saw a need in our community and founded Specialist Hoops. This is an organisation dedicated to providing a safe environment for local individuals with disabilities to play sports. In our community are leaders like Pooja, who opened the Fraser Rise Kool Kidz Childcare Centre, supporting our local families as our community continues to grow. Once these kids grow, they graduate into our wonderful local schools run by dedicated women like the amazing Gab Zorko, principal of Springside Primary School and Kindergarten in Caroline Springs.

Our local community is also so blessed to have women like Poonam and Devika, who I celebrated Holi with this weekend in Kings Park on International Women's Day. A big shout-out to the Women of Brimbank Multicultural Organisation! Our local communities are fitter and cleaner thanks to women like Tanya and Janelle from Aintree Reserve Parkrun, who I recently saw at the community group's plogging event, where we ran five kilometres, picking up rubbish along the way for Clean Up Australia Day. I'd like to shout out Dawn Clark as well, an outstanding member of my local community, for putting together such an amazing International Women's Day event last week at Wintringham in Delahey.

These are just some of the incredible women who show real leadership, keeping our community connected. I commend and thank the work of these incredible women and all women in Melbourne's western suburbs, who I have the privilege to meet every single day for everything they do. I'd like to acknowledge the women of Iran and in particular the strength of the Iranian women's soccer team, because there is no greater challenge than having your rights stripped away from you. There is no question that Iranian women deserve better and that life under the IRGC and the situation that has been unfolding in Iran over the last several weeks are terrifying and heartbreaking. But it takes a certain kind of courage that I can't quite put into words for the women belonging to the Iranian women's soccer team playing here in Australia during the Women's AFC Asian Cup to refuse to sing the Iranian national anthem as they did ahead of the opening game.

Australians have been moved by the acts of bravery of these incredible women. Late last night our Minister for Home Affairs issued five humanitarian visas to members of the Iranian women's soccer team. They're safe here, and they should feel at home here. I have had the other teammates in mind as they head back to Iran, along with the safety of the team's families as well. This is also a really difficult time for those in our local community with family in the region, and I want to assure my community that we're doing everything we can as a government to return Australians home safely. As the Prime Minister has said, we remain available as a nation to help others. I commend the bravery of the Iranian women's soccer team, and I welcome them home.

House adjourned at 19:59

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