Following an historic 2020 election, the ACT’s legislative assembly now comprises 60% women. Not only do women make up the majority of elected representatives, at least half of each party’s MLAs are...
Category: Feature
Hypocrisy, power and chauvinism in the Canberra bubble
Male and female MPs are put under very different levels of scrutiny when it comes to their private lives. Not only have male politicians been happy to use their female colleagues private lives for...
Is it time for universal paid domestic violence leave?
Women experiencing domestic violence are often told to “just leave”. But “just leaving” is never simple; it is fraught with danger, complex logistics, and psychological trauma. More often than not...
Women in politics: Pursuing progressive policies
Since 1972, the Women’s Electoral Lobby has made the case that women should be at the political decision-making table. Nearly five decades later, a record number of women have been elected into the...
Beijing +25 and the future of women’s rights
When the Beijing World Conference on Women took place in 1995, I was just starting my career as an employment lawyer in Australia and I recall Hilary Clinton’s reminder in her famous speech that...
How women are winning as MPs
The recent 2020 ACT elections had a remarkable result: a majority of members of the legislative assembly (MLAs) elected are women, and at least half of every party’s MLA’s in the ACT are women....
It’s time to take stock of sexual harassment in Parliament
The recent ABC Four Corners program (Inside the Canberra Bubble) about sexist conduct in Federal Parliament and the potentially exploitative power imbalance between parliamentarians and staffers...
Five principles of feminist governance: A personal story
Being deeply involved in EMILY’s List leadership for the last 11 years is singularly the most amazing thing that I have ever done. A life changing opportunity, that has opened doors, enabled me to...
Til death do us part: Forced marriage in Australia
The death of 20-year-old Ruqia Haidari in Perth in January this year, allegedly murdered by her husband whom she wed only two months earlier, and the recent arrests of three of her family members,...