Page 3929 - Week 13 - Tuesday, 23 November 1993
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Tuesday, 23 November 1993
_________________________
MADAM SPEAKER (Ms McRae) took the chair at 2.30 pm and read the prayer.
DEATH OF MS M. TIMPSON, AM
MS FOLLETT (Chief Minister and Treasurer): Madam Speaker, I move:
That the Assembly expresses its deep regret at the death of Ms Margaret Timpson, AM, who made a significant contribution to the Australian Capital Territory through her work on women's issues, and tenders its profound sympathy to her widower and family in their bereavement.
Madam Speaker, Margaret Rose Timpson, AM, died on 12 November 1993 after a long battle with cancer. When Margaret died the Canberra community lost a friend. Margaret grew up in Victoria and received her tertiary education at Melbourne University. She graduated in 1961 as a Bachelor of Arts with a diploma in education. She worked with the Victorian Education Department for five years, teaching in country and suburban high schools. Most of Margaret's professional life was spent as a statistician with the Australian Bureau of Statistics. She was a committed, skilled statistician with a particular interest in the social statistics field. She developed close relationships with her clients and was always focused on their needs. In recent years she coordinated the ABS News, making the newsletter an important part of the organisation's communication link with 3,500 people working in eight locations around the country.
Margaret also pursued her business interests in partnership with her husband, Chris. It was from this base that she developed a keen interest in women's participation in sport and leisure activities. Margaret will probably be best remembered as a committed feminist working to advance the status of women. She believed that changes for women would be consolidated only when men could see that such changes would benefit the whole community. Soon after arriving in Canberra in the late 1960s, Margaret was instrumental in establishing the Canberra club of the Australian Federation of Business and Professional Women. She worked hard to develop the organisation, which is now a division with a number of active clubs.
The late 1980s were a busy time for Margaret - a woman in her most active phase. From 1989 to 1990 she provided a prominent voice on women's issues through her term as the national president of the Australian Federation of Business and Professional Women. During this time she was also an active member of the third National Women's Consultative Council. I well remember receiving the Margaret Timpson report after each National Women's Consultative Council meeting. It was written in Margaret's own style; informative and with lots of bits and pieces and personal comments. She became a member of the Order of Australia in 1991 for her services to women and the community.
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