Page 2168 - Week 06 - Monday, 11 May 2009
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In a unicameral parliament such as ours, where minority government is the norm rather than the exception, there are opportunities for individuals and parties to exert considerable influence, from any seat in this chamber, from any office in this building. They have done; they do today; they will do so tomorrow. That is the nature of what has been created here.
The 60 men and women who have represented their fellow Canberrans in this Assembly over the past two decades would each be able to point to some aspect of our communal identity, some physical or social reform, some legacy large or small, to which they have lent the power of their arm or for which they have raised their voice.
Mr Speaker, one of the distinguishing features of our small parliament has always been the success of its women. Rosemary Follett was not just the first Chief Minister of this territory; she was the first woman elected head of government in her own right in any Australian state or territory. Kate Carnell became the second. It was not until 2001 that another Australian jurisdiction had a woman elected in her own right as head of government, when the Northern Territory’s Clare Martin lengthened the territorial lead over the states. It took until 2009 for the states to catch up, with Anna Bligh elected in her own right as Queensland Premier earlier this year.
Women have held other senior positions regularly over the past two decades. Roberta McRae was Speaker in the Second Assembly. Both Rosemary Follett and Kate Carnell served as opposition leaders. Katy Gallagher is Deputy Chief Minister in this Seventh Assembly and both she and Kate Carnell have been the architects of ACT budgets, as ACT Treasurer. Women hold 41 per cent of seats in the Seventh Assembly, equalling the record of our fifth, and comparing well with the 30.7 per cent achieved across all Australian parliaments.
Of course, in this as in so many areas, our Assembly reflects our community—progressive, thoughtful, comparatively free of prejudice, reluctant to stereotype, unafraid to innovate and unafraid to lead. Indeed, one might say it was that independence of spirit that led, in those earliest of years, to such colour in our proceedings, such novelty and eclecticism in the issues pursued by members.
Let us remember that, in the very first Assembly, almost a quarter of the elected members were voted in on a platform of abolishing their own jobs. But, notwithstanding party allegiance or philosophical bent, all those who have participated in the activities of the Assembly have worked, first and last—which is not necessarily the same as consistently and exclusively—for the betterment of the ACT and the people of Canberra.
I would like to take a moment to acknowledge, with regret, the absence among us today of one of the most influential figures of those early years, Trevor Kaine, who followed Rosemary Follett as Chief Minister and who helped to establish the administrative and financial foundations upon which successive Assemblies have built. Trevor’s death last year signalled another rite of passage for us as a legislature.
We ought not forget that the challenge confronting Rosemary Follett, Trevor Kaine and those other MLAs in the first Assemblies was a considerable one. There was no
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