Female Legal Practitioners
08/06/2011
The Hon. K.L. VINCENT (17:15): I would like to briefly place on the record my support for the Hon. Mr Wade’s motion. In fact, I would be very surprised if anyone in this place did not indicate their support of this motion which obviously notes the centenary of the passage of the Female Practitioners Act and the contribution that female practitioners have made to South Australia. It is difficult for me to comprehend a time when women were excluded from the legal profession and from professional life in general, as I am lucky to have lived in times where such discrimination would be illegal—if you can call it lucky.
Imagine what South Australia would have missed out on if women were not allowed to practise law. The Hon. Mr Wade has already spoken about trailblazers such as Mary Kitson, Claire Harris and Roma Mitchell who set very high standards for those who followed in their footsteps, and made a positive contribution to this state. The Hon. Mr Wade has also made mention of the honourable Leader of the Opposition here in SA and our Prime Minister who was schooled here in South Australia but practised in Victoria; both are extremely successful women from both sides of politics.
Of course, our soon-to-be newest Green senator, the Hon. Penny Wright, is another impressive South Australian legal practitioner who worked for many years with vulnerable and disadvantaged people and has contributed much to this state. I would also like to draw attention to the somewhat quiet achievers like Aleecia Murray, Kaz Eaton and Abby Hamdan, who are among the founding board members of the Refugee Advocacy Service of South Australia; and Deslie Billich, who has worked tirelessly for this organisation representing countless numbers of asylum seekers in this state over a number of years.
Then there is Claire O’Connor, who has a long history of advocating for human rights in this state and represented the first member of the Stolen Generation to successfully sue the state for damages. Justice Robyn Layton QC is another great South Australian legal practitioner who happens to be a woman and who has made us very proud. In fact, I could probably speak all day about the wonderful array of female legal practitioners that we have here in South Australia, but I think I have said enough in that regard. Of course, I will also be supporting the Hon. Ms Zollo’s amendment. It goes without saying that we should also be noting and, indeed, celebrating the centenary of International Women’s Day.
