Susan Templeman (Macquarie, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Hansard source

It's a delight to speak on the member for Newcastle's motion on International Women's Day. I had the privilege this year of partnering with two organisations to bring International Women's Day to the Blue Mountains. Springwood Neighbourhood Centre, led by Toni Quigley, has marked International Women's Day with a breakfast for as long as any of us can remember. Women with Altitude is a networking and support group for businesswoman started in the mountains by Andrea Turner-Boys, who has organised International Women's Day events in more recent years. So the coming together of these two groups was destined to be a success.

I joined a panel discussion that included Jen Ballard, who has been a woman in the sport of motorcycling racing; Molly Cameron, a Winmalee High School student; and SJ Staszak, a mum who lost the use of her legs after a supposedly simple operation on a bulging disc, but that hasn't stopped her from abseiling. The panel discussion brought a whole group of women, everyone who was in the audience, to consider the progress that has been made to date, the sort of progress that we need to see and how to press for that progress, living the themes of International Women's Day. I'd like to add that it was wonderful to have Winmalee High School senior students there, represented by Erin, Hayley and Georgie, and the deputy principal, Voula Facas. It's just wonderful to see the sort of support that this community gives to young women. I'd like to congratulate all involved, including Jacinta Tobin for her very moving and beautiful welcome to country. Let's hope that it's the first of many collaborations, which are, of course, what women do well.

The North Richmond Community Centre continued its tradition of hosting an International Women's Day event. This year, Anne Lowe revealed some of the challenges of being a woman in an Australian defence coding unit during the Vietnam War. It was quite a pertinent choice, because the movie that the group saw was Hidden Figures, which is, of course, the story of a team of female African-American mathematicians who served a vital and secret role at NASA in the early years of the US space program doing coding. They were women in non-traditional roles. It was wonderful to hear Anne's stories about what it was like for her. As always, Birgit and her team at North Richmond provided an inclusive and supportive event for women of all ages, and my thanks go to Stacy Etal and Maree Fayne from the Hawkesbury Community Outreach Services, both of whom played a key role in the event.

While International Women's Day is an important day, there are many women who celebrate and support the power of women every day. One such group is Pink Finss. They provides practical and emotional support to women with cancer. Saturday night was the third Pink Tie Ball to raise funds for the many things that Pink Finss do—and yes, almost a pink tie over there; coming close. Two brave women told very powerful and gut-wrenching stories of their experiences of losing their sister and friend Amanda to breast cancer. Once again, as is always the case at this event—and this is my third time there—they proved to be totally inspirational.

Pink Finss founder, Jodie Amor, and a team including Emma-Jane Garrow, Kym Burton and Maria Miller focus on supporting women as they recover. They go through the treatment and they ensure quality of life when the days that remain are short. Jodie, the founder, was just 33 and married with two young children when she was diagnosed with breast cancer. It was a journey that changed not only her life forever but also that of hundreds of other women and their families.

The work Pink Finss do from their base in Windsor is an incredible model of women supporting women. They also support families and friends, so it enhances the environment in which women can deal with their treatment or come to terms with the fact that their treatment hasn't been successful—and, sadly, it happens.

Pink Finss are master fundraisers, as Saturday night's event was evidence of. They attract terrific support from the Hawkesbury community, and I would like to congratulate all those who made donations on the night or beforehand, including the Hawkesbury Race Club which proudly hosts the ball. They've raised more than $1 million and helped over 100 women. This group has extended the support to women with any cancer now, and they are doing a great job. I commend their work as women who every day push the progress.

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