Tanya Plibersek (Sydney, Australian Labor Party, Deputy Leader of the Opposition) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Today, I pay my respects to former senator Pat Giles. Pat was a remarkable woman and a trailblazer throughout her life and her multiple careers. A nurse, a feminist, a unionist, a politician and an international advocate, Pat always placed the fair treatment of marginalised groups at the centre of her work.

Pat began her political career in Western Australia as a staunch supporter and defender of public education. She founded the Western Australian branch of the Women's Electoral Lobby in 1973, and as a union organiser worked to advance equal pay, maternity leave and antidiscrimination measures. Pat was the first woman elected to the executive of the Trades and Labor Council of Western Australia and chaired the first women's committee of the Australian Council of Trade Unions.

When elected to the Senate, in 1981, Pat brought with her staunch advocacy for women's and worker's rights. In her maiden speech, Pat challenged the notions of what is personal and what is public, bringing discussion on abortion, family planning and child care into the parliament and placing them on the political agenda. She played a crucial role in the Hawke Labor government's initiatives to promote women's rights, always maintaining that all of Australian society would be richer if we could move 'out of the straitjacket of the past' through legislation such as the Sex Discrimination Act and the equal opportunity for women act. She was a great achiever, and we are grateful for her service.