Sharon Claydon (Newcastle, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I rise today to recognise two amazing young women from my electorate: Aleeyah Clifford and Ruby Hackett. After taking part in a powerful pro-choice rally in Sydney in June, Aleeyah and Ruby wanted to keep the issue and momentum going locally, so, despite being only 16 years old, they set out on the ambitious task of staging their own reproductive health rights rally in Newcastle under the banner Our Body Our Choice. Shamefully, it is New South Wales that has the most draconian abortion laws in the country, which still criminalise women who access abortion and health practitioners who perform or assist in a procedure with a penalty of up to 10 years imprisonment. The fact that in 2019 abortion should still be in the Criminal Code is an outrage. It is sexist, it is damaging and it particularly hurts women in poorer areas and marginalised communities. Abortion is not a crime; it is a health issue.

Aleeyah and Ruby should be congratulated for doing their bit to keep the pressure for change on the New South Wales government. The rally was a great community event. It saw hundreds of people from across the city come together in solidarity for women's reproductive health rights. This has been a long fight. For me personally it is a campaign that has now spanned more than three decades. Whilst there is no doubt that we've come a long way during that time, there will always be a place, as we see in the case of the New South Wales laws, for strong, capable women like Aleeyah and Ruby, who, when faced with an injustice, don't just stay quiet; they get out there, they get organised and they drive change. I take this opportunity in parliament to pay tribute to Ruby, Aleeyah and all of the other courageous women, past and present and emerging, who have championed women's reproductive health rights over so many years.

This is an issue that is profoundly important to me as the national co-convener of EMILY's List Australia, a feminist organisation that supports progressive pro-choice women into parliament. There are now more than 100 EMILY's List members sitting in parliaments across the country—Labor women who are all committed to driving strong reproductive rights policies and legislative reform. While that's an achievement certainly worth celebrating, we know that there is still so much work to do. Every single one of us should have the freedom to decide what is right for our bodies and lives. Women should have access to safe, affordable, reliable reproductive health services. I thank Aleeyah and Ruby, and all the fabulous women and supportive men who took part in Sunday's march, for their ongoing determination and advocacy to ensure that reproductive health in Australia is delivering for every woman regardless of where she lives.