Anne McEwen (SA, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Hansard source

Tonight I wish to pay tribute to a truly great Australian woman, the Honourable Joan Elizabeth Kirner, AC, former Premier of Victoria, former Victorian Minister for Conservation and Minister for Education, founder of EMILY's List Australia, feminist, community campaigner, mother, grandmother and Labor legend.

I was privileged to attend Joan Kirner's state funeral in the Williamstown Town Hall, in Melbourne, on 5 June. Joan had died a few days earlier, on 1 June, after an illness that might have slowed her down physically but never slowed her brilliant mind; nor did it slow her very big and compassionate heart. Joan's memorial service was truly a celebration of her life. There were hundreds of people in attendance, including family, friends, current and former politicians—both Labor and Liberal—premiers, trade unionists, community organisations, churches, school children, footballers and so many of the people whom Joan Kirner represented and stood up for during her time as the member for Melbourne West and later for the Legislative Assembly seat of Williamstown, and indeed throughout her life.

All of us at the service were entertained by the speakers who shared their memories of the many different dimensions of Joan's extraordinary life. Her cousin told us of her early life where her intelligence and determination made sure the working-class girl from Essendon got to university and her grasp of strategy and planning enabled her and her cousin to liberate some unfortunate dogs, including her own, that had been nabbed by the local dog catcher. Her passion for education was evident from a young age when, with other mums, she campaigned against large class sizes and for more teachers in public schools. This campaign included organising a sit-in at the Minister for Education's office—the kind of campaigning that attracted the all-important media attention, garnered support for the campaign and achieved results. Joan was a truly great campaigner for education, for the environment and for women.

Her passions were evident in the music chosen for her service. There was Paul Kelly and Kev Carmody's From Little Things Big Things Grow, a classic serenade, of course, to grassroots campaigning. But I have never been to a funeral where there was a singalong by mourners to Helen Reddy's iconic song, I am Woman, and I have to say that it was great to be part of that particular part of the service. While Candy Broad, former Victorian Labor minister and Joan's friend and former staffer, was the only politician who spoke at the service, there were plenty of current and former politicians who later and before the funeral offered other tributes. For example, former Prime Minister Julia Gillard said:

For a generation of Labor women, including me, she was an inspiration and a mentor. We admired her stoicism. We celebrated her policy achievements. We were guided by her wisdom.

Current Labor Opposition Leader, Bill Shorten, noting the fact that when she married in 1960 Joan became ineligible for a permanent teaching contract, said:

It was an act of unfairness she never forgot and a marker of the inequality she dedicated her life to overturning. Joan looked at politics and refused to accept the status quo.

Not accepting the status quo was certainly a hallmark of how Joan Kirner lived her life and how she used the opportunities life gave her.

The struggles she had as a woman in the Labor Party in the early 1980s to get preselected for a relatively safe seat reminded us all that Joan's determination to get more women into politics was informed by her own experiences and her strong belief that a progressive party needed women in its parliamentary ranks to ensure progressive policies and legislation were put on the agenda, fought for and legislated. It was this determination that inspired her and other progressive women, including former Prime Minister Julia Gillard, former WA Premier and House of Reps member, Carmen Lawrence, and many other women of foresight and strength, to establish EMILY's List Australia.

Starting off as an entirely volunteer organisation, with Joan as its unpaid coordinator for some eight years, EMILY's is proudly a feminist organisation whose members support and advocate for the principles of equity, affordable and accessible childcare, diversity and reproductive choice. We do this by offering practical support to women Labor Party candidates who support EMILY's List principles. That support includes mentoring, fundraising, networking, campaign training and campaign support. Since those early days when Joan was the unpaid co-convenor, EMILY's still relies on volunteers to do so much of its work, but these days it has the luxury of having some paid staff as well. Since its inception, EMILY's List has supported over 400 women candidates and has seen more than 200 of those elected to parliaments around Australia. Labor is proud of the amazing women in our ranks, including foundation members of EMILY's List: shadow ministers Tanya Plibersek, Senator Penny Wong and Senator Claire Moore, a former co-convenor of EMILY's List.

Labor has had a woman Prime Minister and women premiers in all states and territories except, sadly, South Australia: Anna Bligh, Carmen Lawrence, Kristina Keneally, Clare Martin, Lara Giddings, Senator Katy Gallagher and now Annastacia Palaszczuk in Queensland. As well as providing mentoring and support, EMILY's List members were instrumental in securing the ALP's affirmative action rules that have ensured women get preselected to a fair—but not yet fair enough—proportion of winnable seats. Of course, we still have achieved true equity in that regard, and this year's ALP National Conference will see Emily's List advocate for an increase in the affirmative action target to 2050. I am sure Joan will be looking on to see how we go.

I am not sure exactly when I met Joan Kirner, but I will never forget the first phone call I had from her. I had joined Emily's List in 2002 and was preselected for the Senate in 2004. Joan Kirner rang me up to offer to be my Emily's List mentor during the election campaign, and for however long I wanted her to be there for me. I was humbled to think a woman whom I admired so much, who was so busy and who was such a legend, would make that call. But that is the way of Emily's List; it is about supporting the next generation of women into politics.

I know I was only one of the many candidates Joan Kirner supported but, despite all the demands on her time, she would ring and later email me, from time to time, to see how things were going, to give an opinion, to acknowledge a speech I might have made or just to make contact. When she was ill and frail, Joan would still come along to Emily's List fundraisers and events, and I am sure she was still attending many other community events for as long as she was able to.

The book she authored with Moira Rayner, the Women's Power Handbook, is still a good read, written by someone who, as Bill Shorten said, understood power and knew how to use it. Joan Kirner sought power, got power and used it—in her embracing and unassuming way—for the good of women and for the good of her community. When I left Joan Kirner's memorial service for the airport, my Comcar driver, who was a local, pointed out to me the community parks, walking paths, heritage buildings and other community facilities that Joan Kirner fought for both when she was in parliament and later.

These practical things were just some of the legacy of a woman who came from humble beginnings, who became a Premier and who never forgot the people who supported her along the way. We have much more to do, Joan, but your legacy will continue to inspire us to do it. I offer my condolences to her husband, Ron, her children and her grandchildren and to all my sisters at Emily's List.