Penny Wong (SA, Australian Labor Party, Leader of the Opposition in the Senate) Share this | Hansard source

I rise to remember the late Joan Kirner. I mourn her passing at the age of 76 on Monday, 1 June 2015. I celebrate her life and the contribution she made to Victoria, to Australia and to the progressive cause. I recognise her enduring legacy as a mentor and inspiration to me and thousands of other Labor women.

Joan is best remembered as the first and only woman to serve as the Premier of Victoria—a woman who gained the leadership of the Victorian parliamentary Labor Party at one of the most difficult times in its history and led Labor to an election loss with her own integrity and dignity unblemished. She was also someone I was proud to call a friend.

I will turn to her substantial policy and political legacy in a moment but I want to start briefly with the personal, because Joan was the most personal of political figures. No-one who came into contact with Joan Kirner could fail to be touched by her warmth. Whether meeting a senior political figure, a businessperson, an aspiring political candidate, a community worker or members of one's family, Joan always took time to listen, encourage, counsel and, when the occasion demanded it, provide a hug.

I enjoyed sending her photos of my family, including just a few months ago a photo of my daughter Alexandra holding the polka dot umbrella I described as 'Joan Kirner's umbrella'.

I first saw Joan many, many years ago in Adelaide when I was much younger and she was giving a speech about Fightback! I recall quite vividly her description of Fightback! and she said, 'When you read this document, read it as a document of control.' As a young Labor person, I remember being struck by how evocative a way of describing that political manifesto that was.

As the founder of EMILY's List Australia, Joan Kirner was a friend and mentor to me and so many other Labor women seeking to enter the parliament. She was a strong supporter of affirmative action rules that helped change the culture of our party and brought a wave of progressive women into national and state politics.

As the Victorian president of the party in 1994, Joan Kirner moved the resolution entrenching the rule that women were to be elected to 35 per cent of parliamentary and party positions by 2002. Countless Labor women have benefited from the cultural and institutional changes she initiated and supported inside our party. Many of us who serve in the Senate and other houses of parliament today are the direct beneficiaries of her encouragement and guidance.

You could not meet a more supportive, positive or encouraging person than Joan Kirner. In one of my emails to her last year when I was speaking at an EMILY's List event to honour her, I asked her if there was anything she wanted me to say. Her response in her email was instructive in that it basically talked about everybody else and what everybody else had done. It ended with: 'Many state women MPs defeated in 1992 gave strong support to EMLY's List to ensure the next generation of Labor women have the chance to become MPs. Then we took the affirmative action rule and changed the national conference and, to my delight, you are one of them.' This was the sort of warmth and personal support she provided to so many of us and why we will miss her so.

Following her passing, I have been touched by the many women who have recalled the phone calls they got from Joan when standing for Labor—sometimes without any prospect of success—and the many women who have spoken of her mentorship and inspiration.

Like Joan, I believe our parliament should reflect our society, and all Australians have Joan to thank for her efforts to make that aspiration a reality—at least on one side of politics. Joan Kirner dedicated her life to the service of others as a teacher, 'parents' club' president, parliamentarian, minister, premier and social justice advocate. In each phase of that life she demonstrated principle, courage and determination.

Joan Kirner first came to public attention as the head of the Victorian Federation of State Schools Parents Clubs in the early 1970s. She was an effective advocate for a cause she believed in passionately throughout her life: a better education for all our children. She was later appointed as a parent representative to the Whitlam government's Australian Schools Commission and became president of the Australian Council of State School Organisations. She joined the Labor Party in 1978 and was elected to the Victorian parliament in 1982, an election that saw Labor return to office after 27 years on the opposition benches. And just three years after entering parliament she was appointed Minister for Conservation, Forests and Lands. In that portfolio she established the Landcare program and a ban on mining in state and national parks. In 1988 she was appointed Minister for Education, and here her reputation as a reformer was entrenched, with the introduction of the new Victorian Certificate of Education, replacing the Higher School Certificate.

Joan became Deputy Premier in 1989 and on 9 August 1990 became Victoria's first and only woman Premier following the unexpected resignation of John Cain. There were no easy days in the Kirner premiership. The state economy was in strife, mostly for reasons beyond the control of the state government. Internal dissension existed within the caucus and labour movement, which undermined Joan's attempts to get the government back on track. Under Joan's leadership the state government took some hard decisions, including selling the State Bank of Victoria and reducing the size of the public sector workforce. As Premier, Joan was the subject of unprecedented personal vitriol. Derogatory labels and snide comments about her dress became the norm in a heated political environment, encouraged by the Liberal opposition, a hostile press and internal division. Regrettably, in many ways we have seen a reprise of that with our first woman Prime Minister. It is interesting to note that whilst I did describe the polka dot umbrella as the Joan Kirner umbrella, in fact, as Joan has said, she actually never wore polka dots; she was just drawn in cartoons wearing them.

Despite the environment in which she served as Premier and the attacks upon her, Joan did not buckle, but Labor did suffer a devastating electoral loss in 1992. After serving in the shadow ministry for a short period, Joan Kirner resigned her seat in May 1994, succeeded by future Labor Premier Steve Bracks. Those of us who knew Joan well also know that much of her post-political life was as hectic as the years that came before, some of it in the spotlight but much of it in the community, doing the sort of work that does not generate headlines but makes our world a better place. She remained a passionate advocate for Melbourne's west, particularly Williamstown, a community she loved—and one that loved her in return. She supported myriad women's and arts organisations and many progressive causes, including the campaign for women's reproductive rights, and she loved the Essendon Football Club.

I was honoured to be present at Joan's state funeral a couple of weeks ago, surrounded by the many people who loved her, respected her and appreciated her. I, like many others, will miss her dearly, and I extend my deepest condolences to Joan's husband, Ron, and their children and grandchildren.