Mrs BRAHAM - 1995-10-18
Members would be aware that a number of Territory women attended the United Nations Fourth World Conference on Women which was held in Beijing recently. I was unable to attend but I supported a number of women's groups in the Territory, including the Women of the Barkly. I gave that group some financial support. I have some concerns, as I believe other people in the Barkly have, that a document was tabled at the conference called Women in the Barkly, which purports to be both representative and reflective of life in the Barkly. Has the Chief Minister had any concerns conveyed to him about that document? Did the Leader of the Opposition and the Deputy Leader of the Opposition give their imprimatur to its views by hosting selected members of the public at functions where these so-called `Women of the Barkly', who are meant to be representative of all women of the Barkly, reported on the Beijing conference? Was one of these functions, to which I was not invited, actually held last night in Parliament House?
Members interjecting.
Mr SPEAKER: Order!
ANSWER
Mr Speaker, I am disappointed by the trivialisation of this important question by members opposite. I thank the member for her question, particularly given that the report has been brought to my attention by women of the Barkly who are adamant that the Women in the Barkly group does not speak for them. As I understand it, the report was prepared by a forum in Tennant Creek held by the group that calls itself Women of the Barkly. I understand that the group's secretary is Ms Brigid Walsh, who is the electorate officer for the member for Barkly. Therefore, I can only surmise that this document has been prepared in the electorate office of the member for Barkly, with her consent and concurrence, because ...
Mr Coulter: I would think so.
Members interjecting.
Mr SPEAKER: Order!
Mr STONE: This is what Labor's version of Women of the Barkly told an international audience in Beijing. I quote from the section, `Aboriginal Culture':
We discussed violence between men and women in Aboriginal communities. Some violence is regarded as
traditional and, in this violence, there is no need for interference. Violence regarded as traditional is that
violence which relates specifically to man-woman relationships, usually matters relating to infidelity.
I see that the member for Barkly is nodding her head. All I can say to that is that it is nonsense. These Labor groupies have delivered a damning indictment of traditional Aboriginal
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values on the stage of an international forum in Beijing. During the very same week that I was launching the CLP government's strategy against domestic violence in this House, a launch attended by the member for Fannie Bay, the member for Barkly's protgs were standing in Beijing telling anyone who would listen that it is okay for Aboriginal men to bash their wives.
Mrs Hickey: Nonsense.
Mr STONE: You may say that it is nonsense, but it came from your office and you know about it because it has been aired in Tennant Creek.
Let me quote from the section entitled `Myth' in Fact Sheet No 8 from our strategy against domestic violence. The myth is that violence against Aboriginal women is traditional. This is very much the myth that Labor was peddling in Beijing. Our fact sheet which has been prepared ...
Mr EDE: A point of order, Mr Speaker! You have ruled in the past that it is not acceptable to peddle lies of this kind when we have made assumptions about Country Liberal Party policy. I believe it is totally inappropriate for the Chief Minister to say that this is Labor Party policy when the member for Barkly has interjected and said that it was not drafted in her office. It has never been through our processes and it is certainly not Labor policy.
Mr STONE: If the member for Barkly feels that she has been slighted and if, in fact, the report was not prepared in her office by someone who works for her and she has never discussed it with her electorate officer, then she can make a personal explanation.
Mr SPEAKER: There is a point of order. As I understand it, the document is not a Labor Party policy document. As a consequence, it is improper to infer that the Labor Party supports that particular proposal.
Mr STONE: I will continue without that reference, Mr Speaker.
Our fact sheet, which was prepared with the assistance, concurrence and input of traditional Aboriginal women in the Office of Women's Affairs ...
Mrs Hickey: Yes.
Mr STONE: I am glad to see that the member for Barkly acknowledges that, because it digs the hole deeper for her. The fact sheet says: `Aboriginal women insist that the sort of violence perpetrated by men today is not traditional and has no counterpart in traditional practices'.
I quote also a section of the editor's comments in the Tennant and District Times of 25 August 1995. I am sure the member for Barkly recalls that. It was before the Beijing conference. The editor tried to warn the group against peddling this mischievous nonsense about violence against Aboriginal women in Beijing. In part, she wrote:
Being Aboriginal should not be recognised as a licence to indulge in physical abuse, just as we should not
tolerate violence from any other race or creed.
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She went on to say:
It is woeful that the Barkly delegation will be telling women throughout the world that it is okay to bash your
partner if you are a sober Aboriginal, for few others anywhere would agree.
The editor of the Tennant and District Times is a woman. It is a pity that the protgs of the member for Barkly did not take that advice on board. It is an even greater pity that the member for Barkly did not stand up to be counted for Aboriginal Territory women and disassociate herself from that report, which had been produced by her electorate officer. She was aware of that report, which now has the imprimatur of the Leader of the Opposition and the Deputy Leader of the Opposition through their hosting of meetings to which they invite a select audience. Do they tell the people who attend these meetings that the report does not have their support, particularly the part that says that it is okay in traditional Aboriginal communities to visit domestic violence on women? Do they seek to clarify that? Do they stand up in this Chamber ...
Mr Ede: I was saying that long before you.
Mr STONE: ... and say that they did not know about it?
Mr Ede: I was saying it in this House and every other forum available.
Mr SPEAKER: Order!
Mr STONE: You cannot stand up and say that you did not know about the report. Of course you knew about it. You knew what was in it. How do I know that you knew what was in it? Because an electorate officer in your colleague's office is secretary of the group that wrote it. It came to your attention through the Tennant and District Times. You were warned in a publication that was distributed throughout your electorate. What did you do? You did nothing.
The member for Barkly should stand up for Territory women. Instead, she allowed those women to travel to Beijing to peddle this tripe and she said nothing about it. Even to this day, both the Leader of the Opposition and his deputy stand condemned. They host these meetings. In no way do they profess to disown the report. They simply gloss over it. They stand condemned. I want members opposite to know that, on this side of the Chamber, we take domestic violence very seriously - obviously a great deal more seriously than does the member for Fannie Bay, judging by the way she has tried to trivialise it. She was at it again in last night's adjournment debate. Now, we are faced with this appalling failure on the part of the member for Barkly to bring this report to a stop before it went offshore.
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Members interjecting.
Mr SPEAKER: Order!
ANSWER
Mr Speaker, I am disappointed by the trivialisation of this important question by members opposite. I thank the member for her question, particularly given that the report has been brought to my attention by women of the Barkly who are adamant that the Women in the Barkly group does not speak for them. As I understand it, the report was prepared by a forum in Tennant Creek held by the group that calls itself Women of the Barkly. I understand that the group's secretary is Ms Brigid Walsh, who is the electorate officer for the member for Barkly. Therefore, I can only surmise that this document has been prepared in the electorate office of the member for Barkly, with her consent and concurrence, because ...
Mr Coulter: I would think so.
Members interjecting.
Mr SPEAKER: Order!
Mr STONE: This is what Labor's version of Women of the Barkly told an international audience in Beijing. I quote from the section, `Aboriginal Culture':
We discussed violence between men and women in Aboriginal communities. Some violence is regarded as
traditional and, in this violence, there is no need for interference. Violence regarded as traditional is that
violence which relates specifically to man-woman relationships, usually matters relating to infidelity.
I see that the member for Barkly is nodding her head. All I can say to that is that it is nonsense. These Labor groupies have delivered a damning indictment of traditional Aboriginal
Page 912
values on the stage of an international forum in Beijing. During the very same week that I was launching the CLP government's strategy against domestic violence in this House, a launch attended by the member for Fannie Bay, the member for Barkly's protgs were standing in Beijing telling anyone who would listen that it is okay for Aboriginal men to bash their wives.
Mrs Hickey: Nonsense.
Mr STONE: You may say that it is nonsense, but it came from your office and you know about it because it has been aired in Tennant Creek.
Let me quote from the section entitled `Myth' in Fact Sheet No 8 from our strategy against domestic violence. The myth is that violence against Aboriginal women is traditional. This is very much the myth that Labor was peddling in Beijing. Our fact sheet which has been prepared ...
Mr EDE: A point of order, Mr Speaker! You have ruled in the past that it is not acceptable to peddle lies of this kind when we have made assumptions about Country Liberal Party policy. I believe it is totally inappropriate for the Chief Minister to say that this is Labor Party policy when the member for Barkly has interjected and said that it was not drafted in her office. It has never been through our processes and it is certainly not Labor policy.
Mr STONE: If the member for Barkly feels that she has been slighted and if, in fact, the report was not prepared in her office by someone who works for her and she has never discussed it with her electorate officer, then she can make a personal explanation.
Mr SPEAKER: There is a point of order. As I understand it, the document is not a Labor Party policy document. As a consequence, it is improper to infer that the Labor Party supports that particular proposal.
Mr STONE: I will continue without that reference, Mr Speaker.
Our fact sheet, which was prepared with the assistance, concurrence and input of traditional Aboriginal women in the Office of Women's Affairs ...
Mrs Hickey: Yes.
Mr STONE: I am glad to see that the member for Barkly acknowledges that, because it digs the hole deeper for her. The fact sheet says: `Aboriginal women insist that the sort of violence perpetrated by men today is not traditional and has no counterpart in traditional practices'.
I quote also a section of the editor's comments in the Tennant and District Times of 25 August 1995. I am sure the member for Barkly recalls that. It was before the Beijing conference. The editor tried to warn the group against peddling this mischievous nonsense about violence against Aboriginal women in Beijing. In part, she wrote:
Being Aboriginal should not be recognised as a licence to indulge in physical abuse, just as we should not
tolerate violence from any other race or creed.
Page 913
She went on to say:
It is woeful that the Barkly delegation will be telling women throughout the world that it is okay to bash your
partner if you are a sober Aboriginal, for few others anywhere would agree.
The editor of the Tennant and District Times is a woman. It is a pity that the protgs of the member for Barkly did not take that advice on board. It is an even greater pity that the member for Barkly did not stand up to be counted for Aboriginal Territory women and disassociate herself from that report, which had been produced by her electorate officer. She was aware of that report, which now has the imprimatur of the Leader of the Opposition and the Deputy Leader of the Opposition through their hosting of meetings to which they invite a select audience. Do they tell the people who attend these meetings that the report does not have their support, particularly the part that says that it is okay in traditional Aboriginal communities to visit domestic violence on women? Do they seek to clarify that? Do they stand up in this Chamber ...
Mr Ede: I was saying that long before you.
Mr STONE: ... and say that they did not know about it?
Mr Ede: I was saying it in this House and every other forum available.
Mr SPEAKER: Order!
Mr STONE: You cannot stand up and say that you did not know about the report. Of course you knew about it. You knew what was in it. How do I know that you knew what was in it? Because an electorate officer in your colleague's office is secretary of the group that wrote it. It came to your attention through the Tennant and District Times. You were warned in a publication that was distributed throughout your electorate. What did you do? You did nothing.
The member for Barkly should stand up for Territory women. Instead, she allowed those women to travel to Beijing to peddle this tripe and she said nothing about it. Even to this day, both the Leader of the Opposition and his deputy stand condemned. They host these meetings. In no way do they profess to disown the report. They simply gloss over it. They stand condemned. I want members opposite to know that, on this side of the Chamber, we take domestic violence very seriously - obviously a great deal more seriously than does the member for Fannie Bay, judging by the way she has tried to trivialise it. She was at it again in last night's adjournment debate. Now, we are faced with this appalling failure on the part of the member for Barkly to bring this report to a stop before it went offshore.
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Last updated: 09 Aug 2016