On October 16th 2020, VWT, along with Trish Bergin, Professor Kim Rubenstein, Hon Mary Delahunty GAICD, Dr Nikki Henningham, Kerry Wilson, Tanja Kovac, Ruth McGowan OAM, Nicolette Snowden and Professor Clare Wright OAM made a submission to members of the Members of the AEC Redistribution Committee on the naming of the proposed new federal electorate in Victoria following the 2021 redistribution.
Following on from VWT’s work on Women In The Life of the City with Melbourne City Council the submission urged the Committee to name the new electorate after an Aboriginal woman in light of the fact that only 5 out of 38 Federal Electoral Divisions in Victoria (13%) are named after women, and provided a list of 34 possible women to the Committee.
“In a system of representative democracy, where women make up more than 50 per cent of the population, we believe we must direct our attention to how we can encourage women to think of themselves as future members of our parliament. A simple way to start is to remind women that their active citizenship and contribution is valued within our community.
Naming electorates after women is one simple positive way in which this can be done – to create a belief by young men and women, that their contributions to society are of equal value. The system so far has worked in a way to preference men’s names. We urge this Committee to preference these worthy women’s names given the significance of naming new Federal electorates.”
Please click on the button below to download the submission.
Our submission was featured in The Age and Kim Rubenstein spoke to Sammy J on ABC Breakfast.
Members of the public are encouraged to submit suggestions toward the 2020-21 Victorian Redistribution. Closes Friday 30 October 2020.
