Dr WOODRUFF (Franklin – Leader of the Greens) – On behalf of the Greens I give my warmest condolences to Fran’s family, especially those who are in the Chamber today, Richard and Jamie, and her grandsons Max and Hugh, and to everyone else who loved her and was loved by her.
Fran was a genuine pioneer of women in politics in Tasmania. She entered politics in an era in the 1980s when there were precious few other women in politics in Tasmania. She was elected in 1996 with Judy Jackson and was followed shortly after by women such as Christine Milne, Di Hollister and Sue Napier. What a time that was. It was an era in parliament that is different to today. There was no web streaming and no sort of public experience of what was happening in the House in the way that we know it now. We know from the stories of these early women MPs and also from the report we have had that parliament in the Chamber and corridors and committee rooms was often a chauvinistic and sometimes misogynistic and male-dominated culture.
Throughout this, Fran was tough but she was also warm. She withstood the political storms inside the House and outside with a real grace and strength. Everyone I have spoken to about Fran who knew her, worked with her or was mentored by her were lucky enough to feel the encouragement that she generously gave, especially to women, but to many people. They all said that she was a very gracious and strong person. She had a moral clarity and real understanding of what is right and what is wrong. She was not, as I understand it, an inflexible person, but she also would not compromise on the things she knew were right and the things she understood were wrong.
She had the experience of being a single mother in the 1960s and 70s and that was a hard time for women. She raised Richard from when he was a young child after her husband Irwin died, and it was obviously this experience in her life that energised her and gave her direction and commitment in her later work life to help disadvantaged people in the community and especially to help other women.
In her 16 years in parliament, she was not afraid to stand up for socially unpopular or novel issues. I note that she chaired inquiries into the sex industry in Tasmania in 1998 and into the Control of Weapons Bill in 1999, never an easy issue to raise. She also looked at the use of cannabis for medical purposes 24 years ago and the legal recognition of significant personal relationships 24 years ago. These were big, difficult issues and she did not resile from grappling with them.
She was also a stalwart for promoting women, especially for supporting women and she had experiences that she used to reach out to other women. Some women in that space do not necessarily do that but she was a generous person. Cassy O’Connor mentioned to me what she was like mentoring her as a young journalist. For any young woman who was having a go at doing something positive, she would lend her support and encouragement.
There was also her work with the Female Factory. There was maybe a bond there for the single women and their infants and the harsh experiences they endured and I am sure she could relate to some of those issues for women then, which were still the same in the 60s and 70s, and likely for some women they are still the same today.
She was involved and an important critical person in the Labor Party’s Emily’s List and she would have been so proud of the outcomes from that. I recognise that the Labor Party, particularly in Tasmania, has a high number of women and that is a fantastic legacy thanks to someone like Fran.
She was an advocate for childcare and gender equality and when she left parliament after 16 years she did not go and drink pina coladas on the beach, she did not put her feet up, but she continued to work on the issues in her so-called retirement and that is not something everyone chooses to do. I commend her for the contributions she made to Tasmania and I note it was the big and the small. She did not pick the cherry on the cake, she was in there with the table tennis league and all manners of issues, small and large, in her community.
I want to commend her personhood and the values she brought to this Chamber and the work that she did. Fran, we salute your thoughtfulness and your bravery, your determination and your kindness. Those of us who are in the Chamber today would hope to emulate those sorts of values in our life of public service and on behalf of the Greens, and especially to her family and friends, vale Fran Bladel.
