On December 18, 1894 South Australian women were amongst the first in the world to be granted the right to vote and stand for Parliament. But despite its progressive history, South Australia is the only State or Territory to have never had a woman Premier and women are under-represented in Parliament.

The inaugural Women’s Parliament was held on Thursday October 5 2017 as part of the Open State festival, bringing together South Australian women to debate and discuss issues, concerns and the political process.

In the lead up to The Women’s Parliament, all interested South Australian women were invited to participate and have their say by submitting an issue. A steering committee selected the most popular issues for discussion at The Women’s Parliament, with thirteen women presenting short 3 minute speeches to a sell out audience.

The next step is a Position Paper of recommendations from The Women’s Parliament to be released after the 2018 South Australian State election. Followed by further Women’s Parliament events into the future….

Julianne Pierce, Producer, The Women’s Parliament