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From: Helen Leonard <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
:
:
Here is WEL's media release on the PM's Preamble.
If you are as appalled as we are:
1. Get onto radio talkback
2. Get a media release out now - to the media and to governments
3. Contribute your response and your solutions in any way you can think of
and let us all know what and how you've done it
_______________
Women's Electoral Lobby Australia Inc.
PO Box 191, CIVIC SQUARE ACT 2608
Ph: 02 62476679 Fax: 02 62474669
mobile: 0417499387
Email: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
Web page: http://www.pcug.org.au/other/wel/
MEDIA RELEASE
A DEEPLY EMBARRASSING DOCUMENT
Women are shocked and appalled at the set of disjointed concepts and
phrases that was released today as the draft Preamble to the Constitution.
In leaving out any mention of equality of men and women, the Prime Minister
has clearly not been listening to half the population.
Despite raising women's expectations that there would be a specific
statement of equality of men and women before the law, and having received
submissions from the Women's Constitution Convention Steering Committee
calling for a clear and encompassing statement of equality of men and
women, he has let us all down.
The expressions of dearly valuing 'mateship' is also revealing. Mateship
has always been about Anglo male bonding. It excludes women, Aboriginal
people and men who look different. When the Coalition uses it about the
Opposition, it's meant as an insult.
Considering the Preamble was supposed to express the values underpinning
our government, you'd expect that the first thing it would talk about is
democracy. Its appearance in an unintelligible next-to-last paragraph,
linked to invocations against achievement is astounding.
WEL deplores the omission of recognition of original Indigenous ownership
and ongoing custodianship. The attempted references about valuing diversity
are incomprehensible gobbledegook, ie 'people from many arrivals'.
We wanted an inclusive Preamble that expressed the principles agreed by the
Constitutional Convention and included the principle of equality of men and
women as their starting point. We wanted words with emotional impact that
would lift the spirit of those who claimed them.
As a grade three attempt, WEL would give the document a score of one out of
five for trying.
As a serious draft to be put to a referendum, it needs to be torn up.
For further information contact:
Judy Harrison 0417 212 036
Meredith Doig (03) 9530 2954
Marian Sawer (02) 4249 0130
Helen Leonard 0417 499 387
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