‘Socialist’ or ‘socialism’ is an alarming word in Australia, let alone the country town of Taree, New South Wales, Australia. Believed by most to be nothing more than Communism, Socialist principles are seen as a ‘failure’. This view became deep-rooted by the fall of USSR and more importantly, denigration by the press, particularly the Murdoch Daily Telegraph, a paper most people read.
Taree, fifteen kilometres from beaches of such colour and inspiration words seem inadequate, is served by the magnificent Manning River. All this magnificence is contrasted by Purfleet, once the ‘mish’ or Mission, an Aboriginal presence on ‘the other side’ of the river. Taree, once a very conservative dairy farming community is now a mixed economy and it is also racist!
In 2007, five women met in Taree at the cafe Raw Sugar for breakfast; a nurse, a teacher, a women’s refuge worker, a school assistant and I, an author and retiree. The original three are members of the Australian Labor (not Labour) Party. Therefore, although the meeting was not politically driven, the conversations had little to do with knitting tea cosies or cooking. It was not long before it was realised that talking was not enough; we were just going around in circles. Socialist Women for Justice was the answer.
Against advice, we used the word ‘Socialist’ even though not one of us declared allegiance to such a philosophy. But we were sick and tired of the conservative attitudes displayed by our governments and press, let alone the people.
After one or two meetings, I fell into the role of ‘scribe’: write to Government, radio stations and local Council. It was agreed that the letters must appear ‘personal’: typed and formal but hand-written envelopes. We knew how many emails politicians receive and seldom see. Perhaps paper may get through?
Probably, Lisa’s concern for the neglected and abused children in the primary school at which she worked prompted our first letters. We cannot say this was one of our successes. On the other hand, our correspondence created a furore to the extent we met with an Education Department delegation and talked about a subject we all knew in our hearts was beyond the people with whom we met: parental drug abuse and child abuse. Am I suggesting our presence and our letters changed anything? Yes, I think I am. One cannot raise these issues without some change occurring even if it is only in the thinking of some teachers, politicians or bureaucrats.
The group did not set out to proselytise. We had nothing to offer. No prizes, no games and very little success but somehow or other women heard of us and our activities: one breakfast a month, enthusiastic discussion and the belief, sometimes erroneously held, that by attending this breakfast and writing a letter or two made the previous week worthwhile.
The subjects tackled are too numerous to outline here but we have the ear of many politicians, State and Federal, some of whom are on our mailing list. I doubt that we have ever been ignored although obfuscation has raised its ugly head every now and then.
We are engaged in two ongoing discussions raised by individuals within the group. One is the accuracy of birth certificates. It was discovered by Kate twenty years ago when she registered her second child’s birth that her son from a previous relationship could not appear under his own name on his sister’s certificate. The powers that be ‘did not want to upset fathers’! Kate fought for some time gaining some ground with the establishment of a data base acknowledging the names of the children but allowed it to rest until she joined SWFJ. We want birth certificates to record the names of all siblings no matter the family name. A Review has taken place in New South Wales and the finding is about to be announced. There is no suggestion we have brought this about. It was the work of people like Kate but our support was an advantage and will be if either she or SWFJ is unhappy with the finding. One has the right to expect Government documents to be accurate.
As for successful outcomes? The most important was our representation of ‘stop and go’ workers: those workers who hold up signs on roads under construction or in times of accidents. On the lowest rung of the ladder as far as power is concerned, they believed they were short-changed with wages and hours. Following unsuccessful representation they approached the Ombudsman who also came down on the side of the employer. We studied the matter and decided the workers were denied their rightful pay and conditions. We made a case for the workers in a letter to the Minister for Employment, the Honourable Bill Shorten MP. He replied promptly and investigated promptly revealing $76000 owed to the workers and other oversights. The workers received that money and an apology from the Ombudsman. This kind of win made years of letter writing worthwhile.
Our successes have never been quite so dramatic; more often than not, we just add another letter on the desk of another politician. Even so, we are politically savvy enough to know that one letter, written with feeling, equates to a certain number of votes to each politician.
As the ‘scribe’, I must emphasise it is not just the writing of letters that sustains this group. It is connection with other women of ‘like minds’ whether in Cairns, North Queensland, Adelaide, South Australia, United Kingdom or Taree. One can write letters without email but it is the immediacy of email that makes the formation of such a group exciting and productive.
An amusing aside; many men, particularly those interested in politics, appear jealous of the group. They ask, somewhat disparagingly, ‘…and what is that “little” group of yours, ABCD or whatever it is?’ There are some even generous enough to say, ‘I wish I could join’! Ha ha …
Marion Hosking (c) June 2013
Born in Epping, NSW, Australia, Marion Hosking, OAM, left school at 13 years for no other reason than she wanted work in a shop to earn her own living. From that moment, she worked and studied, devouring the classics, particularly Charles Dickens, Upton Sinclair and John Steinbeck, from whom she received her socialist education. Always on the periphery of the labour and women’s movements she joined the NSW Humanist Society, becoming its first paid Secretary, She was a Convenor during the Moratorium, marching in protest with her son against Australia’s involvement in the Viet Nam war. On moving to the North Coast town of Taree, NSW, she became involved with a women’s refuge, spending 25 years in various unpaid roles. At age 74, she graduated BA (NEU) as a mature-age student, majoring in history. The same year, she was awarded the Centenary Medal, commemorating the Federation of Australia, for services to the community, and the NSW Premier’s Award for Active Citizenship for work with the Manning District Emergency Accommodation Committee Inc (refuge). Nominated in 2006 for Australian of the Year, the following year she received an Order of Australia Medal (OAM) for work with victims/survivors of domestic violence. Learning how to write and research history culminated in her writing the story of the refuge, Why Doesn’t She Leave? The story of a women’s refuge. Over the last few years she wrote her memoir, Family Likeness and is in the process of writing Our Australian Families.
Married for over sixty years Marion, now a widow, has three children and two grand children. She spends her time volunteering at the Manning Regional Art Gallery where her daughter is the Assistant Director, painting, gardening, facebooking and most of all, writing for Socialist Women for Justice.
