It's time: for the third wave
Paul Keating was visibly annoyed at a gaffe by consumer affairs minister Jeanette McHugh at the launch of the federal government's "New National Agenda for Women" last week.
Keating had pulled his most wide-eyed, innocent face and declared, "When this event ... was first planned, none of us knew it would take place during a campaign. Even I didn't know! The thoughts I want to share with you today are not campaign driven."
But, in her introduction speech, McHugh was so eager to praise the record of her party that she blithely advised the audience they were at the launch "at the invitation and the expense of the ALP", thus completely blowing it.
Never mind. The audience knew why they were there. Even the mainstream media picked up that the audience for Keating's launch was hand-picked — as evidenced by the crowd's willingness to give a standing ovation at the drop of a hat, and by the alarming prevalence of shoulder pads.
The thoughts Keating shared with his power-dressed audience were, predictably, pretty similar to the thoughts shared by Bob Hawke with similar audiences prior to the last two federal elections — "true equality between the sexes by the year 2000" and similar lies.
Apart from the meaningless phrasemongering, there were some concrete proposals: $1 million for working women's advice centres, where women can be told about their lack of rights under enterprise bargaining; a 008 number for rural women to ring and be told there are no domestic violence facilities in their region; $1 million for existing women's lobby groups so they can pay their own fares next time they come to Canberra for a meeting at Parliament House.
As usual, the monopoly media left no stone unturned in their efforts to obtain "independent" comment on the policies. Ann Wentworth of the Women's Electoral Lobby expressed profound gratitude for the $1 million to lobby groups, which would enable WEL to hire an administrator for its Canberra office. Anne Deveson, film producer, described the platform as "excellent", Louise Adler, publisher, said she thought it was "terrific" and Carla Zampatti, dress designer, confirmed it was "very good".
Only Kaarina Raumaro, described by the Sydney Morning Herald as "a member of the general public",
poured cold water on the fawning frenzy. "I am cynical about it all", she said. "I have no faith in him and don't think there is a genuine bone in his body, he is just trying to get votes." Who let her in?
Unfortunately, Kaarina Raumaro, like so many women, has only her own personal experience as evidence for this assessment. The absence of an independent women's movement, with the political clout to make itself heard, and the will to systematically discredit Keating's blather by use of hard economic and historical facts, has been sorely felt in the last couple of weeks. We can't afford to let the femocrats masquerade as feminists any longer. It's way past time the third wave broke over their heads.
By Karen Fredericks