By Lisa Macdonald
GEELONG — More than 400 women attended the sixth Women and Labour Conference at Deakin University on November 29-30.
The 65 panel and workshop presentations crammed into a day and a half covered topics as wide ranging as women in history, motherhood, reproductive technologies, indigenous rights, rural women, women and violence and lesbian and workplace issues. While the packed agenda offered something for just about everyone, it also meant virtually no discussion time.
A major theme running through the presentations and discussion was the need to defend native title and indigenous people's rights. This reflected the involvement of many participants in anti-racism campaigning, but also the higher proportion of indigenous women present than at most feminist conferences.
Among the most provocative and interesting presentations was a paper by writer and long-time equal pay campaigner Zelda D'Aprano, who argued for an understanding that the women's movement in Australia has been significantly weakened by political cooption (through government funding) and the sidelining of radical activists and class analysis.
In another session, Dorothy McRae-McMahon also reflected on the lessons of the past in an analysis of the current gay and lesbian movement and her recent vilification by the leadership of her church when she came out as a lesbian. She emphasised the importance of collectivity, non-moralism, personal choice and alliances with other oppressed groups.
Presentations by film-makers Margot Oliver and Katrina Sawyer sought input into the development of their project to make a multi-part documentary tracing the development of the women's movement in Australia since the late 1960s.
Many of the presentations and discussions revealed a sense of shock and alarm at how rapidly many of the gains won by the women's movement over the decades are being eroded or removed by the Coalition government.
This sentiment was capitalised on by the ALP politicians addressing the conference (Carmen Lawrence on the opening panel and Joan Kirner on the closing one), who attempted to sanitise Labor history and reassert the pursuit of parliamentary representation as a key task for feminists. For differentiating themselves as "feminists" from the women of the Coalition parties, both Carmen and Kirner received loud applause.
Despite the breadth and importance of the topics covered by the conference, some of the weaknesses of the movement were also reflected. Many of the presentations were abstract and research-focused, reflecting the narrowing of much feminist discussion today to academia, and the disproportionate participation of academic feminists at this gathering.
As well, very few young women attended, a result of the conference registration fees being prohibitively high for low-wage workers, students and unemployed women — an issue raised in a number of the workshops.
The final session adopted a series of resolutions submitted from some of the campaign-focussed workshops. These included supporting the 1998 International Women's Day marches and rallies; supporting the sacked NMIT staff and union activists; opposing casualisation of TAFE workers; endorsing the campaign to free the political prisoners, including Dita Sari, in Indonesia; calling on the federal government to peacefully support Bougainvilleans' search for a just political solution, and to affirm the Wik and Mabo High Court decisions, reinstate funding to indigenous services and implement the recommendations of the "stolen children" inquiry; calling on the Victorian government to decriminalise prostitution and criminalise the men who use women in prostitution; calling on the US government to lift the blockade against Cuba; and encouraging students, staff and unions in their fight for accessible, publicly funded education.
Tentative offers have been made by women in Adelaide and Canberra to organise the next conference.