EMILY's List Australia

EMILY's List Australia is political network in Australia that supports progressive Australian Labor Party women candidates to be elected to political office. EMILY's List Australia was inspired by EMILY's List, a Political Action Committee with similar goals in the United States.

Issues central to the organisation's support of candidates are issues of equity, diversity, pro-choice, and the provision of equal pay and childcare.cite web |url=http://www.emilyslist.org.au/about_us/about_us.asp?id=21 |title= EMILY's List Australia - Principles|accessdate=2007-07-30 |format= HTML]

There are currently 113 EMILY's List members in Australian Parliaments. The organisation has contributed over $600,000 to Labor women's campaigns since its founding in 1996.cite web |url=http://www.emilyslist.org.au/about_us/about_us.asp?id=12|title= EMILY's List Australia - History|accessdate=2007-07-30 |format= HTML]

History

On November 26 1994, at "Fire with Fire: The Feminist Forum" held at the Sydney Town Hall, Joan Kirner mentioned the plan currently before the ALP National Executive to introduce an Australian version of the US Emily's List. [cite web | url = http://www.greenleft.org.au/article.php/article.php?id=8255 | title = Put another dime in the jukebox, baby | date = 1994-12-14 | author = Karen Fletcher | work = Green Left Weekly #171 | accessdate = 2007-07-30 ] In 1994, the ALP National Conference passed an "Affirmative Action" Rule requiring that women be preselected in 35 per cent of winnable seats, in all elections, by 2002. [cite web | url = http://www.emilyslist.org.au/news/editorial.asp?id=118 | title = Making A Difference: How EMILY's List is working to achieve gender equity in Parliaments | date = 2002-06-14 | accessdate = 2007-07-30 ] This was at the same time that the [http://www.comlaw.gov.au/ComLaw/Legislation/Act1.nsf/0/1B0DB7BDE7E8A341CA256F720016627A?OpenDocument Affirmative Action (Equal Employment Opportunity for Women) Act 1986] . In 1995 ALP decided to form an internal version of EMILY's List, [cite journal | title = Women in Power: From Tokenism to Critical Mass | author = Jane S. Jaquette | journal = Foreign Policy | issue = 108 | date = Autumn, 1997 | pages = pp. 23–37 | doi = 10.2307/1149087 ] and in 1996 Kirner established EMILY's List Australia outside the party. [cite news | url = http://www.abc.net.au/7.30/content/2005/s1396454.htm | title = Martin basking in huge election win | author = Murray McLaughlin | work = ABC | date = 2005-06-20 | accessdate = 2007-07-30 ] [cite book | title = Sharing Power: Women, Parliament, Democracy | author = Tremblay, Manon | pages = p.181 | year = 2005 | publisher = Ashgate Publishing | isbn = 0754640892 | accessdate = 2007-07-30 ] [cite encyclopedia | title = The International Who's Who of Women 2002 | author = Elizabeth Sleeman | entry = Kirner, Joan Elizabeth | edition = 3rd edition | pages = p.300 | year = 2001 | publisher = Routledge | isbn = 1857431227 ] with the aim to see 45% female membership in both the House of Representatives and the Senate.

The name EMILY comes from its United States equivalent and is an acronym for "Early Money Is Like Yeast" [cite journal | title = EMILY's List and Angry White Men: Gender Wars in the Nineties| author = Marian Sawer | journal = Journal of Australian Studies | year = 1999 ] from the political saying, "Early money is like yeast, because it helps to raise the dough".

In the 2004 Federal Election campaign EMILY's List donated a total of $100,000 to candidates. Research conducted by EMILY's List and submitted to the Labor Party's national executive stated that Labor women regarded then health spokeswoman Julia Gillard as the best performer during the campaign, with then Prime Minister John Howard in second place. Of Mark Latham their submission stated; "the most common themes were: perceived aggression, concern he had been watered down for the campaign, inexperience, constantly going on about background, glib answers, bully boy tactics of the past" [cite news |first= Samantha|last= Maiden|title= Gillard gets top rating by women|work= |publisher= The Australian |date=2004-11-30 |page = 2]

Organisational structure

EMILY's List Australia is run by a National Committee which includes parliamentarians, branch members and women unionists. Although it is a partisan organisation, is not controlled by the formal structures of the ALP. At the State and Territory level there are "Action Groups" (ELAG) which have their own organisational structurescite web |url=http://www.emilyslist.org.au/about_us/about_us.asp?id=13|title= EMILY's List Australia - People|accessdate=2007-07-30 |format= HTML] This is in contrast to its equivalent in the Liberal Party, the Federal Women's Committee which is an integral part of the Party structure.

Queensland Senator Claire Moore and Victorian Social Worker and political activist Hutch Hussein are currently the National Co-convenors.

Members

Candidates

Candidates which are currently supported are:cite web |url=http://www.emilyslist.org.au/candidates/candidates.asp?id=fed|title= EMILY's List Australia - Federal Candidates 2007|accessdate=2007-07-30 |format= HTML]

References

ee also

* Women and government in Australia
* Women in the Australian House of Representatives
* Women in the Australian Senate

External links

* [http://www.emilyslist.org.au EMILY'S List Australia]