Forums
New posts
Search forums
What's new
New posts
New profile posts
Latest activity
Internet Search
Members
Current visitors
New profile posts
Search profile posts
Log in
Register
What's new
Search
Search
Search titles only
By:
New posts
Search forums
Menu
Log in
Register
Install the app
Install
Forums
General Discussions
The Watercooler
America's strides
JavaScript is disabled. For a better experience, please enable JavaScript in your browser before proceeding.
You are using an out of date browser. It may not display this or other websites correctly.
You should upgrade or use an
alternative browser
.
Reply to thread
Message
<blockquote data-quote="Marguerite" data-source="post: 189199" data-attributes="member: 1991"><p>From an Aussie point of view - we also think it's amazing. Whether it was Obama or Clinton, for the POSSIBILITY to be considered, we were very impressed with how far the US has come, just in OUR lifetime.</p><p></p><p>Attitudes in general towards 'minorities' have come a long way. However, there have been trailblazers preparing the way. They're the ones who really pushed themselves forward, who put up with a lot of discrimination to get their foot in the door.</p><p></p><p>Who was the first woman politician in your country? And when?</p><p></p><p>For us, it was Dame Enid Lyons, the widow of Prime Minister (country's leader) Joe Lyons. When her husband died, she became a widow and needed to earn a living to support their children. Plus, I think she felt a need to continue promoting the ideas of her husband.</p><p>But when she won a seat in parliament in 1943 there were problems raised. There were no women's toilets, for example. Problems like this kept getting raised as reasons for women to not be allowed to be in parliament. But she was tough - she didn't make a fuss, but she wouldn't be put off. A small room was converted into a women's toilet - soon there was another woman in parliament - but despite their trailblazing, our parliament for decades was very much a men's club.</p><p></p><p>First Aboriginal person in parliament was Neville Bonner, and it didn't happen until 1971. But then, it wasn't until a referendum was put to the Australian people in 1967 that Aboriginal people were finally recognised as Australian citizens! Would you believe - before that, they were 'administered' under the Flora and Fauna Act. Appalling.</p><p></p><p>Neville Bonner was a good man, a trailblazer again. There have been many more. We've had Aboriginal Ministers since then (I think we have one now - I actually don't pay as much attention to race, it's not always easy to tell). </p><p>We have just in the last six months had a female acting Prime Minister - our current Deputy Prime Minister is a woman, a very capable one. She takes on the Acting PM role whenever Kevin Rudd is out of the country.</p><p></p><p>So it's not only the US that has come a very long way, in a very short time.</p><p></p><p>May I offer congratulations to all those who, regardless of political affiliations, are connected to this momentous occasion? The benefits confer on every citizen of the country, regardless of political viewpoint.</p><p></p><p>Marg</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="Marguerite, post: 189199, member: 1991"] From an Aussie point of view - we also think it's amazing. Whether it was Obama or Clinton, for the POSSIBILITY to be considered, we were very impressed with how far the US has come, just in OUR lifetime. Attitudes in general towards 'minorities' have come a long way. However, there have been trailblazers preparing the way. They're the ones who really pushed themselves forward, who put up with a lot of discrimination to get their foot in the door. Who was the first woman politician in your country? And when? For us, it was Dame Enid Lyons, the widow of Prime Minister (country's leader) Joe Lyons. When her husband died, she became a widow and needed to earn a living to support their children. Plus, I think she felt a need to continue promoting the ideas of her husband. But when she won a seat in parliament in 1943 there were problems raised. There were no women's toilets, for example. Problems like this kept getting raised as reasons for women to not be allowed to be in parliament. But she was tough - she didn't make a fuss, but she wouldn't be put off. A small room was converted into a women's toilet - soon there was another woman in parliament - but despite their trailblazing, our parliament for decades was very much a men's club. First Aboriginal person in parliament was Neville Bonner, and it didn't happen until 1971. But then, it wasn't until a referendum was put to the Australian people in 1967 that Aboriginal people were finally recognised as Australian citizens! Would you believe - before that, they were 'administered' under the Flora and Fauna Act. Appalling. Neville Bonner was a good man, a trailblazer again. There have been many more. We've had Aboriginal Ministers since then (I think we have one now - I actually don't pay as much attention to race, it's not always easy to tell). We have just in the last six months had a female acting Prime Minister - our current Deputy Prime Minister is a woman, a very capable one. She takes on the Acting PM role whenever Kevin Rudd is out of the country. So it's not only the US that has come a very long way, in a very short time. May I offer congratulations to all those who, regardless of political affiliations, are connected to this momentous occasion? The benefits confer on every citizen of the country, regardless of political viewpoint. Marg [/QUOTE]
Insert quotes…
Verification
Post reply
Forums
General Discussions
The Watercooler
America's strides
Top