Lunch away from my home desk is pretty rare. But Wednesday’s lunch was rarer still. I drove to Canberra and had the extraordinary honour of experiencing the electrifying, spine-tingling, tear-jerking, heart-swelling, nation-changing speeches that Brittany Higgins and Grace Tame delivered at the National Press Club.
It is impossible to adequately describe the power these young women possess. The mood in the room before they took to the stage was heady. Tickets to the event sold out in 45 minutes and there was a waitlist of several hundred. For myriad reasons when Brittany Higgins and Grace Tame speak the country listens. What they say matters. How they say it and why they say it matters too. They are both fiercely intelligent, thoughtful, courageous, with astonishing command of the spoken word.
As a duo they are utterly formidable and their speeches deserve to be watched in their entirety. At least twice. It was rightly described as a speech that stopped the nation. But I don’t think that does it justice. It was a speech that could change the nation. For the better.
Driving away from the capital on Wednesday I reflected on why Brittany Higgins and Grace Tame inspire and fortify hope and determination in so many Australians. And then it dawned on me.
Notwithstanding the different trauma they’ve both experienced, in and out of the public eye, nor the steep personal cost they pay for their advocacy, Brittany Higgins and Grace Tame both believe fervently that things can – and must – be different. They both believe – fervently – that a better future is not an abstract hypothetical. It is a choice. They envision a future in which all children and women in Australia are safe, respected and equal. It’s a future they’re not alone in seeking. It’s the future 100,000s of Australians marched for on the 15th March 2021.
And while Brittany Higgins and Grace Tame have made various specific observations and suggestions about what must happen to realise that vision, they share an absolutely unequivocal view on one critical point: words alone will not change anything.
Words will not make children safe from abuse.
Words will not improve access to justice.
Words will not make women safer in workplaces or homes or public spaces.
Words will not deliver a better future.
Not even better words.
The only way we can secure a better future is through ACTION. The time for talking is done. We need policies not platitudes. We need power exercised to create a better future.
We need leaders bold, brave and determined enough to embrace decisive action. As individuals, employees, leaders, parents and citizens this is the moment for all of us to be bold, brave and determined to demand reform. Because if there’s just one thing we all take away from the speeches Brittany Higgins and Grace Tame delivered on Wednesday let it be their fervent belief that things can – and must – be better.
My day job is running The Parenthood, an independent advocacy organisation representing parents and carers around the country. As a mum of three children and a longtime advocate for gender equity, families and children it’s a role I am passionate about, both personally and professionally.
Our mission is to make Australia the best place in the world to be a parent because it is only when parents and carers are supported that children can thrive. It is an unapologetically bold mission but one we pursue with confidence because it’s absolutely achievable. Thanks to a comprehensive piece of research we published in February last year we know exactly the kinds of policies and practices we need to pursue to provide all parents and carers with the support they need to raise thriving children.
Two policies stand out above all else – expanding paid parental leave and making quality early learning and care completely affordable. These are game-changing policies that not only set children up for lifelong success, improve the health and wellbeing of both mums and dads and boost GPD – but both dramatically improve the lives of women.
These policies represent structural reform. They dramatically dismantle drivers of gender inequity that make women less safe and secure. Expanding paid parental leave and early childhood education and care reform will achieve what words cannot. They will level the playing field. They will improve the lives of children, parents, women and families. They will change this country for the better.
Change is possible. And it’s up to us, all of us, to hold our leaders to account to deliver actions and policies to make it a reality. Words will not do. If you share my unapologetic determination that things can be better, and you want to make some noise about making life better for parents, families, children and women I humbly invite you to join the #ParentsUp campaign to put paid parental leave and early learning and care on the agenda.
Sign the petition, share it with your friends & make some noise.
Check out the #ParentsUp petition from The Parenthood
Check out the full speech