"While I rise to follow the historic tradition of this House of making my 'maiden' speech I would like the House to recognise that I am a woman and, in defiance of that anachronism, this should be known as my 'first' speech."
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These were the first words uttered in the halls of parliament by fierce former Tasmanian politician Judy Jackson.
Ms Jackson ended her powerful "first speech" that highlighting the plight of women and other disadvantaged groups in Tasmania ominously.
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"As women, all we are asking is for all of us to have equal access to power," she said.
When Ms Jackson strode into the Tasmanian House of Assembly for the first time in 1986 she was one of three female members in a lower house of 38 members.
In 2021, the lower house is one woman shy of being equally represented by women and men.
Ms Jackson undoubtedly trail-blazed a path for women to enter politics in Tasmania.
In entering parliament in the seat of Denison after it was vacated by Ms Jackson in 2006 Lisa Singh was quick to recognise the contributions of her predecessor.
"Judy was a true champion for women and others marginalised in our society," she said.
"Judy was a tireless reformer who used her time in this place to help build a strong, diverse and compassionate Tasmania."
'Action' Judy Jackson
Ms Jackson's political tenure was defined by an air of a woman who was drawing a line in the sand.
Ms Jackson was on a mission from the moment she decided a political future was for her, but in reality, it started well before.
Speaking to The Examiner ahead of International Women's Day now 74-year-old Ms Jackson said she was inspired by her mother from a young age after she fought to bring a kindergarten to Glenorchy but had to collect a cheque for the Premier's office every year to keep it running.
"I remember her telling me that when I was about 15 and I thought, 'I'm never going to do this. I'm not going and asking for a few bucks, I'll do it myself,'" she said.
Though it took her a few years to realise, Ms Jackson had set herself on a collision course for Tasmanian parliament from then on.
By the time she got there, she could see no point in waiting around.
"There were things I wanted to do, that's why I went into parliament," she said.
I wanted to change things.
- Judy Jackson
But even before she was elected to parliament, Ms Jackson said she was encouraged to make Tasmania a more inclusive place for women.
One of her most well-known accomplishments is the establishment of an Australian first criminalisation of emotional manipulation in Tasmania's Family Violence Act.
The landmark act finally gained royal assent in 2004, but Ms Jackson said work started on it long before.
"I started working on that in the early '80s with a couple of other women - Audrey Mills and Terese Henning. The three of us got together about 1982 and started drafting little bits of legislation for the justice act about family violence orders," she said.
Before we brought that legislation in there were seven murders of women in three years from 2001 to 2004. The seven years after that there were none.
- Judy Jackson
Though Ms Jackson admittedly does not give in to pride - "pride comes before a fall," she says - she remained pleased she was able to introduce Family Violence legislation.
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"Family violence was a problem and until we did something like the act, it wasn't going to change, and it didn't. People were dying," she said.
"It's the thing I am most pleased by. I worked out I saved 30 women's lives in that first seven years.
It's the one thing people still come up to me in the street and say, 'thank you, you saved my daughter's life'.
- Judy Jackson
While Ms Jackson's name is most well associated with the Family Violence Act, her career in politics was hallmarked by setting a legislative agenda aimed at bettering the rights of women and shooting for equality.
Six years before the legislation, Ms Jackson successfully challenged the anti-discrimination in Tasmania. In what has been described as a hard-fought battle, Ms Jackson successfully managed to deliver a heralded Anti-discrimination Act.
As described in a 20th-anniversary speech by UTAS Adjunct Law Professor Terese Henning, the Anti-discrimination Act produced "cultural and attitudinal changes" that was "lauded at the time as world's best practice".
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Ms Jackson was not to be stopped. Two years later she famously closed the Willow Court Asylum as Tasmania became the first state in Australia with no state-funded homes for people with intellectual disability.
She said closing Willow Court was one of the first things on her political agenda, yet it took 15 years before it was closed.
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After closing Willow Court, Ms Jackson turned her attention to abortion. As Health and Human Services minister, Ms Jackson paved the way for Tasmanian women to get surgical abortions without travelling interstate.
At the time Ms Jackson famously said, "a failure would condemn Tasmanian women to lethally risky care provided by backyard operators from the dark and dangerous days of the past".
Reflecting upon the change Ms Jackson said it had been a female movement in parliament that had gotten the change over the line.
"What happened that was so good was every woman in both houses of parliament - 10 women in total - all voted for it. We all stuck together," she said.
"I got everyone to come down and we were up until five o'clock in the morning doing the amendments.
"It was a great example where if we all stick together, we can do anything."
It was a great example where if we all stick together, we can do anything.
- Judy Jackson
While it was a case of female's to the front for much of Ms Jackson's legislative direction, equal rights were of equal importance.
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So when she assumed the office of Attorney-General in 2002, making her the first female in Tasmanian history to do so, her political will found a place it could have the most effectiveness.
In her first move as Attorney-General, she encouraged sweeping cultural change through the Relationships Act.
"We had to change about 150 acts of parliament to do that because we had to change all the gender references in all these acts like superannuation, taxation, employment, everything. 150 acts of parliament!" Ms Jackson recalled.
"We made it all gender-neutral so people could register their relationships. They didn't have to be man and woman, it could be two women or two men for example.
The act offered rights to non-married couples, including homosexual couples, and preceded the national legalisation on same-sex marriage by 14 years.
Seeing another area women were being taken advantage of in the Tasmanian legislation, Ms Jackson turned her attention to the legislative definition of consent.
Ms Jackson said, before her intervention, consent let women vulnerable to the advances of predators.
With the help of Terese Henning, Ms Jackson changed how consent was legally defined.
"What that did was clarify what is consent. We changed it so you couldn't consent if you were drunk, you couldn't consent if you were incapacitated and it also changed the law so you could consent, and then withdraw consent," she said.
Judy Jackson, upon reflection
Over six years, Ms Jackson's crusade to have women better represented in Tasmanian legislation had come to an end.
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In her wake a raft of changes had left women more considered in legislation, and she had trail-blazed the way for female politicians in Tasmania.
Since her retirement in 2006, Ms Jackson has lived a relatively quiet life in Sandy Bay.
She is coy about her achievements, and the hint that she led a female movement in Tasmanian parliament long before it was almost considered the norm had her waving away the accusation.
Whether she would admit it or not, there is no doubt Ms Jackson made resounding changes for Tasmanian women. Her legislative agenda has been hailed as paving the way for further equality and representation for women across the state.
Ms Jackson said much of what she pushed for was "Labor policy at the time", but what would Tasmanian legislation look like had she not been there?
For her, she said the change was always going to come and will continue, but they take a certain type of drive.
"You know what it was? It was political will," she said.
If you want to do something and you're in a position in politics, you can do it.
- Judy Jackson
"All this legislation was pretty much going to happen, at least it was as far as I was concerned."
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After some encouragement Ms Jackson was more definitive, "I suppose I set the legislative agenda for improving the position of women in Tasmania".
Despite the changes Ms Jackson fought for, she still sees disadvantage permeating the female landscape in Tasmania and across Australia.
From the cost of childcare, to the most significant adverse effect the pandemic had on women, to the fact women "still do most of the work in the house", Ms Jackson has maintained her passion for women.
Her frustration is obvious, and the undertones of her frustration speak volumes of disappointment that despite all that she has done, women are still constrained by a "glass ceiling".
If I ever talk to women I just say, 'the battles aren't won', and most of them know that.
- Judy Jackson
"You can't just do something and let it go. It's still got to be followed through and fought for. When it's done, it's not done. It has to be reinforced all the time."
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