Sarah Maddison is an Associate Professor and Australian Research Council Future Fellow in the School of Social Sciences at the University of New South Wales. Her areas of research expertise include social movements, feminism and the Australian women’s movement, democratic participation, dialogue and reconciliation, and Indigenous political culture. In 2009 she was awarded a Churchill Fellowship to look at international models of Indigenous representation through a study of the National Congress of American Indians and Canada’s Assembly of First Nations. Her recent books include Beyond White Guilt (Allen & Unwin 2011), Unsettling the Settler State (Federation Press, co-edited with Morgan Brigg 2011), Black Politics (Allen & Unwin 2009), Silencing Dissent (Allen & Unwin, co-edited with Clive Hamilton 2007) and Activist Wisdom (UNSW Press, with Sean Scalmer 2006). Her fellowship project involves a four-country comparative study exploring process of dialogue and reconciliation in Australia, South Africa, Northern Ireland and Guatemala.
Sarah was a voluntary media spokesperson for the Women’s Electoral Lobby for 10 years until 2008. In her life outside of the university today she is also the mother of two young adults, chairs the Board of GetUp! and is a middle-aged gym junkie.
- I respectfully disagree on the semantics you highlight. He didn't say women of calibre. He said 'women of that calibre' in reference to the subgroup he had previously identified (the onesaustrala has supported through their educational journey). Just saying. - JenDalitz
- Spot on Tara. I wonder if hard attitudes would soften if policies were named for the children themselves with debate directed at documents called Raising Future Australians Bill, Bringing Up Baby Bill, Children Are Our Future .... It should be blindingly obvious to all, even those without children, that the health and well-being of the very young is of paramount importance. - Dianne
- I am in 50 to 100 age bracket. Do some volunteer work in an Aged Care facility. Recently (start of April 2012) became aware of on-line petitions via GetUp and www.communityrun.org websites. Started a petition with title "IT'S TIME for Non Drug, Hemp Food Products to be Approved for Human Food Consumption in Australia" Amazed at response. More than 100 signatures first day and less than 5 weeks to achieve 1000. Petition still has about 6 months to run. www.communityrun.org/p/hfa - Anthony
- "When a sick fourteen month-old baby needs her mum….or dad. No it’s not. There’s no contest. Sick baby wins!" "If sick baby wins", why was it ok for sick baby to wait 5 days? Mum requested on Monday... for leave on Thursday. And then when granted leave, mum spends the afternoon doing radio and television interviews. Seems more like sick baby wins when it's politically convenient. We've moved from misogyny and onto sick babies, this Parliament's new football. - Joe
- Hey KF, more power to you and me and anyone who has to FIGHT for our loved ones who can't fight for themselves. One day at a time. Sometimes one hour at a time. Metoo- here's hoping you never have to walk a mile in our shoes- for a multitude of reasons, and my last word- I don't see it as "locking up" my aunt I see it as an honor to make sure she is safe, looked after and comfortable for the rest of her life Good luck to everyone, Robyn - Roby
- Tara, this article is brilliant. Agree with every word. - Nicole Madigan
- Santorini..... - Katherine Basher
- Very moving. Everyone I know who had done this has been touched by it. - Jo
- I have to disagree with a few things in this article. Mothers have never been better supported than they are now. 12 years ago I didn't get a baby bonus and I only got 16% childcare rebate. Now families get 50% rebate on childcare. 12 years ago there was no paid maternity leave option from the government and the paid maternity leave from my work was 6 weeks, now it's increased to 8 weeks. A colleague told me last year she took 8 weeks at half pay (over 16 weeks) and then got 18 weeks paid maternity leave from the government so she could take over 8 months off with pay. There is also paternity leave available now where I work which wasn't available 12 years ago. However I do agree with Tara Moss about Newstart. Giving single parents the Newstart allowance is pathetic and I challenge any politician to try and live on it for 6 months and pay a mortgage or rent and see how they survive. We also still have a long way to go on gender equality when it comes to pay scales but hopefully with more women in the workforce it will help the cause. - Not That Bad
- Wonderful. I always ask myself will someone die if I fuck up? Will it matter in 3 months? And who fucking cares? Works for me. The swearing part is important apparently. ;-) x - Michaela C
ON THE HIGHWIRE PROFILE
Sarah Maddison
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HOW ETHICAL IS YOUR FOOD BASKET?
I had never really considered making ethical food choices until I met my partner Emma about 11 years ago. Emma had been vegetarian since she was a teenager, primarily for environmental reasons. She persuaded me that the way in which much of our food is produced--especially meat--is not sustainablet. I quickly joined her on planet tofu and didn't touch meat for several years. These days we are both a bit more flexible, and I certainly look forward to a big steak as a special occasion food. We never cook meat at home, but rationalise that if a chef has already purchased it it is OK to eat it in a restaurant now and then - I call this approach 'flexitarian'! But even in making less rigid choices about food I try hard to be an ethical consumer. Some foods are just a no no - and sorry Wendy, but tuna is definitely one of them! We always look for organic, sustainably farmed and free range options, and consider packaging and food miles carefully. And we don't limit these concerns to food - for example we try to buy second hand clothes wherever possible (reducing both the consumption of unsustainable crops like cotton but also trying to avoid supporting the very dodgy and exploitative garment industry) and limit our petrol consumption (we have a hybrid car and Emma is a keen cyclist). Our aim is to try and reduce our footprint as much as we can, and we recognise that our consumer choices are a big part of being responsible inhabitants of the planet.
THE CARBON TAX. CONFUSED?
I am definitely convinced, but I agree with Jane that the government is going to need to do a much better job of selling it. It should be a fairly straightforward issue of explaining to the electorate the need to restructure our economy now to reduce our dependency on carbon producing industry - ie, allowing the market to drive climate protection - but the whole issue has become so muddied by the climate change denialists and the Opposition's opportunism. I think this will be like the GST - a lot of hot air now (pardon the pun) but in a couple of years we will all be wondering what the (economic) fuss was about. But we should also not become complacent about the impact of climate change. Introducing this tax is not going to be nearly enough to mitigate against some of the impacts of climate change in our region. Much more to do!
How much ‘me’ time do you get?
I've gotta say, as I approach the end of the hands on parenting time of my life (one child at uni and now living out of home and the other doing HSC this year) I find the abundance of 'me' time quite extraordinary. Saturdays are now a day off again - a day for cafes and galleries rather than watching kids sport. It's lovely!! But it also feels like a little bit of reinvention is required - I still find myself feeling guilty for having free time. Need to get over that quick smart!!
THE WOMAN WHO INSPIRES YOU?
Politically: Aung San Suu Kyi is the stand out for me in terms of courage, determination and the preparedness to sacrifice personal happiness for the greater good. An incredible and inspiring woman.
Intellectually: Iris Marion Young - whenever I think what I think is a half decent thought I am always pretty sure that the late, great Iris thought it first. And usually she did. I find her work endlessly inspiring.
Physically: I have an image burned into my brain of Meg, one of the contestants in this year's series of The Biggest Loser, running up a mountain in Tasmania. She was doing it so tough but was so determined to keep going and I find that kind of determination to push past our own barriers really inspirational in my own training.
LIFE ONLINE. HOW DO YOU DO IT?
Forgive me if I have a grumpy old woman moment, but is anyone else annoyed by the increasing use of Twitter during public events. Why, when you have real live people in a room, would you prefer to mediate the conversation via a social media interface??
So you can probably guess I don't 'tweet', addicted to facebook though and have developed a compulsive need to check email every 30 seconds or so. Not sure any of that is healthy...
WHAT MADE YOU HAPPY THIS WEEK?
Well I share Wendy's marsupial mania so I have to say I am extremely jealous about the bandicoot and now the gloss has gone off my whole week...
Not really. My partner, my teenage kids and my cats are all pretty quirky little critters who keep me pretty entertained and happy. And training at the gym - all those endorphins....ahhhhhhhh :-)
TV. WHAT ARE YOU WATCHING?
Oh dear. This topic is where I really have to out myself. I'm afraid that when it comes to TV I will pretty much watch anything that moves. I find it the best way to turn off my brain after a day of research and writing, so really, the crapper the better! Crime shows are my all time fave. Like Sandra I'm also a BIG fan of iView and catch up with great (crime) drama there too.
TV has also been the one source of conflict between me and my partner (aka the TV Nazi) throughout our relationship, but we (well she!) have recently compromised and now watch whole series on DVD - The West Wing, The Wire, Weeds and right now Breaking Bad. Seems to work better for us than navigating the pitfalls of live TV.
Plus the AFL of course!! Go you Swannies!
WHERE WILL YOU BE WHEN YOU’RE 80?
If I am still alive - and that would just be SUCH a gift - then I will definitely still be on the highwire. Otherwise, what's the point? But I do hope that alpacas are involved.
YOUR LIFE IN HIGH HEELS
Hmmmm. I have a funny relationship with high heels. Having shunned them for close to twenty years, primarily out of lesbian feminist piety, I have lately come to a mid life love affair with them. Part of my mid life crisis I expect, but also related to moving into more senior positions and enjoying a little extra height at work. I confess to feeling silly about liking them - and some of my experiences wearing them are plain ridiculous! My toes were still numb and tingly five days after one recent party in which I danced in a pair of stiletto boots - but gee I felt sexy wearing them! So silly I know. I KNOW!! But what the hell - life hey!?
DEAR PRIME MINISTER, MAY I HAVE A WORD?
Dear Julia, I'm not sure that I can communicate to you my deep, heartfelt despair at your decision to align yourself with Tony Abbot rather than accept the sage judgment of the High Court. The court found that your policies (and most likely the policies of the previous government too) contravened those sections of our domestic immigration legislation that reflected out obligations under international human rights instruments. Human rights, Julia. Human. Rights.
You could see this judgment as a gift to you and your struggling government. You have been given an opportunity to take a stand on a matter of principle and mark YOUR government out as something different. YOU could be the prime minister who chose to turn her back on the failed and inhumane policies of the past. YOU could be the prime minister who chose to reinscribe for a Australia a moral place back into the world. YOU could be the prime minister we tell our grandchildren about with pride. YOU could be that leader Julia. You.
But instead you have chosen to side with the haters and the fear mongers. You have chosen not to lead but to exploit your citizens' anxiety. You have chosen to pick up the shovel and dig even deeper into the dank hole your government is in. And in doing this you will be a most forgettable prime minister. Your leadership will stand for nothing. It will just be more and more of the same.
My disappointment knows no bounds.
SO, WHAT’S YOUR IDEA OF SEXY?
Sharp mind, clear eyes, dazzling smile, easy laugh, comfortable in her own skin. Sounds like my girl...
SPORT. WHO ARE YOU CHEERING FOR?
Oh I lurve my Swannies - and AFL in general. So much more athletic than the other football codes. But you know, women do play it too - and it would be great to see more women's sport on TV. One of my favourite cartoons is still the one by Judy Horacek that shows two people sitting on a couch watching TV:
Person 1: Oh look, some women's sport on TV!
Person 2: Great to see some gender equity at last.
Person 1: No, I think all the men must have died.
Person 2: You're right, that is more likely.
HOW DO YOU TAKE YOUR CRIME?
Crime fiction and crime TV are such a deliciously guilty pleasure - unfortunately not one shared by my soft hearted partner who just finds it distressing. But my love of crime certainly makes travelling for work far more bearable - a night in a hotel room allows me to indulge my love of crime TV til late...
YOUTH, ALCOHOL & SEX. WHAT’S THE RIGHT MIX?
I reckon that raising two teenagers has been the most frightening thing I have ever done. From about when they hit the age of 16 you realise that if you have not equipped them by then (with information and values) to be making good decisions about what they do with their bodies it is totally and utterly too late. Any parent who believes they have any control over their children's alcohol intake or sexual activity after that age is having themselves on. If you try and get heavy or 'ban' any of that it will simply go underground - it will still be going on but you won't know about it, which in my view is far riskier for the kids.
So I have tried to focus on keeping the lines of communication open so they know they can talk to me without being judged. The relationship you have with them is the only thing that matters and is the best protection they can have. They will do what they are going to do anyway - best they do it armed with knowledge about STIs (and a stack of condoms), etc. I have always made it clear they were welcome to have their sexual partners stay at our house - again I figure this creates a situation where safer sex is more likely to occur than in the back of a car. With alcohol, I have tried to give a consistent message that I think they (and their whole generation!) drink in an entirely unhealthy and antisocial way, while not being a complete hypocrite, given that I also enjoy a drink. And then I have crossed my fingers, aware that like every other parent I am making up the rules for how to parent teens as I go along, one voice in the maelstrom of social/developmental/hormonal pressures they are experiencing...scary, scary, scary.
The funny thing is that my view of teens was formed as a youth worker, so (according to my partner) I assume that all teens shoot heroin and steal cars, so anything better seems a complete bonus. Maybe that's right. So far so good though. One nearly 18, the other 19, both alive and healthy, with wonderful friends, in solid relationships, figuring themselves and the world out, learning, studying, travelling, and as happy as it's possible to be at those horrible ages. We are close, they know my love is unconditional, and we talk about the stuff that matters - including alcohol and sex. Not much more I can ask I reckon.
IF YOU COULD TIME TRAVEL, WHERE WOULD YOU GO?
Wow Wendy, that sounds amazing - take me with you??
But for me I think I would like to go back and be a young adult in the 1960s. It would have been an incredible thing to be a part of those revolutionary mass social movements that believed that social transformation was really possible. When I compare that to the bleak horizon of contemporary politics I feel so sad. I take my hat off to the "Occupy ..." movements around the world - including in Sydney and Melbourne - who are challenging the hegemony of corporate greed and the power and political influence that goes with immense wealth - so much harder to mount and sustain a movement like that in today's political climate!!
WHAT DO YOU WANT FOR CHRISTMAS?
Oh Christmas, how I loathe it. I don't want or need anything thanks. Like Marina I wanted my daughter to get the result she wanted in the HSC and that was delivered. My son is travelling with his girlfriend so as always I want them to be safe. But no gifts needed.
Roll on Boxing Day!!!
WHAT ARE YOUR HOPES FOR 2012?
In 2012 I would like to feel excited about Australian politics again. I would like Julia to grow a backbone and start leading with heart rather than ambition. I would like Tony Abbott to get a nasty case of chronic laryngitis. I would like the conscience vote on same-sex marriage to surprise everyone by passing. I would like the miners to develop a conscience and realise that paying a bigger share of tax for ripping the resources out of land that doesn't belong to them is probably fair...ok now I'm just being silly.
I would like Obama to win a second term. Yes, he's been disappointing but the alternative is frightening. I would like the democratic transitions flowing from this year's Arab Spring to be peaceful, to allow women greater autonomy and freedom, and to model how peace can spread when the people want it. I would like the 1 percent to think hard about what greater distribution of wealth to the bottom 50 percent might look and feel like - probably still great luxury and comfort for the rich and a dramatic reduction in death and disease for the poor. It's possible.
I would like my family to continue to blossom and my wonderful young adult kids to keep exploring the world and their place in it with joy, generosity, compassion and safety. I hope all my friends and family know love and peace this year.
Like Wendy, I hope we all think about the Christmas beetle and just accept that we CAN change the way we have done things - we can still prosper and enjoy life without the level of destruction we have wrought in the last two centuries. It is time to restructure and change. This won't be the end of life as we know it!!
And for me, I am looking forward to new adventures, new travels, stimulating work, a bit of a new direction, and all with the love of a very good woman by my side. Nothing else I could want!!
WHAT ARE YOU GRATEFUL FOR?
Today, my son's 20th birthday, I am grateful for my children's good health. I am grateful to have abundant love and friendship in my life. I am grateful (and sometimes guilty) for all the benefits and privileged that come with being white and well off in a society that continues to disadvantage those who are not. After Saturday's election result I am VERY grateful that I don't live in Queensland.
And having just returned to Australia from two months in South Africa I am very grateful for so much that is good about my country. Like Wendy, I am grateful for running water, for electricity, for quality public education and health care and for multiculturalism, with all its challenges. Really we don't know how good we have it.
And so to plug a friend, the amazing comic DeAnne Smith is in Australia at the moment touring her new show Livin' the Sweet Life, which explores our cushy lives - check it out. I promise you will be grateful for the laughs she gives you!
CAN JULIA GO THE DISTANCE?
For reasons I suspect many of us will never understand, Julia Gillard morphed from a sharp, funny, incisive communicator to a dull automaton upon becoming prime minister. In 2010 she ran the worst election campaign I can ever remember, in the process wiping out a huge majority and barely clinging to government. Yes, she has been the victim of hideous, misogynist media and other attacks. And yes, despite this she has managed to pass a raft of important legislation in the most complex and delicate of parliaments. But the bottom line remains. She seems completely unable to communicate to the Australian public in a way that seems genuine, believable or likeable. And, like the rest of her party, she seems totally incapable of articulating a vision or a set of values of any kind.
So can she win the next election? No. Can Labor win the next election? I doubt it. As horrendous as the prospect is, the most likely scenario I can see is that Tony Abbott will be prime minister before the end of next year and Labor will experience an electoral wipeout.
In this context, I reckon it's time to stop speculating about the Labor leadership - it is almost irrelevant and will probably only affect the scale of electoral carnage that occurs in 2013. The more important conversation now has to be about the Senate. Having Abbott in government will be enough of a nightmare - HE MUST NOT CONTROL THE SENATE.
So what do we do about that????
WHEN WERE YOU MOST SEXY?
When my partner Emma and I got together nearly 12 years ago (when I was 32)...well...it's probably enough to say that despite being a voracious reader I didn't touch a book for a year :)
MY BEST DVD BOXED SET
When we finished the last series of The West Wing I felt like a member of my family had died. So good. Especially the earlier series. Great writing, great cast, great politics. Since then we have loved The Wire, Weeds (SO dark!!), Breaking Bad (even darker!!), and we're now on the second series of The Killing. Looking for suggestions about what comes next...
ARE YOU A TECHNO-JUNKIE?
I am a total geek girl. Classic early adopter. I love my techno stuff!! I love how easy it makes my work (and play!), and I love being the techie one in our household who can network things, fix things, figure the tech stuff out. It is, however, a minor point of tension with my beloved who is planning to keep her 450 year old phone until it fossilises...
HOW DO YOU KEEP YOUR BODY AND MIND STRONG?
I start my day at 5.20am so I can fit in a gym session every day. Twice a week I do a crossfit style class (high intensity, high rep intervals), twice a week I do spin, and once or twice a week I train with a personal trainer. A couple of times a year I set myself the challenge of a run like the City to Surf for a bit of extra focus.
It is really satisfying to be in my mid 40s and know that I am the fittest and strongest I have been in my life! A big change from 3 years ago when I was 12 kgs heavier and couldn't run to catch a bus! Now I have more energy, I sleep better and yes, it is satisfying to look better too :)
I also pay a lot of attention to what I eat - aim for high protein, low carb, low fat, mostly vegetarian, as organic as possible. I don't find any of that difficult, it's just what I like to eat. We never eat meat at home but I really enjoy it as a treat when we go out.
My mind? I'm an academic so my mind is always busy. I feel I should probably do more to slow it down through meditation or something but the time and discipline of that seems beyond me at the moment. Maybe one day... Holidays!! A holiday is always booked and the light on the horizon that makes everything else possible :)