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I was incredibly fortunate to be able to attend the Gillard talk which was at the Sydney Opera House last night with two amazing friends of mine. Regardless of your political affiliation, to be able to see a woman of such intellect, passion and charm such as Ms Gillard was an opportunity not to be missed.
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On my way into the Opera House, I turned into something of a fan girl. I walked past former treasurer Wayne Swan, who was wandering around the Quays, and squeaked with nervous joy. I also saw other ABC personalities such as Mike Bowers, with his trademark camera in tow and radio presenter Fran Kelly. It was at that point I realised I watched far too much ABC for my own good.
The opening of the talk was electric – Aretha Franklin’s “Respect” came blaring out of the speakers as Julia Gillard stepped out on stage. What greeted her was an auditorium of adoring fans giving her a much deserved standing ovation. I personally was a bit overwhelmed by the wave of love and emotion that I nearly shed a tear or two. The love in the room for her was simply awe inspiring and I think it was a way for supporters to try to tend the wounds of her time in office. My friends and I were also absolutely delighted that she looked radiant – I think at one point we all swooned and had a bit of a feminist girl crush on her. Gillard looked revitalised, happy and the twinkle in her eye had resiliently returned. Plus, Tim did an excellent job on her hair.
The talk itself was a revelation – her strength and resolve are an inspiration not only to women, but to everyone who has had to endure such hostility. Her charm really came to the fore in the conversations, she was witty, funny and just an absolute delight to listen to. It was a real shame that most Australians simply never got the opportunity to see that side of her, they were too focused on the vitriol. At least now we will be able to take some time to reflect upon Gillard’s accomplishments while she was PM of a hostile government – they were significant and too lengthy to list here.
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Looking at Gillard last night, my friends and I reflected upon how different Australia could have been if she was given the respect she very much deserved. But at least Gillard came back into the welcoming arms of her audience and hopefully we reminded her that history will be kind to her, and there were people who will remember her legacy as the First Prime Minister.
After the speech and after having a few vinos overlooking the Harbour, I rewatched the passionated Sexism and Misogyny speech. I remember that day so vividly when I first heard the speech. I was so proud of my Prime Minister to call out the vitriol and the sheer disrespect of the opposition and it was a speech that seemed to resonate with a lot of women, not only in Australia but worldwide. Listening to it again, it was just disheartening to see how minute the progress had been for women in the LNP, with only Julie Bishop in cabinet. We have gone from a female PM, Governor General and growing representation in parliament and the Senate, to just Julie Bishop. It really makes you think.
This morning, my dad proceeded to ruin my breakfast by telling me about what Alan Jones thought about the talk. Apparently he was absolutely livid that Gillard was not only alive and well, but people would actually fork out
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money to hear her talk. I simply don’t understand Jones’ hostility – his party won, the status quo has returned and the Earth as we know it continues to spin. Leave us progressives to unite and celebrate an intelligent, articulate and highly skilled political leader. His rage also extended to the ABC who kindly decided to broadcast the speech. In true Jones’ style, he called for the ABC to be privatised to prevent this nonsense from being shown to the people. Misogynist, thy name is Alan Jones.
Thank you Gillard – thank you for showing women what is possible and thank you for your service to improving the lives of Australians. History will be more than kind to you. It wasn’t easy being the first, but someone had to do it. Let’s hope that is is easier for the next future Prime Minister and that we all learn to be much more mature about women in power.
I’ll be taking the next few weeks off this blog as apparently I need to study my law textbooks and not the ABC. Hopefully, by that time, Abbott will have stopped the boats, developed a policy position and the ALP will have a leader. Not going to hold my breath on any of those though.
Related articles
- As it happened: Julia Gillard at the Sydney Opera House (abc.net.au)
- Gillard: My ‘murderous outrage’ (theage.com.au)
- Respect for woman who led the way (smh.com.au)
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