Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade
ABC Adelaide Evenings With Spence Denny
Spence Denny, Host: Foreign Minister Penny Wong, good evening to you.
Foreign Minister: Good to speak with you, Spence.
Denny: She was an amazing woman, Rosemary, in so many ways. Quite zany too, wasn’t she?
Foreign Minister: Yeah, she had such a wonderful sense of humour. But I was just reflecting, you know, there are these women who have gone before who really did, who really were trailblazers and showed so much courage to be the first or one of the only, and Rosemary was one of them, and I was so grateful for her support over my political life, and I do want to just express my condolences to Stephen, Vincent and Dermot and all of the family and her friends, because this is, you know, it is very sad to see.
Denny: Yeah. She held two Ministerial positions, both of which were really focused on women.
Foreign Minister: That’s right. And I remember working with her, actually, when she was Minister for Families. And, as you know, she did a lot of work on childcare, but she also had such an interest because of her medical background in health policy. But I did want to say, two points I wanted to make if I may Spence; one is she was the first Labor woman South Australia sent to Federal Parliament. So, not only the first female Senator from South Australia for the Labor Party, but the first Labor woman to go to Canberra, which is quite an extraordinary achievement, I think. The other thing, I remember her taking me out to lunch when I was looking to think about standing for preselection and her saying that she would back me. And I remember what that meant to me, to have a woman who had had that career say, I’m prepared to support you. It meant a lot to me.
Denny: Yeah, it would have done. What is, and I had this conversation with her once, what is remarkable as the first female from South Australia to go to Canberra, that happened in 1983.
Foreign Minister: I know.
Denny: Wow. That was. How overdue was that?
Foreign Minister: I know. It’s difficult, isn’t it, when we look back? Because I was just actually looking up the order of elections and so forth before I spoke to you, and I thought, how did it take us that long before we sent a woman to Canberra? It’s quite remarkable, isn’t it? Anyway, it’s a different world now. We’re now 51 per cent women in the Federal Parliament from the Labor Party. So, it’s a different world.
Denny: Look, we contacted former Senator Natasha Stott Despoja as well, and clearly her and Rosemary are very close friends. Can I just read a part of what Natasha sent to us?
Foreign Minister: Sure.
Denny: She said, “Rosemary was a true sister. I loved her sense of humour, which could be bawdy at times, her feminism and her passion for policy and legislation that advanced the needs of families, grew economies and especially support women and children, be it through social security, health and even as the first promoter of women’s sport.” One of the things – there’s more to say, but I love this paragraph here – and this all just came straight out of Natasha’s head. Okay. She said, “she was a trailblazer in South Australia, but also nationally,” as we said, the first ALP female Senator from South Australia. “I have many fond memories, but I can’t help but laugh remembering us doing the conga line in the Senate corridors to protest the ban on dancing in Parliament House issued by the new Howard government.” You weren’t allowed to dance?
Foreign Minister: No, that was before I got there. But that just sounds so much like Rosemary, doesn’t it? That’s a great story, very well said. I think Natasha’s words are perfect.
Denny: Yeah. She goes on to say a few more. I might try and read it later on. But the other thing is, I mean, you actually have an opportunity on Friday to really pay tribute to Rose because she was one of the people who helped establish the International Women’s Day Breakfast.
Foreign Minister: Yes, absolutely. She led the establishment of it, she was host and she put me on the committee to help organise the Women’s Day Breakfast before I was, obviously, before I was a candidate. And I took over hosting from her when she retired and I went into Parliament. So, she handed that on to me. And it’s an event that over the years has grown and Rosemary was so committed to it as such a strong feminist, but also not just to commemorate International Women’s Day, but to give women in South Australia, women in Adelaide, an opportunity to come together to celebrate what we’ve done, and affirm what we need to do.
Denny: And she was a serious talker. Once you got into a conversation with Rose, it was pretty hard to get. And people accuse me of being like that, but, boy, once you got into a conversation with Rose, it was pretty hard to escape. Not that you necessarily wanted to because what she said was always interesting.
Foreign Minister: Yeah, she had a really interesting mind, a really beautiful heart and a sense of humour, a very mischievous sense of humour.
Denny: Yeah, yeah. Hey, look, I know you’re very busy tonight, Senator Penny Wong, so thank you for taking time to pay tribute to Rosemary. I know you’re actually joining the breakfast team at the Women’s Day breakfast on Friday, from which they are broadcasting on Friday. And I know it’s a sellout again, so, again, it’ll be a huge celebration of International Women’s Day, but also a chance to reflect on the contribution that former Senator Rosemary Crowley made to what is now very much a fixture on the social calendar in South Australia.
Foreign Minister: Yeah, that contribution to the event, but to women everywhere around this country.
Denny: Yeah. Penny, thank you so much, indeed.
Foreign Minister: Good to speak with you, Spence.
https://www.foreignminister.gov.au/minister/penny-wong/transcript/abc-adelaide-evenings-spence-denny