1980 to 1988

1970's and 1980's

• Aboriginal Land Rights struggle continued with some small gains made. Demands made for recognition of their prior ownership of the land. In Victoria several small parcels of land are now held in trust or by co-operatives, including Lake Tyers and Bairnsdale. page 77

1980

• United Nations Mid-decade Conference - Copenhagen 14 July. There was also a non-governmental organisations Forum. Four thousand attended the Forum. The conference produced the Program of Action to carry out the Plan of Action produced at the International Women's Year Conference in Mexico 1975. There were a number of pre-conference conferences around Australia. page 36
• Crimes (Sexual Offences) Act 1980 - provision for prosecution for rape committed by a husband on wife while seperated or living apart. page 36
• In Melbourne, Women and Labour Conference held and Women's Pub, the Kingston opened in Richmond. page 36

1981

• Victorian Advisory Council on the Status of Women established by the State Government. It became, in 1983, the Victorian Women's Advisory Council. page 36
• DES Action wins out after long public struggle and Clinic opens at Royal Women's Hospital on 18 March. page 37
• Federal Human Rights Commission Act - based on United Nations International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights. page 37
• Women's International Democratic Federation held World Congress in Prague 8-13 October. Its purpose was to work towards attainment of the aims of the Decade for Women equality, development and peace. page 37
• Women's Liberation reading group formed - later to become Women's Liberation Archives. page 37
• Victorian Women's Art Movement formed. page 37

1982

• Right to Choose Coalition formed by the Women's Electoral Lobby; Union of Australian Women; Women's Abortion Action Committee; Australian Union of Students Women's Department; Working Women's Centre; Melbourne Unitarian Church; Australian Labor Party Status of Women Committee and Women's Right to Abortion Committee.
  Right to Choose was a campaign for the means and right of women to control our fertility and repeal of Section 65 of the Crimes Act. The Coalition produced a monthly newsletter entitled Freedom to Choose. page 37
• Women and Labour conference - Adelaide SA 4-6 June. page 37
• Women's building moved to 295 Victoria Street, West Melbourne in August. page 37
• National Women's Advisory Council produced the Australian Plan of Action for the Decade. This was based on a conference of women in Canberra. page 37

1983

• National Wage Case - the Women's Electoral Lobby, Union of Australian Women and National Council of Women were involved in making submissions. WEL submitted that a Board of Commissioners be established within the Arbitration Commission to deal effectively with work value (equal pay claims for work of equal value) in women's traditional trades, professions and fields of work.
  This was rejected by the Australian Conciliation and Arbitration Commission. In its decision the ACAC effectively acknowledges women's work is undervalued and underpaid, and that the economy could not afford to pay commensurate women's wages ie comparable worth. page 37
• National Wage Case established important wage-fixing principles in female occupational work. page 63
• Constitution (Local Government) Act extended automatic right to vote in municipal election to non property owners eie all those enrolled to vote in State Legislative Assembly elections. page 38
• Family Law Amendment Act - Commonwealth Family Law Act 1975. This gave Family Court juristiction in marital property disputes prior to divorce. page 38
• Women for Survival anti-nuclear camp at Pine Gap in November to protest the danger of nuclear war. page 38
• In Melbourne the Women's Health Collective opened at 199 Sydney Road Brunswick and Shrew Women's Bookshop oped at 37 Gertrude Street Fitzroy. page 38

1984

• Women's Information and Referral Exchange opened 8 March in Flinders Streeet Station building. It later moved to Flinders Lane. WIRE received State Government funding. page 38
• Federal Sex Discrimination Act passed 8 March. The United Nations Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women forms the basis of theis Act.
  Victorian Interpretation of Legislation Act states, inter alia, words importing the feminine gender include the masculine, words importing masculine gender include the feminine. In Victoria the use of gender neutral wording is gradually being adopted as existing legislation is amended and new Acts drafted, as in the Equal Opportunity Act 1984. A Victorian Ministerial Statement (Hansard 1594), at the time the Bill was debatged and passed, proposed adoption of gender neutral language in legislation.page 38
• Public Service (Amendment) Act Victoria - division boundaries removed. Provision made for equal opportunity. page 39
• Victorian Equal Opportunity Act, 1 August, repealed the 1977 Act and the 1982 Discrimination Against Disabled Persons Act. It incorporated their provisions and extended the scope of the Act to include sexual harassment etc. It also extended the Board's ability to pursue aspects of discrimination. page 39
• Victorian Government Women's Policy Co-ordinator appointed. page 39
• Women's Liberation Calendar co-published with Sybylla Press. page 39
• Women and Labour Conference on 13-15 July, with the theme of Racism, held in Brisbane. page 39
• Anti-Anzac Day demonstration organised by Women Against Rape. page 39

• Women for Survival protest action against the danger of war and foreign military bases on Australian soil, on 1.14 December at Cockburn Sound. page 39

• 1985
  

• First woman appointed to the Bench in Victoria - Judge Lynette Schiftan, on 26 March in the County Court. page 39
• United Nations World Conference in Nairobi 15.26 July. The conference produced Forward Looking Strategies to Implement a Program of Action to the year 2000. There was also a non-governmental Forum at thich 14,000 women attended. These conferences were to review and appraise the achievements of the United Nations Decade for Women. page 39
• The Council of Action for Equal Pay re-activated in August to draw attention to the ineffectiveness of current equal pay legislation and the need for action to achieve comparable worth. Activities included Time's Up equal pay conference 13-15 September; Equal Pay tramride on 16 September and chain up at the arbitration Commission, as re-enacment of the 1969 chain up on 31 October. page 39
• National Agenda for Women - on 28 November the Australian Labor Government announced their commitment to advance the status of women and promoted consultations with women's groups throughout Australia over a six month period. page 40
• Victorian Women's Trust Ltd set up by the Victorian Premier in April with a 1 million dollar grant, administered by women to fund special women's projects. page 40
• First woman elected as President of the Legislative Council of South Australia - Ann Levy. page 40

• The First Woman Speaker elected in the House of Representatives - Joan Child. page 40Crimes (Amendment) Act (effective January 1986) gave legal protection to women from rape in marriage. page 40

• 1986
  

• Commonwealth Human Rights and Equal Opportunity Act passed 10 December. page 40
• Commonwealth Affirmative Action (Equal Employment Opportunity for Women) Act passed 1 October (came into operation 1February 1987). page 40
• Private Hospitals and Doctors' Nurses (ACT) Award - Comparable Worth case rejected. The Commission reaffirmed the 1972 principles (work value) in the Equal Pay Case. RANF & Hospital Employees Federation, 18 February. page 63
• Royal Australian Nursing Federation - work value. Anomoly application re 1972 Equal Pay Case. Work Value changes were found to be justified. page 63
• Victorian Women's Consultative Council established - this replaced the Victorian Women's Advisory Council. page 40
• First woman appointed to the High Court - in December Justice Mary Gaudron was appointed. page 41
• First meeting of Aboriginal Rights Solidarity Group. page 41
• Women for Survival Canberra protest action in October. page 41

• Women's Liberation Archives Group Calendar co-published by Sybylla Press Co-operative. page 41

• 1987

• Victorian Western District areas Framlingham and Lake Condah transferred under Commonwealth Land Rights legislation. page 77
• First woman elected as Lord Mayor of Melbourne - Councillor Leckie (Alexis) Ord was elected on 10 August. page 41
• Clothing trades outworkers officially incorporated into the industrial award on 7 October to give them rights to holiday pay, sick leave and other amenities in line with other clothing trade workers. page 41

• The Crimes (Family Violence) Act became law on 1 December. It is legislation which aims to protect victims of domestic violence and child abuse by providing for a restraining order to be taken out against the offender. page 41

• 1988

• Koories, led by Winnie Quagliotte, protested the bicentennial docking of the tall ships at Station Pier, Melbourne on 1 January. page 77
• Koories lead demonstration of 10,000 people in a day of mourning and protest against the bicentennial re-enactment of the arrival of the first fleet in Sydney on 26 January. Demonstration also held in Melbourne. page 78
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Last updated: June 28, 2007