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Legislative Assembly for the ACT: 2002 Week 1 Hansard (13 December) . . Page.. 194 ..

MR STANHOPE (continuing):

In 1973, she became an active member of the newly created Nursing Mothers Association of Australia, at a time when, in parts of Australia, women could be charged with offensive behaviour for breastfeeding in public, and relatively few Australian mothers were encouraged to breastfeed. What changes in thinking have been led by women such has Helen!

Helen's commitment to the Nursing Mothers Association continued through localised group leadership and counselling. She moved up the ranks until her eventual appointment, in 1988, to the National Women's Consultative Council as the representative of the Nursing Mothers Association or Australian Breastfeeding Association, as it is now known.

Still living in Sydney, Helen worked for the New South Wales health department, providing self-esteem and communication training. Helen developed lobbying skills inspired by her growing conviction that women should be free to make their own decisions, and be supported in those decisions.

At the same time as her appointment to the National Women's Consultative Council, she was a co-director of Distaff Associates, a co-convenor of WRITES, the umbrella organisation for the Women's Economic Think Tank, and was also involved with Refractory Girl, the Women's Radio Network and other groups. Helen made a number of other notable contributions during her time with the National Women's Consultative Council, including the organisation of the Women's Tax Convention here in Canberra.

Helen had a deep interest in spiritual matters throughout her life, and a passion for photography. She was particularly interested in spiritual issues from a feminist perspective. This gave her the desire to attend the 1987 conference on women in the Australian Catholic Church. As she was unable to afford the registration fee, she negotiated to attend as an accredited photographer.

From that point on, Helen was always seen with her camera. She created an extraordinary library of photographs recording the history and activities of many women's organisations in Australia. The National Foundation of Australian Women, together with Helen's family, hope to put these photographs on display.

Helen's impact on the community did not stop with her photography. She founded the National Women's Media Centre, after working with her friend Ann Deveson, the journalist and writer, on the portrayal of women in the media. After identifying the fact that only 20 per cent of interviewees in the media were women, Helen led the project that produced the 1998 national women's media directory.

Helen moved to Canberra in 1998, to become national executive officer for the Women's Electoral Lobby. She then moved on to the position of executive officer of the Women's Services Network. She remained in this role until the time of her death, while also being involved with the National Breast Cancer Foundation, the National Women's Media Centre and, through the women's history month, the Coalition of Australian Participating Organisations of Women, or CAPOW. As a consultant, she was involved with a range of other groups.

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