Clarence City Council Deputy Mayor Allison Ritchie was inducted into the Tasmanian Honour Roll of Women today at a ceremony in Launceston, in recognition of public service.
The Tasmanian Honour Roll of Women was established in 2005 by the Tasmanian Government to honour Tasmanian women who have made an outstanding contribution to the State.
Clarence City Council Mayor Brendan Blomeley said the award was recognition of a long history of remarkable service to the community.
“Deputy Mayor Allison Ritchie has been a forerunner in Tasmanian politics over two decades, being the youngest person ever elected to the Tasmanian Legislative Council in 2001, and most recently elected as Deputy Mayor of our great city,” he said.
“Allison has a tremendous record of achievement and this pays homage to her lifetime of service to the Tasmanian community in the political field, as well as her dedication to the social fabric of our community, including being elected to roles such as the inaugural President of Dementia Advocacy Tasmania, Assistant Secretary of the Clarence RSL Women’s Auxiliary, Board Member of Oakdale Services Tasmania and Patron for the Association for Children with Disability.”
In December 2002, Allison became the first woman to have a baby while a Member of the Legislative Council, and actively lobbied the Howard and Rudd governments to introduce a national paid maternity leave scheme.
Allison gained a reputation for prodigious grassroots electorate work and she established the model for electorate offices to enable MPs to provide effective services directly to the local community. Allison was instrumental in protecting the conservation values of Ralph’s Bay and in 2009 she founded People Protecting Children to highlight issues relevant to child safety, achieve legislative and systematic change, and eradicate child abuse.
Deputy Mayor Allison Ritchie said the recognition was a wonderful tribute but that there was still more work to be done.
“I feel privileged to be inducted into the Honour Roll and look forward to continuing to work hard to deliver positive outcomes for the City of Clarence and Tasmania as a whole,” Cr Ritchie said.
“It has been my honour to work for Tasmanians at so many levels and I look forward to being able to continue to do that.”
The Honour Roll encourages community involvement in the processes of research and discovery about women’s historical and contemporary contributions to Tasmania, ensuring these achievements are given full recognition and not forgotten in the passage of time.