Members statements
Women in sport
Ms McLEISH (Eildon) (09:42): There have been wonderful achievements by Australian female athletes recently. Jamie Kah broke the record as the first Victorian jockey to ride 100 Melbourne metropolitan winners in a season, Ash Barty became the first Australian woman to win Wimbledon since 1980 and Emma McKeon’s feats in the swimming pool in Tokyo have made her Australia’s most decorated Olympian. One of the highest decorations, though, was the induction of Melbourne’s Judy Tegart-Dalton into the International Tennis Hall of Fame. Judy was one of the original nine led by the indomitable Billie Jean King who risked their tennis future and started their own professional tour. Judy and this group had an enormous impact on professional tennis and sport for women worldwide. They revolutionised the game for female players, introduced gender equality and created the Women’s Tennis Association. Judy led by example to ensure female players had the same opportunities to play world-class tournaments and win big prize money as their male counterparts. Tennis and sport for female athletes would not be what they are today without these nine women, and this is such wonderful recognition.