Madeleine Love - Lead Senate

September 14th - "Women’s party say No to nuclear"   (PDF)
September 25th - "Where is breast best  – in Norway"  (PDF)
October 2nd  - "$150,000 can’t buy love"  (PDF)
October 19th - "Women Will Decide" (PDF)
October 25th - "Merry Christmas to Rural Women" (PDF)
October 26th - "Violence at night and under bright lights" (PDF)
October 26th - "Rural Senate Candidate listens to women" (PDF)

September 14th - Women’s party say No to nuclear

Speaking today on a regional tour of Gippsland, Victorian Senate candidate for What Women Want (Australia) Madeleine Love, said “Nuclear power, nuclear waste dumps and uranium mining are significant issues in the forthcoming Federal election, particularly for women”. Polls conducted recently confirm there is a growing concern for women about the safety of nuclear power. According to the Morgan Gallup Poll1 (June 2006), 74% of women said no to more uranium mines, compared with only 55% of men. In the March 2007 Morgan Gallup Poll2, 90% of women expressed concern about the disposal of nuclear waste, compared with 74% of men. We also know that 83% of women polled in April 2007 (Newspoll) were opposed to having a nuclear power plan built in their local area.

“Nuclear power is a women’s issue”, argues Ms Love. “It has the potential to affect the well-being of our society and could have considerable impact on our children. If women band together and vote against the major parties who support nuclear power and uranium mining, it will send a clear message to further engender change. What Women Want (Australia) does not support uranium mining, nuclear power, or nuclear waste disposal in Australia”, said Ms Love.

A study conducted by The Australia Institute concluded that women, parents, the young and the middle aged were the most against nuclear power. “Groups with a vested interest in the future who care for their environment are opposed to the nuclear industry. We know that women want power from renewable sources and we argue that using nuclear power is not the answer ”, added Ms Love.

Following the campaign visit to Gippsland, Ms Love will be attending the Renewable Energy Conference being held in Bendigo September 17-18. “It is important for women to have a very strong understanding of the alternatives to nuclear power, and arm themselves with correct information about the positive power of renewable energy. What Women Want (Australia) aims to enhance this voice of women in Federal Parliament”, she added.

WWW has endorsed senate candidates for NSW, VIC, QLD, SA, WA, and TAS and in a number of key marginal seats including Wakefield, Hindmarsh and Macmillan. “Women want power for the future that is safe, sustainable and clean”, said Ms Love. “We know that renewables are the answer and we will bring strong representation to the senate on these issues”, she added.


September 25th - "Where is breast best

Speaking from her home in rural Victoria today, Madeleine Love, Victorian Senate Candidate for What Women Want (Australia), said “Australian women work harder than women in any other developed nation to be successful at breastfeeding, but poor birthing services and inappropriate parenting advice is really hurting them. New mothers should not think their bodies are to blame, and have a right to feel very, very angry”, she said.

“With over 50% of birth units closed in remote rural Australian over the past ten years, women are increasingly travelling hundreds of kilometres to give birth during labour or seek obstetric care in tertiary units, resulting in financial and social constraints such as separation from family and community. We are now seeing a significant increase in postnatal depression and a sharp decrease in breastfeeding rates”, added Ms Love. While 80% of Norwegian women are breastfeeding at 6 months1, the number in Victoria has dropped to 46%2, although nearly every first-time mother had begun breastfeeding.
“Australian women are inundated with inappropriate birthing and parenting literature from the UK and the USA where birth is becoming big business and breastfeeding success is rare” Ms Love said.

Ms Love advised, “When Federal Member for Shortland, Jill Hall, asked a question in parliament recently arising from the Federal Breastfeeding Inquiry, government members interjected, and the Speaker had to remind them that Ms Hall was raising a serious question.”3

What Women Want senate candidates from Vic, SA, ACT, NSW and QLD will be attending Parliament House Canberra this Friday September 28 to support Victorian Midwife Janie Nottingham’s campaign tour and rally (www.uar07.co.nr) which will see women and mid wives from across Australia gather to voice their concerns withAustralia’s maternity crisis. Ms Love will be travelling with the tour to Seymour,
Shepparton, Wangaratta, Albury and Wodonga from Wednesday September 26.

“What do women want ? Women want to feel confident in their bodies, to be with their families during pregnancy and birth and to remain connected to their local communities. Women want to bring birth back home to remote rural Australia” added, Ms Love.

1 “Spedkost 6 maneder” survey, Norwegian Directorate for Health and Social Affairs, published 2003
2 Maternal & Child Health Services Annual Report 2005-2006 Statewide
3 16 August 2007, House of Representatives Chamber, Votes and Proceedings, Hansard, P 57


October 2nd - $150,000 can’t buy love

Speaking today from her Benalla home in rural Victoria, Senate Candidate Madeleine Love, said “String of beads, bag of flour, and $150,000 to leave the land for someone else who wants access to it. Unlike the Indigenous population 170 years ago, farmers of today know this is goodbye forever, and it isn’t expected that many will take up the offer. Economic rationalism can’t buy off a love”, said Ms Love.

“The largest payment of $150,000 can be made only to small-asset farms, where a significant part of the income will already be coming from off-farm sources which may not be substantially affected by the drought. This is largely a vote-buying effort”, she said.

Ms Love asked “If ‘farmers’ do walk off their land forever, who or what is going to be using the land, and who or what will have access to the water rights belonging to the property?”

The Age reported Professor Peter Cullen of the Wentworth Group of Concerned Scientists pointing to adjoining landholders as the likely purchasers of the newly vacated land.

But Ms Love said “This is not going to help the long term sustainability of the agricultural industry at all. The cashed-up adjoining landholders will simply acquire the water rights of the existing property on purchase. The new purchaser will, as before, stock or crop to capacity in the good years and suffer in a relative sense in the lean years. So what will change by this apparently tremendous act of generosity?”

Ms Love said “If any farmers actually leave, society in rural centres will be further diminished, and the cashed-up adjoining land-holders will be the beneficiaries in the good years and require subsidies in the lean years. This will do little for Australian society, nothing for the economy but it won’t equate to Howard’s desperate grab to gain the feel-good votes”, she said.

“We cannot afford to have the same treatments that saw the forced removal of Indigenous traditional owners from their land occur again”, she added. “We need long term sustainable solutions for farmers and we need native title upheld. Governments should learn from our Indigenous communities who lived sustainably on the land for 40,000 years”, she said.


October 19th - Women Will Decide

Madeleine Love, Victorian Senate Candidate for What Women Want (Australia) is delighted to announce that she has what it takes to enter politics.

Launch Details: Friday 19th October, in the Domain, at the corner of Birdwood Avenue and Dallas Brooks Drive at 12.15 pm.

John Winston Howard hasn’t been listening…

Australians today aren’t directly responsible for what happened to the Indigenous populations 200 years ago, But we will decide if we want to say ‘sorry’ and make amends, or not.

Climate change issues may not yet be completely agreed on, But we will decide if we want to sign the Kyoto agreement or not.

Australians have a long history of acting in unison in war with the USA and the UK, But we will decide whether our defence forces go to war, or not.

Australia has donated the land of its interior to the use of foreign lands for some time, But we will decide whether they can use it to bury their nuclear waste, or not.

The Government has said that the Sudanese have difficulty integrating into our population,
But we will decide who comes into this country.

John Howard has been regarded as a master politician with a stroke of genius, But on November 24, Australians will decide who will govern this country.


October 25th - Merry Christmas to Rural Women…no local births and more fires expected as election season heats up

Great things come out of droughts, and the new political party “What Women Want (Australia)”, which sprang out of dry inland NSW, has a good appreciation of issues for rural women.

For party founder and NSW Senate Candidate Justine Caines residing 4 hours northwest of Sydney, and the Victorian Senate Candidate Madeleine Love residing in rural Victoria 2 hours north-east of Melbourne, World Rural Women’s Day was particularly significant with the two women joining in Melbourne last week to raise awareness of the issues that most affect rural women – births and the drought.

Ms Love and Ms Caines were joined by Victorian midwife Janie Nottingham, whom they supported last month on her drive for maternity reform to Australian Parliament House Canberra. Janie organised a rally of 300 women and midwives lobbying for the return of local birthing services for rural women.

“We are listening to rural women and they are telling us they want to bring birth back home to their local communities”, said Ms Caines. “Currently women of remote rural Australia must endure separation from their families and travel hundreds of kilometres to give birth in regional or tertiary units despite the evidence small rural maternity units confer better outcomes“1, she added.

Ms Love spoke of her experiences of the drought. “It’s been a hard series of years in rural Victoria, with the 2006/7 bushfires, coming on top of the fires in the same regions as 2003. Many women in rural Victoria have been subjected to intense stress over the past few years”, said Ms Love. “My husband was away through most of December fighting fires. I think I bought 62 Christmas presents for our combined families with three young children in tow, somehow hiding the vital presents. Many women shared
this experience with me. And then the next fire hit, at Tatong, and then he was off again for the next month. And after the smoke had cleared the salvage work began”, she added.

“When John Howard offered 1,000 farmers $150,000 to leave the land, and everyone said ‘established farmers don’t leave the land’, my thoughts went straight to the women who have contributed in so many ways to keeping their farms and families together”, added Ms Love. The What Women Want party has a strong social policy platform and will continue to campaign for improvements in maternity services and drought support for the nation’s rural women.

1. Tracy, SK, Dahlen H, Sullivan E, Black D, Wang YA, Tracy M (2006). Does size matter? A population based study of birth in lower volume maternity hospitals for low risk


October 26th - Violence at night and under bright lights - Only Yes means Yes ! says candidate for Women

The “Reclaim the Night” march will be held across the globe tonight. Traditionally the march evolved in the 1970’s when women united together to protest against all forms of violence. What Women Want (Australia) supports the march and Madeleine Love, rural Victorian Senate Candidate, says it is vital to repel violence against women at night, as it is under bright lights.

“Nowhere is this more poignant than in the case of the women who were sexually assaulted under the bright lights and trust of full medical examination”, she said, commenting on the Melbourne dermatologist who this week pleaded guilty to fourteen charges of rape and sexual assault against his patients, in the Melbourne county court.

Ms Love acknowledged the courage of the seven women who came forward to make this abuse known, saying “Statistics tell us that only 20-25% of sexual assault is reported, and even though this particular case was publicised it is possible there may have been more victims who didn’t report,” she said.

Speaking directly to people who had suffered sexual abuse and violence, Ms Love said she and the WWW party understood the many reasons for victims to be reluctant to tell their story, but encouraged them to call CASA - the Centre against Sexual Abuse, for support. “There is no need to make a statement – you can have confidence that you will be understood, believed, and protected. Look at the women around you, and know that every second woman will understand personally, the short and long term effect of sexual abuse”, said Ms Love.

The What Women Want party is also aware of the impact of sexual abuse for males. Older statistics suggest that one in six boys under the age of 18 have been abused, but the true numbers may be higher.

“Where is Tony Abbott, Minister for Health, speaking against this outrage by an Australian doctor? Where is the PM John Howard, whose ministers can wrongly vilify a doctor for international terrorism, but who has nothing to say about this horrendous serial abuse of power over women by a registered medical practitioner”, said Ms Love.

“John Howard’s concern for women seems to go about as deep as his vacuous campaign of “Australia says NO to violence to women”, said Ms Love.

“Many women are already shocked and violated before they are able to say ‘No’ to sexual assault. Within the WWW party women say only YES means YES. Medical practitioners need to be told immediately, violation against women is malpractice, no excuse, and the Medical Practitioner Boards need to continue to adopt this stance”, said Ms Love.

To contact any CASA (www.casa.org.au) and the after hours Sexual Assault Crisis Line (SACL) simply call 1800 806 292 or Email SACL at ahcasa@rwh.org.au

October 26th - Rural Victoria’s Senate Candidate listens to women

Benalla resident Madeleine Love is running as lead Victorian senate candidate for the new
political party “What Women Want (Australia)” in the forthcoming federal election.

Ms Love said “Women usually only stand up together when things are tough, and the rise of
this party out of the bush, following the droughts and fires, is a signal that women are finding
things so difficult they are prepared to take action.”

The party sprang out of the mind of rural NSW woman Justine Caines, who knew that nothing
would change if she did not make women’s issues political, so she formed a political party for
Australian women, What Women Want (Australia).

Ms Love added, “Women in rural Victoria have toughness, resilience and common sense and
have a lot to contribute towards our changing circumstances”.

Madeleine’s work background includes insurance, superannuation and childcare, spending the
last twelve years as a rural at-home mother, caring for her three children and undertaking
volunteer work in the local community.

Both senate candidates have independently supported women through problems created by
government institutions, and found that the major political parties were not able to value women
and the important issues affecting them.

Rural policy for What Women Want (Australia) focuses in the following areas:
· Listening carefully to hear how women can make things better for their partners, families,
friends and community
· Re-opening rural birthing centres and supplying more comprehensive health services to
rural Victoria
· Caring about the social and emotional well-being of people and their communities
· Caring about the land and the rivers with respect for the traditional owners
· Working out how to share water and other limited resources with the people who live in
the regions supported by the rivers
· Feeding our children food we can depend on
· Respect and payment for the people who do caring work for the nation
· Not putting business ahead of people and land, if the people and land aren’t sharing in
the wealth of the business
· Creating a rural environment we can all enjoy.

“Demographically, rural Victoria should have three senators, but currently there are no senate
offices outside Melbourne. Victoria should have six female senators, but after this election
there may be only one”, added Ms Love, “It is time to change the face of politics”.