Iconic Australian parliamentarian Mrs Doris Blackburn. Image courtesy Coburg Historical Society Source: Leader
DORIS Blackburn, the second woman to win a federal seat by election, has been honoured in the naming of a new government building in Canberra.
The former federal Labor MP was elected as the Member for Burke (now Wills) in 1946.
Blackburn was known as a peace campaigner and civil rights activist. She was supported by a radical wing of the Labor party in Melbourne's north, which played a key role in her election.
The MP died in Coburg in 1970.
Human Services Minister, Senator Kim Carr, announced on Monday the new Canberra offices for the department would be named after Blackburn.
"Naming the building after Doris Blackburn commemorates her contributions to the social life of Australia, with particular emphasis on equality of opportunity for its entire people," Senator Carr said.
"In later years, she continued her service through senior posts in countless community organisations, campaigning for social justice on many fronts: from education, to housing, to Indigenous rights and civil liberties.
"It is fitting that we carry on Doris's fight with the memory of her service."
Doris Blackburn's personal experience of poverty gave her a deep sense of compassion for the underprivileged.
Her long engagement with politics began in 1911 when she attended her first meeting of the Women's Political Association.
Two years later Blackburn became involved in women's rights and served as the campaign secretary of Vida Goldstein-the first woman to stand for election to federal parliament in Australia.
Even so, she was driven by the need to actively assist the underprivileged and a deep commitment to social justice rather than for women's rights alone.
Blackburn entered into a personal and political partnership with her husband, lawyer and Labor activist Maurice Blackburn, and while she was content to play a supporting role to his political career, she was increasingly recognised for her own political work as president of the Women's International League for Peace and Freedom and earlier activism with community organisations such as the Victorian Playgrounds Association and the Citizen's Education Fellowship.
This work honed her acute sense of the work of grassroots community activism and its political impact.
New building will be energy efficient
The Doris Blackburn Building, in Forrest ACT, will house over 500 staff from the Department of Human Services.
The building has 4.5 star National Australian Built Environment Rating system.
It also includes a range of innovative tools and systems that make it a state of the art building.
For example "environmental dashboards" in the foyer report on the building's energy usage; workplace design enourages people to meet and includes 'pods' and multimedia meeting spaces.
Information provided by Senator Carr's office
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