No one could look around our caucus room and say that we don’t honour our past.
 
All those faces on that wall speak to us of Labor’s long and proud history. Our successes. Our struggles.
 
They remind us of everything we have done to change the lives of our fellow Australians for the better. And importantly, they spur us on to even greater heights.
 
It is a heritage that each one of us here is part of.
 
But the story it tells is a lopsided one. With the very notable exception of Julia Gillard, it is a story told by the faces of men.
 
So many photographs, and yet they only give us part of the picture.
 
My colleague and friend Chris Bowen knew this could not stand.
 
He knew the picture would not be complete until we also honoured the women who have been such pioneers for our party: 

• Dame Dorothy Tangney, the first woman Labor Senator.
• Joan Child, the first woman Labor Member of the House of Representatives and first female Speaker.
• Susan Ryan, the first woman Labor Minister.
• Ros Kelly, the first woman Labor Minister in the House of Representatives.
• Penny Wong, the first woman Leader of the Labor Party in the Senate and the first woman Leader of the Senate.
• Jenny Macklin, the first woman Deputy Leader of the Labor Party.
• Linda Burney, the first ever First Nations Labor woman elected to the House of Representatives, and member of the Wiradjuri nation.
• Nova Peris OAM, the first Aboriginal Labor woman elected to the Senate, and member of the Yawuru, Gidja and Iwaitja clans and language groups.
• And of course, Julia Gillard, our first woman Prime Minister.

We would not be the party we are now without the contribution each of these women has made.
 
And because of them — and all the women who have joined Labor because of them — we are more worthy of the presence of the word “Australian” in the Australian Labor Party.
 
They have made us more representative of our nation.
 
They have made us so much more complete.
 
You can pick any moment in history and be reminded of the one lesson that has been repeated with great clarity through the ages: Men don’t have all the answers. Not even close.
 
In the parliament of the present and in parliaments past, each of these women has influenced and helped countless other women — and men —in the Labor Party.
 
Labor governments have been better because Labor made a decision that we needed to improve representation of women in our party and in our parliament.
 
This wall is a reflection of that and the many women who have contributed to the efforts to improve Labor women’s representation throughout our history – because it isn’t easy.
 
And it is hard to be first. There is extra pressure, higher expectations, and an unfair level of scrutiny – especially compared to male politicians.
 
You know only too well the questions that women in politics are expected to answer, but never men.
 
It is why we should also concentrate on ensuring that we don’t just have firsts, but that we have equal and diverse representation in our party.
 
Promisingly, the caucus room today is a reflection of that goal.
 
It’s good that from this day on, our decisions will be made beneath the gaze of these strong, powerful women.
 
This is a proud moment. But it’s also a poignant one. I can’t help but think about how Susan Ryan should be here now.
 
It barely feels like any time since I talked with her on the phone.
 
Susan may be gone, but her legacy is all around us. She dedicated her life to women’s rights and equality.
 
And as she worked to lift other women, she ended up lifting the whole nation. Quite simply, Australia is a better country because of her. The doors she opened will never be closed again.
 
And crucially, she ensured that while she was the first, she wasn’t the last.
 
I’m sad that she isn’t with us today, but when I see her face on this wall, I am reassured by the strong sense that she is here with us in spirit.
 
And as I look across those faces, I know that she is in great company.