Adjounment - STEM in Tasmania
[6.26 p.m.]
Ms BURNET (Clark) - Thank you, honourable speaker, and this evening I'd like to highlight the indispensable role of science, technology, engineering, mathematics and medicine (STEM) in shaping the future of our state and beyond. We're extraordinarily fortunate here in Tasmania, and particularly in Hobart, to be home to a world class scientific community, from the Australian Antarctic Division and CSIRO to the University of Tasmania and our research institutes who work in applied science and research fields too. Yet the full potential of this thriving sector can only be realised when everyone has an equal seat at the table. Greater diversity in STEM and women's participation across these fields and industries makes for better scientific application and practise. STEM gives us the tools to tackle our greatest challenges, from climate change and biodiversity loss to human health and sustainable housing. It offers careers defined by creativity, discovery and financial security, but these opportunities remain unequal.
During National Science Week, I attended the Inspiring Women in STEM Fellows Luncheon. I'm delighted to acknowledge that tonight, joining us in the Chamber, is one of the founders and directors of the program, Dr Emily Fleas from the University of Tasmania, who is with us at Parliament House this evening. Founded in 2019, the program provides communication, coaching, project funding, and mentoring to support early career researchers and inspire the next generation. Honestly, these women were amazing. This is a program that offers scholarship to women in STEM studying in Tasmania to be guided by other women with a career in science and related fields. At the luncheon, there was not only current and previous scholarship holders, but also those women in STEM who gave their time to mentor and support these women in their projects.
Climate scientist and educator and marine socioecologist Professor Gretta Pecl OA, who I recognised in this Chamber in June 2024 when she was awarded her Order of Australia for her work in science gave freely of her time, as all of the mentors did. Each of the women who was at that luncheon told us something about how they'd become interested in study and to pursue their chosen career. Like Gretta, all the women had a strong connection to place where they might have come from, from overseas, but also here in Tasmania. They had a strong connection with family and they saw the benefit of using science to be a force that enhances lives through education, environmental restoration, using skills to fundraise for women in male dominated cultures. Each of the program participants, past and present, and the women in senior roles in their careers provided information about their journey to their chosen fields.
I wanted to acknowledge the three outstanding 2026 fellows: Roberta Mensima Amoah, a UTAS nursing researcher in preventative child health who transformed a classroom in rural Ghana into a STEM workshop equipped with microscopes showing young people that science belongs to them. Liqun Guan, a building science researcher focused on energy efficient homes who ran bilingual workshops with Hobart's Chinese Australian Community to connect health, housing and sustainability. The third fellow, Kimiya Padidar, a PhD student at the Menzies Institute of Medical Research studying women's cardiovascular health, who adapted her outreach when international conflicts arose, to mentor young women in Tasmania on humanitarian refugee visas. These women were doing good with their chosen scientific fields but could benefit local communities.
Talent is everywhere, but opportunity is not. When we remove systemic barriers and make STEM accessible to every woman and girl, we do far more than transform individual careers. We enrich our scientific community and secure a fairer future for all Tasmanians.