Phyllis has dedicated her life to making our world a more peaceful, fairer and healthier place for all.

Phyllis was born in Albany, WA, into a closely knit working class family of 5 children in June 1917. Phyllis learned early on about poverty and inequality, both of which she has dedicated her life to abolish.

Her father was an active unionist. This provided Phyllis with a model for a life of commitment to the betterment of all. She has pursued remedies for social and economic ills throughout her life.

Phyllis has been a lifelong activist for women’s equality, especially for equal pay.

During the Great Depression, Phyllis and her father moved to Sydney. The sight of the hardship and horrific conditions that she witnessed among unemployed people and their children had a great impact on Phyllis. She knew it was deeply wrong that people were forced to live under such destitute conditions.

These early experience formed her strong socialist view of politics. Her family believed that the business dominated capitalist economic system was a major factor in the economic collapse and subsequent ruin of so many working class families. She joined the Communist Party which at that time, she felt had better answers to help repair workers conditions.

Around 1933, she managed to find a job in a small business in Woolloomooloo as an office clerk, working for 48 hours per week for the equivalent of 94 cents per week. She joined the Clerk’s Union as it was known then and took part in campaigns for equal pay.

During these grim Depression years, she observed the long lines of men, women and children waiting on long lines to receive a bowl of hot soup, warm blankets and clothing, especially for the children.  She observed the many heartless evictions of struggling families from their homes and yet perhaps also understood the need for income for the landlords who also had families to feed.

Not surprisingly, she joined the anti eviction movement and spoke out from the NSW Parliamentary public gallery for a moratorium on evictions.

Issues like this have led Phyllis to a lifetime of activism and to prevail on governments to provide adequate support mechanisms for ordinary Australians.

Phyllis has always abhorred war and during World War II, she spent a month in Long Bay Gaol for giving an anti conscription speech at the Sydney Domain and she handed out communist literature which criticised war as a response to world evils which the government frowned upon.  Phyllis was active in Anti war rallies.

Phyllis first attended her first International Women’s Day march in 1936. I doubt in the following 61 years that Phyllis would have ever failed to celebrate IWD.

I remember Phyllis in the 1980s. Year after year she would organise an IWD luncheon or some sort of function at Bankstown promoting equal rights and world peace.

She has travelled all over the country addressing meetings and conferences. In 1970, as a representative of the Campaign Against Rising Prices (and tax relief), she would continue to argue for a fairer go for ordinary Australians. The gallery in the Legislative Assembly was, once again, used by Phyllis to effect. She passionately believed in an organisation to protect consumers and ultimately, during the Whitlam years,  the Australian Federation of Consumer Organisations was established and Phyllis was a founding member. She strongly believed that consumers needed protection against rapacious multinationals who seek more and more profit at the expense of the consumer- a common complaint heard today from so many.

Former NSW Minister for Consumer Affairs, Syd Einfeld, worked closely with Phyllis and fortunately agreed with many of her concerns. They became known as ‘Mr and Mrs Prices’ because of their many achievements in the areas of consumer affairs. One of the first acts of Mr Enfield when he became a Minister was to introduce ‘use-by dates’ on consumer products.

I have covered only a few cameos from Phyllis’s life. Phyllis’ contribution has been recognised in some areas. Phyllis received the Queen’s Silver Jubilee Medal in 1977, Woman of the Year in 1977, the Order of Australia in 1989 and the Syd Einfeld Award in 1993.

Happy birthday Phyllis. Congratulations on your selfless contribution.