Bring it on, says legal force

LAWYER Susan Fahey is calling for an independent inquiry into the abortion tweets scandal and immediate access for women to public-hospital terminations.

Women’s Legal Service head Susan Fahey says the Government’s “go slow” on replacement abortion services is sabotaging its own efforts in related areas. Picture: SAM ROSEWARNE

SUSAN Fahey sees firsthand what can happen to women if they are denied access to legal services because they can’t afford them. She also sees what can happen when they are denied straightforward access to pregnancy termination. And she says she knows plenty about men trying to shut women down and shut women up.

Fahey leads Women’s Legal Service Tasmania, which provides free legal advice to women and their families who can’t otherwise access it. Most of the cases it takes on relate to family violence and family law.

“Generally women come to see us in an attempt to protect their children or to set things up so they’ve got certainty around what’s happening with their kids [with custody],” says the barrister and solicitor.

It’s demanding work, and in the past Fahey fuelled herself with up to 8 large cafe lattes a day, but when we meet at Raincheck Lounge near her North Hobart office she orders a single long macchiato and says she tries to cap her daily coffee intake at two cups these days.

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We’re here to talk about issues arising from the sacking of mother-of-three Angela Williamson from her job at Cricket Tasmania for tweeting criticisms of the State Government’s pregnancy termination policy.

The troubling implications of Williamson’s sudden sacking by Cricket Australia, which became public last week when she launched an unfair dismissal claim, have been on Fahey’s mind quite a lot since she unexpectedly became involved in the unfolding saga two days before the March state election.

“I met Angela right here,” she says, gesturing to the corner table next to us, “to talk about helping her promote women in cricket.”

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Fahey became concerned when Williamson told her she was heading on to nearby Room for a Pony eatery for a meeting with Martine Haley, the senior government adviser and former Mercury journalist who had sent screenshots of Williamson’s abortion tweets to her employer.

Fahey accompanied her, becoming witness both to Haley’s apology and to Williamson telling Haley her tweets followed her own distressing recent experience of having to travel interstate for the procedure. (Haley resigned a few days later over inappropriate social media activity in the election lead-up).

The Women’s Legal Service continued to support Williamson in her lobbying and activism on improving access to abortion for Tasmanian women, following the closure of the last two private clinics.

Then came Williamson’s bombshell sacking on June 29 over those same tweets. Now Fahey has joined the call for an independent inquiry into the circumstances surrounding the dismissal, and the role, if any, the State Government had in it.

Health Minister Michael Ferguson has not denied he discussed Williamson’s private health matters with her Cricket Tasmania chief executive Nick Cummins.

NO DENIAL OF ABORTION DISCUSSION

Fahey says the Government’s ambiguity in relation to those disclosures only raises more questions.

“The implications of what’s been alleged here are long-lasting and serious,” says Fahey. “Likewise, if [political interference] hasn’t happened, it’s a pretty unfair thing to have hanging over the Health Minister’s head.”

Fahey is perplexed by the apparent overreach in the Williamson case.

“It’s a chilling thing to think that if you cross government, there may be funding repercussions, there may be repercussions for your job and family,” says Fahey.

“Who else has this happened to? On what topic? Are we really in a situation where people aren’t allowed to share an opinion on public policy that directly impacts them without losing their job?”

Fahey is also pushing for the provision of low-cost or no-cost terminations at public hospitals. “If the Government’s response to the provision of terminations in the public system – or at all – is indicative of their ability to deliver services, then it comes down to ideology or complete incompetence,” she says.

The ramifications of limited abortion access are major, she says, and the Government’s “go slow” on replacement services is sabotaging its own efforts in related areas.

“It’s retrograde, counterproductive and undermines the Government’s really good work in other protective spaces for women, including domestic violence,” she says.

Some women wishing to end “coercive pregnancies” to violent partners don’t know if they can “get away with” having a termination if it means travelling, she says.

And the woman who stood up to criticise the policy that Fahey says does not adequately acknowledge many such scenarios was sacked for it.

“People say they admire me for speaking up,” says Fahey. “Sometimes it gets really lonely being that person, so when someone like Angela comes along, it’s really refreshing.

“But then look what happens. It’s a warning shot.”

Albeit one that appears to have backfired spectacularly in this instance, she adds.

■ If you need free confidential family planning advice, contact Women’s Health Tasmania or Family Planning. For specialist youth guidance, contact The Link Youth Health Service or Pulse Youth Health South