 I'm Natasha Stock Despoir, Australia's ambassador for women and girls. This is a milestone International Women's Day and a special year for the International Women's Movement. It's 20 years since the historic Beijing World Conference on Women. Back then, 189 countries adopted unanimously the Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action for Gender Equality. 1995 was a high point in international cooperation to secure commitments in language and intention to women's rights. We haven't seen such an unequivocal statement of support for women and girls since. We come to this 20th anniversary in a spirit of celebration as well as reflection. We applaud the many gains made in 1995 and beyond, but we know we've got a long way to go too. Throughout this year, Australia will work hard with other countries to ensure the progress we've achieved is not rolled back. We've got a long-standing and proud reputation as a leader in securing women's rights. In fact, my home state of South Australia was one of the first in the world in which women achieved the right to not only vote, but to stand for election as well. This year, I celebrated 20th anniversary too. It's 20 years since I first entered the Australian Parliament as a senator a while ago. But in 1995, I was part of the 14.9% of parliamentarians who were women. Yeah, we've made progress, but with around 30% of our federal parliament comprising women, it's actually not good enough. It's the same for every facet of women's lives nationally and globally. We haven't achieved what we aspired to in 1995 in any area of women's participation in economic or public life. Our work is far from done to ensure women's freedom from violence in their homes, in places of work or learning, or indeed in situations of conflict. The world cannot afford to wait another 20 years to achieve the goals we set in Beijing. We cannot afford the cost of women's absences from high levels of government, business and public life, our absences from peace tables, from conflict resolution and peace building efforts, or from places of learning and research. We cannot afford the cost, physically, psychologically or economically, of violence against women and girls. This year, more than ever, we acknowledge the perseverance of all those who are working for gender equality. We call for a renewed international commitment to the aspirations of the Beijing Declaration. I congratulate and encourage the many women and men who are involved in this work, full power to you. Let's not wait another 20 years. Happy International Women's Day.