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Clare Thompson

Biography:

I am a commercial litigation barrister in Perth. I grew up in Broken Hill and was educated there and in Adelaide, Hobart, Melbourne and Perth.

I have been President of the Law Society of WA, a director of Australian Women Lawyers and a member of the Nurses Board of WA. I am presently a member of the Legal Practice Board and the Ethics Committee at Sir Charles Gairdner Hospital.

I am single and have no children.

Statement:

I aspire to see Australia becoming a free, cohesive and respectful society which embraces all its citizens and provides them with a standard of living amongst the highest in the world.

The key to achieving this lies in education. Too often we confuse poverty with ignorance, although lack of educational opportunity can be a significant cause of poverty. Access to education and training at all stages of a person's life increases understanding and the opportunity to improve quality of life.

Education is also important in bringing about a safe and tolerant community. Ignorance is the root cause of discrimination which in turn breeds distrust, fear, hatred and ultimately violence. We need to educate all Australians to understand differences and accept that being different is not wrong, its merely different. Whilst we have done a reasonable job of that in some areas, we have a way to go in others and as society changes, the challenges continue.

Our education system should strive to give our society the building clocks to a better life for all. This means providing all Australians with an understanding of our history and cultural foundations, the institutions of our society (courts, parliament, government and the political process), as well as analytical, communication and vocational skills.

Whilst vocational education is important, we should not set up our educational structures to primarily focus on vocational outcomes at the expense of the skills and knowledge all members of the community need to live a full and active life in whatever their field of endeavour. Education is not simply to equip us to work.  

I want to see an increased emphasis on education at all levels in the community. This entails increased funding to all sectors of education, a commitment to continuing vocational education and training and the development of a culture of curiosity whereby we applaud education as a lifelong activity. This will involve a commitment, both financial and philosophical, to encouraging people to become teachers at all levels of the education system. It also means continuing to encourage diversity in educational providers so that people are able to attend the schools, universities, colleges and other establishments that best meet their needs.  

I firmly believe that providing an environment in which all people can obtain and develop skills and knowledge throughout their lives, will assist Australia in overcoming all our challenges be they work/life balance, the aging society, healthcare, poverty, security, the environment, employment, corporate governance, the decline in respect for our institutions and more.