Organiser and creator of the Ernie Awards, Dr Meredith Burgmann, will speak about the awards and sexism in our society at a free community event organised by Gosford City Council's Status of Women Committee.

Dr Burgmann is a writer, academic and strong activist for the rights of women and anti-racism. She was president of the NSW Legislative Council until she stepped down from parliament in March 2007.

'An evening with Meredith Burgmann' starts at 7pm on Thursday, 10th July at Parkside, 123 Donnison Street, Gosford.

Fifteen years ago a small group of women celebrated the retirement of Ernie Ecob, a trade union official who was notorious for his outrageous sexist remarks.

The celebration grew into an annual event and became known as the Ernie Awards, the world's premier awards given for the most outrageous and ignorant comments made in the public arena in the categories of Judicial, Industrial, Media, Political and Sport.

Dr Burgmann has written a book in collaboration with Yvette Andrews on the Ernie Awards called 'The Ernies Book - 1000 terrible things Australian men have said about women.'

Clr Vicki Scott, a member of Gosford City Council's Status of Women Committee, said the event was a great opportunity to hear first-hand the experiences of this high-profile, passionate woman with a record of achievement in promoting women's rights. 

"Meredith Burgmann has been a strong and committed advocate for women's rights for more than 35 years. This time span is book-ended by her involvement with the Women's Liberation in the early '70s through to the Ernie Awards.

For further information, please contact A/Manager Community Development, Robyn Howes, on 4325 8348.