Page 192 - Week 02 - Thursday, 25 May 1989
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A member: That would have been difficult.
MRS GRASSBY: I was about to refer to our ministry being very heterosexual, but I got very worried about that, because I thought it may be taken as a slur on the Residents Rally. I would be the last to want to put a slur on the Residents Rally, as we all know what the opposite to heterosexual is.
A member: You mean they are non-sexual.
MRS GRASSBY: Could I refer to our ministry as being very heterogeneous. The Office of City Management has appointed an officer as a women's adviser to examine all proposals and women's problems and viewpoints. My Housing Department is also taking account of what women want in the new housing review. We are speaking to many women in the community on this matter. We believe that it is very important to speak not only to older mothers but to younger mothers.
My Department of Transport has also examined how shopping hours affect women who travel on buses with small children. We are looking at the difficulties encountered by women with small children - some women have two or three young children - taking fold-up prams on buses. We are looking at ways and means of making such journeys easy for women with small children.
We have shopfronts planned for different housing areas. We have just opened one in Woden, and intend to open one at Tuggeranong. I have asked ACTION to examine bus times to meet the needs of mothers and older people. We are also talking to the community from that point of view.
My portfolio is committed to equal employment. I find out there are two woman in the Fire Department in Sydney and one in Melbourne so I have asked my Fire Department to have at least one lady. I am told that the Fire Department is very much a macho group of men. We do not mind if such a lady is 60 and ugly, in case their wives are worried, but it is felt that at least there should be a token lady and we may then be able to build on that.
Incidentally, Mr Speaker, in view of members' difficulties when trying to get down in the lifts to this chamber when the bells are ringing, I am wondering if you could organise a greasy pole. Maybe you could speak to Mr Berry about that. Apparently he knows all about greasy poles.
We will ensure that women are well represented on various advisory boards of my committees. The Chief Minister has made it very clear that she wants an equal amount of women appointed to boards as there are men. In the portfolios that I handle involving the beautifying of Canberra, I am sure people will have noticed the number of women working as gardeners. We are encouraging that because it needs a
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