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Legislative Assembly for the ACT: 2000 Week 3 Hansard (8 March) . . Page.. 702 ..
MS TUCKER (continuing):
I was also interested in the State of the Territory Report. It shows average weekly earnings by gender. We see that women are receiving less than men. I also noticed a large increase in part-time work. I did not see a breakdown in the State of the Territory Report on what is happening with part-time work and women. Is it mainly women doing part-time work? I would suggest it probably is. We need to look at the consequences of that for their long-term future. It may well be a legitimate choice and a good choice to take on part-time work, but if that means that they are on their own later on and they are not going to be supported by society, then how fair is that?
To end on a more positive note, I repeat that I commend the Government for taking an interest in this area, having this audit and producing these particular documents, which I will look at with great interest. I hope that we see a real interest in integrating women's issues into development of policy. I will conclude with this short statement from the Women's Electoral Lobby:
The idea that specialised women's policy machinery is needed within government has received widespread acceptance since the First UN World Conference on Women held in Mexico City in 1975. Australia has been regarded as a leader in the development of such machinery.
Women's policy machinery stems from the insight that no government activity can be assumed to be gender neutral, given the different social and workforce roles of men and women. All policy needs to be monitored for gender-specific effects, to ensure that policy and programs are compatible with government objectives of advancing the status of women.
The Australian model of such machinery puts emphasis on locating the central hub in the chief policy coordinating agency of government, where there will be automatic access to Cabinet submissions and other central government functions. This enables the mainstreaming of gender analysis into policy development work.
The Australian model also puts emphasis on integrating the reporting of gender outcomes into routine forms of government accountability, particularly Budget estimates. Guidelines for such reporting need to be clearly established and overseen by the relevant Legislative Committee.
The integration of gender accountability into government requires commitment, central location of women's policy units, possession of relevant technical expertise and an adequate consultation framework with women in the community. This includes a linking of women's information services to the policy co-ordination function, to provide feedback on women's concerns.
For the government to be proactive in women's policy it also requires a whole-of-government women's policy framework, within which responsibilities can be allocated and performance indicators established.
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