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Legislative Assembly for the ACT: 2003 Week 14 Hansard (11 December) . . Page.. 5233 ..

MS GALLAGHER (continuing):

Those documents clearly show that the recommendations in the report of the select committee guided the government's decisions in relation to women's policy and initiatives for women. It is a negative angle to take in relation to a positive report that had a lot of input from Liberal opposition members. The committee worked well and reached unanimous decisions on every recommendation.

The government is using this report along with several other initiatives that the Office for Women is progressing at the moment-the status of women report and the launching this year of the violence and safety policy framework. The strategic plan for women will be launched in April next year after consultations are held in February. A gender analysis has been undertaken in all areas of policy development as agencies are required to include an impact on women statement in all cabinet submissions. The Office for Women, which assesses all cabinet submissions, is involved in contributing to the development of major government policies and plans.

The Office for Women coordinates an interdepartmental committee with representatives from all agencies, and that committee focuses on issues for women. The Office for Women administers a register of women-a database of women interested in contributing to boards and committees. In July this year that register was expanded to enable use by the community and business sectors. The Office for Women and the YWCA ran two successful series of workshops to provide information and skill development relevant to board and committee membership.

The Office for Women provides secretarial support for the Ngunnawal Indigenous Women's Circle-a flexible working group formed with the development of an ACT action plan for indigenous women. The circle meets regularly to progress its plan. Recent priorities include the development of a training session with Lifeline to assist women in the community to support people with problem gambling. The Office for Women recently filled a part-time indigenous identified senior policy officer position.

I meet regularly with the Ministerial Advisory Council on Women. Yesterday I attended a forum on women in incarceration organised by that council. Council provides me with advice and has included submissions to the social plan, the economic white paper, the shaping our territory report, the homelessness strategy, the children's plan, the drug and alcohol strategy and the mental health action plan. Council is also playing a major role in the development of the new strategic plan for women.

The Office for Women also manages the ACT International Women's Day awards. Those awards, which I will be launching next week, recognise the significant contributions of women in the ACT. I congratulate the Office for Women on the work that it has done. It adopted this report on the day that it was tabled and planned its work around it. That report and a number of other consultative forums are helping to direct women's policy in the ACT.

Question resolved in the affirmative.

MS TUCKER: I seek leave to speak in this debate.

Leave granted.

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