Page 3053 - Week 08 - Thursday, 15 August 2019
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on women. Gender analysis more broadly is designed to promote equity, as opposed to equality, and this means that men, women and non-binary people should not always be treated in the same way, because they have different life experiences. For example, we know that most single-headed households are headed by women. Initiatives that benefit flexible working arrangements will benefit more women than men and will create a more balanced workforce. I am very pleased the government has agreed to accept feedback on the statement and consider further ways to embed gender analysis in the budget, including more work on those who do not identify with the binary definitions of male and female.
I really look forward to future budgets being measured against both the wellbeing indicators as well as the economic metrics. I talked a bit about that in my discussion on CMTEDD, but it is very important from CSD’s point of view because those indicators are going to show us how well we are doing with all the things that CSD are looking at: improving access to housing, strengthening family cohesion, growing social inclusion, better health, better wellbeing. I could go on, but I will not.
Imagine if the statement of equity also reflected what we have done towards achieving equity for those in our community who are particularly disadvantaged, such as Aboriginals and Torres Strait Islanders, people with a disability, culturally and linguistically diverse community members, those who identify as LGBTIQ, as well as women, who of course are the largest of the groups. Until this happens, until we have equity, there is a need to look at the impact of new investments and programs in the budget on specific groups to ensure that investment and outcomes are fair and that we are indeed an inclusive community.
The ACT government has unfortunately merely noted the recommendations from the estimates committee about moving the Office for Women into the Chief Minister, Treasury and Economic Development Directorate, saying that its current location in the Community Services Directorate is consistent with other whole-of-government functions such as the offices for disability, seniors and veterans, and Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander affairs. However, I note that the Office for LGBTI Affairs sits in the Chief Minister’s directorate, yet it has a very similar function. My recommendation would be that, for true consistency, all these offices, including the Office of Multicultural Affairs, should be located in the same directorate, preferably a directorate that has the authority to direct, monitor and evaluate work across all government directorates.
Moving on to family safety, I support the rollout of training for all public servants, including managers and those on the front line. Obviously there are different levels of training for different people. This is going to all public servants. This is an important step which will increase awareness and break down the silence concerning family violence. I think this will be relevant not only to their work life but to their non-work life. (Second speaking period taken.)
I note that the family safety hub legal services pilot will be extended to allow for evaluation. This innovative pilot targets one of the most at-risk groups of family violence: pregnant or newly parenting women. I very much hope it can be continued, if found to be effective. Therein lies the biggest risk to the territory’s commitment to
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