Unfortunately there seems currently to be such a tight control kept over both female parliamentary members and female advocacy groups by the male powerbrokers that women's voices are not heard as they should be. Likewise the agenda of the media in these economic rationalist times seems to be to keep feminist issues out of sight most of the time, especially in relation to major issues and at election times. Women tend to bring up social problems and participation issues that current business culture seems to see as an irrelevant nuisance for the bottom line.

Women Into Politics suffers from the shortage of resources common to many women's groups, and since there are no financial resources for employed positions, the work done is voluntary. With the problem of time poverty for many women who have paid employment elsewhere, and the demands of trying to do voluntary work for perhaps more than one needy organisation, there is at the end of the millennium great effort required to pursue even a modest program of submissions and events.

A group of our most dedicated members have worked tirelessly to pursue the year's activities, always with our Honorary Secretary, Joan Bielski, at the fore, and I thank them all most sincerely. Our aims are well supported among women and groups who are not directly involved with our organisation, and without our core band of supporters and the constancy of our Committee members, our work could not continue. One of the strengths of the organisation is that it is accepted as non-partisan by women in and out of the political parties, and we are able to have the benefits of a range of ideas. Thus it is with pride that I deliver this Annual Report of the year for Women Into Politics.

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Annual Dinner

The Women Into Politics Annual Dinner held in Sydney on 6 November 1998, with the theme Women in the Cabinet, was a great success. Hon Dame Margaret Guilfoyle, OBE, and Hon Susan Ryan, AO, were wonderful speakers who shared their career highlights and wisdom with us, and they were received with great enthusiasm. Women commented afterwards that though they came from different sides of politics, their experiences had much in common and they seemed to have remained firm friends. The speakers at the next Annual Dinner (October 1999) will be three senior serving female politicians, again in accord with our policy of introducing various politicians to our audiences.

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Elections

Elections for the NSW State Parliament and Local Government elections have been held during the last year. There were at least 12 female Mayors of municipalities or shires elected after the Local Government elections. Women Into Politics was disappointed that the ALP Government in NSW demoted one former female Minister and appointed only three female ministers among the total ministry. Meredith Burgmann was subsequently elected as the first female Speaker of the Legislative Council (Upper House of NSW).

In December 1998, the percentage of women in the Australian Commonwealth Parliament was 25% - up from 10% in 1993. In December 1998 (before the NSW election) the percentage of women in all Australian state parliaments was 21%. At that time in NSW, women were 16% of the Lower House and 28.6% of the Upper House. During the NSW election campaign, Women Into Politics noted that the issues of concern to women were considerably neglected.

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Constitutional Reform

Women Into Politics has since 1996 been active in education and in lobbying about the issues for women related to and surrounding the question of Australia's formation as a Republic. The government has scheduled a Referendum for 6 November 1999 on that question and to approve or disapprove a new Preamble to the Constitution.

Following its landmark Symposium at Parliament House, Canberra, in September 1996, and a series of lectures in Sydney in 1997, Women Into Politics published a book, Here We Come, on the full range of related issues; and in 1998 another series of lectures was held in Sydney.

Women Into Politics was one of five organisations that planned the Women's Constitutional Convention in January 1998, held just before the main Constitutional Convention, which fed information to the government's Convention. And of course there were submissions and letters during the years from 1996 to 1999 in an ongoing campaign.

The main outcomes of the Women's Constitutional Convention were around two sets of issues:

• the need for procedures associated with the selection of a president to be conducted with equal opportunity principles - equal numbers of women on all panels, committees and submitted lists; and
• the very strong request of women that any new Preamble should refer specifically to the "equality of men and women".
  Women also supported the aspirations of the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples to be recognised in the Preamble.

As it turned out, after enormous effort continuing into 1999, (with no acknowledgment from the media, it must be said), women's requests and lobbying were ignored, and women had to work hard just to have the Prime Minister's word "mateship" removed from the draft Preamble. (Was it put there as a distraction to make it easier to ignore women's real and appropriate concerns?) Women were very disappointed, not to say disgusted, with their treatment at the hands of the government and the major political parties.

These issues of representation and equality are therefore far from concluded for women, and Women Into Politics and the women's movement generally will need to rethink the strategies that might permit women to take their proper place in a new Republic or under any new (or old) situation.

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Regional Symposia

Women Into Politics responded to a need and to a request from the Local Government Women's Association to conduct information and training sessions for women in regional areas during 1999. Three successful two-day weekend symposia were held at Lismore, Bathurst and Wagga. The first day on each of the three weekends was related to issues and to talks from women politicians and academics about issues, including constitutional change, representation and the political context. The second day at each of the three centres was devoted to organisation, coordination, political action, using the media and local concerns.

Financial assistance was received for this regional symposia project from the NSW Law Foundation. Various sponsorships were also obtained locally, and local women were very helpful in liaising with the organisers in Sydney. The Sydney members did a splendid job with coordination and logistics, which were quite complex, with members of parliament, academic lawyers and political scientists travelling from Sydney and Canberra, as well as the Women Into Politics organisers and speakers.

All the symposia attracted students, young women and some local opinion leaders. Women's organisations operating in the three regional cities are now better placed to be sources of information to their members and other women and to debate the issues surrounding the referendum. Good media coverage was received in Lismore and Bathurst, and Women Into Politics was pleased that some of the regional women made plans to meet again and form new local networks. Due to the enormous amount of work required to mount the regional project, there was no symposium/lecture series in Sydney in 1999, and consideration is being given to a conference in Sydney in 2000.

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Moving On

There is no denying that the politico-socio-economic situation of women in Australia at the end of the century is difficult, and women have lost ground in provision of services and supports. Moving forward is being made very difficult by the prevailing philosophies that permeate the political parties and the powerful world of corporate business. They no longer wish to listen to logical explanation and rationale, to the need for analysis, planning, human services, fair treatment and fair representation.

The growing discussion of how to both retain or regain a civil society and accommodate powerful financial markets, how to do the research that will show that social capital is worthwhile, that social gain can benefit business, will no doubt continue and develop, if only because women recognise the necessity for balance in the world of affairs. We will all have to develop new ways of operating to gain the attention for women that is our right, and perhaps to re-invent old strategies. We still do live in a community, not an economy!

Barbara McGarity,
President, Women Into Politics Inc
5 October 1999