ANNUAL REPORT 2006– 2007
(delivered 14 August 2007)
Background to the Year
Since 1992, Women Into Politics has pursued its principal aim of encouraging an increase in the numbers of women members of Australian parliaments, including monitoring the numbers and performance of women parliamentarians and women in ministerial positions. The increase in numbers has slowed, however, and this has been a cause of frustration to women’s hopes that the influence of women would become more equal. There is still a long way before women’s representation will reach 50% among parliamentarians and cabinet ministers. The number of women on the boards of the top 100 corporations remains abysmally low. Meanwhile, the 2006-2007 year has seen ongoing decline in standards, as Australian politics grows unashamedly more ruthless, less reliant on merit or on rational argument, research and consultation, and more related to self-interest, caprice and public relations “spin,” as it is now called, than to intelligent policy development. Some columnists have written openly critical pieces about the abuse of parliamentary process that appeared in the major newspapers.
Fixed term parliamentary elections federally, as we have in NSW and as advocated for years by Women Into Politics, is overdue, with the Government now in constant mode to create election timing. Executive government of the Commonwealth has taken over completely since the July 2005 accession of the Coalition to majority power in both federal Houses of Parliament. Bogus issues fill the compliant media with noise to distract public attention from real issues, and it is difficult for the concerns of citizens to compete with government spin, or a “war on terrorism,” or sudden emergencies created to gain electoral advantage. Pre-selections over the last year or more for both federal and state elections have been marred by the power hungry manipulations of factions in both major parties to secure safe seat pre-selections for chosen acolytes and thus to expand their personal power bases. Candidates can now be identified not only by party but by factional loyalty, and they will be required to follow the party line.
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Senior Appointments
Susan Keifel was appointed as a judge of the High Court of Australia in August 2007. She will join Justice Susan Crennan as the second current female judge along with five male judges on the High Court. Only one other female judge has ever been appointed to the High Court in its 106-year history. Although we were pleased to see a second woman appointed, the process of appointment of judges remains a concern. There has for some years been agitation from a range of sectors, including from Women Into Politics, for a more open process at arm’s length from the Government.
Also in August 2007, Elizabeth Broderick was appointed to the Human Rights and Equal Opportunity Commission (HREOC) as federal Sex Discrimination Commissioner, ten months after Pru. Goward resigned the post to contest the seat she now holds in the NSW Parliament.
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NSW State Election 2007
The state election campaign in March 2007 was held shortly after Premier Bob Carr had resigned and been replaced by Premier Morris Iemma. The ALP won government again.
Women Into Politics wrote letters prior to the election to both the new Premier and the new Opposition Leader.
At the NSW elections in March 2007, women were 38% of those elected to the Lower House (Legislative Assembly) - 18 ALP women members, 6 Coalition women and 2 independent women members were elected. This percentage was not reflected in the ministry - of 22 ministers appointed, only 4 (18%) are women (Linda Burney, Verity Firth, Kristina Keneally and Reba Meagher). In the Upper House (Legisative Council), of the 42 members, 13 (31%) are women (6 Labour, 3 Liberal, 2 National, 2 Greens).
It was encouraging to the coalition members of Women Into Politics that, following the election, both the new Government and the new Opposition appointed capable and experienced women to be Minister for Women (Verity Firth) and Shadow Minister for Women (Pru Goward). What they are able to achieve for women in the tough male-dominated political climate of this decade remains to be seen.
Women Ito Politics wrote letters to new Minister Firth and Ms Goward, and to the Premier and Opposition Leader, informing them of what Women Into Politics considered to be urgent priorities, including increased funding for the Office of Women and increased funding for the Anti-Discrimination Board to enable it to remedy acts of discrimination in both the public and the private sectors in the manner that it was intended to do. Supportive replies were received from the Opposition Leader and Minister Firth, who invited Women Into Politics to meet with her.
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Federal Matters 2006-7
Some women parliamentarians pursue women’s issues quietly within their parties. Women Into Politics appreciates the efforts of those women parliamentarians who worked together across parties and Houses to pass the RU486 private members’ bill and the Patterson bill on therapeutic cloning. Significantly larger proportions of women parliamentarians voted for these bills than did men. Senator Stott-Despoja’s private member’s bill for truth in advertising of pregnancy counselling has not been put to the vote, though it has created awareness of the issue. Parliamentary women are said to be looking also into the question of restrictions on needed aid to foreign countries where abortions take place.
The National Foundation for Australian Women (NFAW), with support from women’s organizations including coalition members of Women Into Politics, has continued to commission research studies from the National Centre for Economic and Social Modelling (NATSEM) to examine and monitor the impact on women of Commonwealth policy changes, including the recent report on the so-called “WorkChoices” legislation. NFAW is to be congratulated for continuing this task which used to be performed by government agencies.
Unfortunately, the banner under which the NATSEM reports were presented, “What Women Want,” was chosen by a group of women in Queensland as the name for their new women’s political party, which could lead to confusion. The new party plans to field candidates at the coming federal election, and though we wish them well in their endeavours, Women Into Politics has always encouraged women to develop their political skills and join the mainstream parties, where the possibility exists to wield influence in a government party. High profile individuals do sometimes gain election as independents or with minor parties, but there are difficult hurdles, and they are more likely to contribute to the election of someone from a mainstream party through their preferences.
Women have not reached the critical mass necessary to be a decisive influence in the major parliamentary parties. The small number of women in the federal Cabinet was reduced in 2007 when Senator Amanda Vanstone resigned from the Parliament. When the new Leader of the Opposition, Kevin Rudd, announced a new federal shadow ministry in December 2006, a mere 16% of women was included - five women among 31 shadow ministers, including Deputy Leader Julia Gillard. There were four women among the ten parliamentary secretaries announced.
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Electoral Changes
Among the Howard government’s electoral changes now in operation, the issue that is of particular concern to Women Into Politics is the almost seven-fold increase, from $1,500 to
$10,000, of the threshold above which political donations must be disclosed. Secret donations can now be made up to $10,000 per annum to any party or parties by any person or entity. This is an invitation to corruption and needs to be changed. The flood of money that is flowing into the 2007 election campaign from various directions is mind-boggling. This casting about of money with the aim of buying votes is part of a year-long campaign. One cannot help comparing it with the lack of funding for many real issues that are of concern to women and the community generally.
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Bill of Rights Needed
Further legislation related to national security and sedition has been rushed through the Commonwealth parliament in 2007 without due debate, depriving all citizens of freedoms that hitherto were taken for granted. Where the Australian Government has followed the British legislation, it has been forgotten or ignored that there are in existence in Britain other legislative safeguards, including a charter of rights. Many Australians think that a legislated Bill or Charter of Rights has become more urgent than ever to protect basic human rights in Australia. A new Charter Group in NSW was launched in 2007, with a focus to promote public discussion of human rights and look at different models covering the widest possible range of rights. Our Committee member Anne Barber, who is now also a member of the Charter Group Organising Committee, keeps us informed.
Women Into Politics will watch for the inclusion of equality and other rights of concern to women, as advocated in the Women Into Politics’ publication A Women’s Charter for Political Reform: a charter for political equality for women and for good government for all Australian citizens (2001). It states that a Bill of Rights should be framed so that it will “encompass rights that have been enunciated in various UN instruments . . ., includes an equality right for women, . . . [and] operates in the private as well as the public sphere.”
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Committee
For the 2006-2007 year, Joan Bielski continued as Deputy-President and Public Officer, Judith Steanes continued as Honorary Secretary, Valerie Levy as Honorary Treasurer, and we thank Anna Logan for being our Honorary Auditor again. Anne Barber was a general member of the Committee and continued her work with the website.
Women Into Politics during the year received the resignation due to ill health of Dr Minna Shaw-Smith. Minna has represented AFUW and worked with the Committee for many years, always taking on key jobs at functions, travelling to Bathurst and Wagga when we held seminars there. She was also our Returning Officer.
The status of women has continued to be a low priority for state and federal governments in recent years, and political renewal and attention to the views of the electorate are urgently needed; then governments might become more willing to heed research and advice from women again. Women Into Politics will continue to monitor the political parties’ policies and their
appointments of women parliamentarians to senior posts and Cabinet.
Barbara McGarity
President, Women Into Politics
14 August 2007
