Charter - Front Page  |  Introduction    |   Summary  |   Rationale  |  References  |  WIP Home

Women's Charter for Political Reform
Introduction

Women Into Politics is a coalition of women's organisations established in 1992 to work towards increasing the numbers of women in our parliaments and in all areas of Australian public life. We believe that equity and justice for women and efficiency in public policy and decision-making require that women participate equally in all our public institutions.

Our consultations with women in seminars and conferences since 1992 have convinced us that there are serious impediments to women's participation in politics, including:

•  the current exemption of political parties from laws such as the Sex Discrimination Act 1983 and from rules of fairness, honesty and public accountability required of other organisations;
•  the perception among women (and men) that politics is a sleazy business corrupted by money and hunger for power, that this corruption has reached crisis proportions, and that this is a situation that demeans those engaged in politics and degrades the national and international standing of the nation;
•  the structure of the major political parties and the perception that political preferment in them is not based on merit but on membership of networks of powerful men exchanging favours with one another.
•  Women Into Politics came to the conclusion that we could not continue to ask women to attempt political careers and to lobby for political equality for women without also working to promote good government.

Women Into Politics has drawn on the public records available every day in the press and other media and their own experience of consulting within meetings, seminars and conferences in city and country NSW.

The Women's Charter for Political Reform aims at:

•  making the political parties less oligarchic and more representative, by requiring them to institute anti-discrimination and democratic practices and processes in their party structure, especially in pre-selections;
•  making political careers more family-friendly for both women and men;
•  restoring the faith of the voting public in our parliamentary system by making the political parties more accountable to the electorate and less open to the influence of money and corruption;
•  providing all citizens with access to redress for abuses of their rights in the public and private spheres;
•  providing citizens with an opportunity to directly participate in public policy making through regular People's Conventions. 

The Charter outlines reforms which Women Into Politics considers will promote political equality for women and at the same time reinvigorate our democracy.

In general, most individual parliamentarians are honest and hard-working people, but perhaps are too habituated to the insulated sphere in which they work and too involved in day-to-day matters to realise the massive disillusionment and disenchantment of the voting public with politics in Australia. This is expressed in the media, the letter columns of the daily newspapers and in everyday encounters with fellow Australians. Our democracy is endangered if our leadsers and our Parliaments fail to address the issues of probity and equity.

Women Into Politics proposes to ask the major political parties to commit themselves to substantial reform of the political system on a bipartisan basis. Agreement to significant political reform that addresses the issues set out in this Charter will earn the respect and votes of many disgruntled people.

If both the major political parties fail to act, Women Into Politics will explore the possibility of having independentst and/or a minor partiesy introduce private members' bills to effect the major reforms.

We accept that politicians might not readily accept the need for reform of the system that has nurtured them. However, Australia has a proud record of resolving the issues of the day through the ballot box, not through mass riot, extremist parties or the gun.

Therefore Women Into Politics is optimistic that the major parties and our parliamentary leaders will take up the challenge.

Top  |  Charter - Front Page  |  Introduction    |   Summary  |   Rationale  |  References  |  WIP Home