WOMEN'S ORGANISATIONS

The Hon. S.W. KEY (Ashford) (15:46): Today I would like to talk about two important South Australian women's organisations—the Working Women's Centre and the Women's Electoral Lobby, which has been an institution as a lobby for women in this state and around the country. I had the opportunity on 29 June to discuss the work that the Working Women's Centre had been involved in and, since that time, I have been presented with information outlining the work they have done in the last six months.

The Working Women's Centre tell me that they have delivered 14 presentations to 353 participants. The topics that they were asked to cover ranged from discrimination, rights at work, sexual harassment, paid parental leave and workplace bullying to name just a few of the areas they have been asked to speak on. They have also provided information to women on a range of work-related topics. Some 696 women have contacted the centre and asked for this information. They tell me that they have also managed 138 cases which would often involve many interactions with the person seeking support from the Working Women's Centre.

I asked the Working Women's Centre to give me a rundown of the industries and occupations that their work has also involved and I am told that the telephone assistance clients in industries that were most represented in descending order were health and community services (23 per cent), wholesale/retail (11 per cent), property/business services (9 per cent), accommodation/cafes (8 per cent), and other services (6 per cent).

Interestingly, the Working Women's Centre reports that most of their clients are between the ages of 25 and 44 years. Seventy-six per cent of the clients work in the private sector and the occupational groups most represented are sales/personal services (21 per cent), followed by professionals (16 per cent) and clerks (14 per cent). The case work, I am told, is similar with clients working in the following industries: health and community services (29 per cent), wholesale/retail (14 per cent), accommodation/cafes (11 per cent), property/business services (8 per cent), and personal and other services (8 per cent). Again, the clients that they do extensive case work with are in the 25 to 44 age range.

Ninety-two per cent of the case work clients work in the private sector and occupational groups most represented are in the sales/personal services area at 26 per cent, followed by clerks (21 per cent) and professionals (18 per cent). I think it is very interesting to get that break down.

Very briefly I point out to the house that the Women's Electoral Lobby, after nearly 40 years, is probably coming to a halt in South Australia. I attended a meeting on the weekend where five of us who were able to attend this meeting discussed how we will try to either continue the work of Women's Electoral Lobby (South Australia) or whether we would try to work out a way of perhaps putting the organisation on hold until there is a new crop of people that might like to take over the workings of this organisation.

The frustration for many of the women in this house who have supported the Women's Electoral Lobby is that it is probably inappropriate for us to take on leadership and organisational roles, because the Women's Electoral Lobby is there to lobby people like politicians. So, whereas it might have been okay before we got in here—and I think I can reflect on behalf of all the different parties in this house that we appreciate the work that the Women's Electoral Lobby do and understand the reason for it—it would be inappropriate for us to actually take over that organisation.

In saying that, attempts will be made, for the time being at least, to amalgamate the Women's Electoral Lobby with one of the other more active state groups, or the national group, until we can, as I said, find some activists who may want to take over the role that the Women's Electoral Lobby has so richly contributed to in our political life in South Australia.