COMMONWEALTH WOMEN PARLIAMENTARIANS

Ms THOMPSON (Reynell) (15:36): In this brief period after we celebrated the Centenary of International Women's Day early in March, and as I approached recognition of that event with a dinner for about 60 women in my electorate, I was pleased last week to be able to participate in Wellington in the Conference of the Commonwealth Women Parliamentarians regional seminar for the Pacific region.

This was a very inspiring reminder of the privileges that we have in our community, whether we are men or women, whether we are young or old. We live in a very privileged society with economic development and a measure of social equality. Our neighbours in the Pacific are not so privileged. Many of them have lived a subsistence existence most of their lives. Even those who are members of parliament come from a subsistence existence.

The people in the Solomons and Bougainville have been through periods of great difficulty, with horrific events happening in their communities. However, they have survived, and the women in particular are determined to build a culture that goes forward towards economic prosperity, peace and social equality for all.

The women of Kiribati are particularly concerned that their country will not exist in 50 years' time. There is a high likelihood that global climate change will mean that Kiribati, which is on atolls, will simply be drowned. They are trying to prepare their community, young men and women, for a future away from their island, mainly probably in Australia and New Zealand.

I do personally feel a responsibility to do anything I can to assist those people to adjust to their futures, whether it is the future of moving or whether it is the future of trying to build a strong, equitable society after years of colonial domination and, in most cases, between 30 and 50 years of independence. They have quite a difficult road ahead of them and behind them. It was in this spirit that the conference passed a statement in support of affirmative action in Papua New Guinea, which I would like to place on record in this place. It states:

Members of the Commonwealth Women Parliamentarians Pacific Region Gender and Democracy Conference note the poor performance of Pacific nations in advancing democracy by failing to ensure the full participation of women in their communities. The small number of women in the parliaments of the region is a demonstration of failure to comply with the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women and means that there is little representation of about 50 per cent of the population. The Pacific Islands region now has the second-worst record in the world for the proportion of women in national legislatures.

I would like to correct that. We were later informed by representatives of the United Nations that the Pacific islands region has the worst record for participation of women in the parliaments, worse even than the Arab states. However, the fact that women in the Pacific are quite capable of participating is demonstrated by the fact that, in the French-dominated regions of the Pacific, where participation by women is mandated, women are participating very competently and very confidently to the great benefit of the community as, madam, I know you would expect. To return to the statement:

With this in mind, conference members note with pleasure that the parliament of Papua New Guinea is currently considering a bill to guarantee some participation of women in the parliament through the Equality and Participation Bill, which creates 22 women's seats by elective process.

The conference congratulates the sponsors of this bill and urges all members of the parliament of Papua New Guinea to take a clear leadership role in the democracies of the Pacific by supporting this bill. We also encourage all political parties to take ownership of the bill and actively endorse candidates for these women's seats.

The statement also notes that 'affirmative action such as this can be a catalyst for change in other Pacific nations'. This was signed by all members of parliament who were present at the conference, and supported by those who attended by virtue of the fact that they intend to be candidates in future elections.