Women's Leadership and Economic Security Strategy

Mrs POWER (Elder) (14:48): My question is to the Deputy Premier. Can the Deputy Premier update the house on how the Marshall Liberal government is empowering and promoting women in South Australia, and is the Deputy Premier aware of any areas of concern?

Members interjecting:

The Hon. V.A. CHAPMAN (Bragg—Deputy Premier, Attorney-General, Minister for Planning and Local Government) (14:48): I thank the member for Elder for her question and I—

The SPEAKER: Order! The Deputy Premier will resume her seat for a moment. The conclusion of the question is not a general invitation to members on my left or on my right to commence interjection. The Deputy Premier has the call. The Deputy Premier has an opportunity to answer the question. I am listening carefully.

The Hon. V.A. CHAPMAN: Further, I thank the member for Elder, who I know today has been working with stakeholders in relation to women's personal security in the future, and this is a very important aspect of the role she has in providing advice to the Premier.

But the issue in relation to financial security of women and the opportunity for them to have that in leadership and in a direct economic way has been the basis upon which we have, last month, launched the new Women's Leadership and Economic Security Strategy. It is a four-year project. It is one that we are immensely proud of and I thank the Premier and, indeed, Minister Lensink of another place for her role in ensuring that we actually tackle this very important area.

The three key components of this are employment and entrepreneurship—financial independence and security is critical—leadership and recognition, and financial wellbeing. We have tackled this hard topic as part of a strategy in relation to the development of women's opportunity in our state because when cyber and other areas come to the fore for employment and business opportunities for women, they are a match made in heaven unquestionably.

Leading South Australian women have praised this highly respected and important project. Fiona Dorman, Isobel Marshall and Karen Briggs have come out and complimented the significance of what we are doing here. The Premier has revitalised the Premier's Council for Women so that we can make sure that we do develop the now near record of women employed in South Australia.

But it hasn't always been followed by some others. We already know publicly there have been statements exposed of the pay gap in the Leader of the Opposition's office himself—women are paid 35 per cent less in his office, so we know that problem. Let me explain an area which I think is very important: often it's discussed about women's representation here in the parliament, and part of the important process, one of the most key things—

Members interjecting:

The SPEAKER: Order!

The Hon. V.A. CHAPMAN: —that is being asked—

Members interjecting:

The SPEAKER: Order, members on my left!

The Hon. V.A. CHAPMAN: —and what we do here in the parliament is question time, and what do we find? Of the seven women here—

Mr Malinauskas interjecting:

The SPEAKER: The leader!

The Hon. V.A. CHAPMAN: —in the Labor Party and an Independent, who is apparently courting the idea of going back in the team but, in any event, whatever we do—

Ms Bedford: I beg your—point of order, Mr Speaker.

The SPEAKER: The Deputy Premier will resume her seat.

The Hon. V.A. Chapman interjecting:

Ms BEDFORD: Point of order, Mr Speaker.

Members interjecting:

The SPEAKER: Order! The member for West Torrens is not seeking the call. The member for Florey on a point of order.

Ms BEDFORD: I think the Attorney-General is being unnecessarily—what is the word I am searching for? There is absolutely no truth to that—

Members interjecting:

The SPEAKER: Order!

Ms BEDFORD: —and for you to be saying that is disingenuous at best. The only thing I did say is that I was threatening to rejoin the Labor Party to get some things done for my constituents.

Members interjecting:

The SPEAKER: Order! I don't detect a point of order.

Ms BEDFORD: She misrepresented me, sir.

The SPEAKER: Is the member for Florey seeking—

Members interjecting:

The SPEAKER: Order, members on my right! The Minister for Education is called to order. Is the member for Florey indicating that she has been misrepresented and seeking the call to make a personal explanation, or is there a standing order in relation to a personal reflection that the member for Florey is drawing attention to?

Ms BEDFORD: I think the personal reflection is that I flip-flop as much as other people do in this house, sir.

The Hon. A. KOUTSANTONIS: Standing order 127—

The SPEAKER: The member for West Torrens on the point of order?

The Hon. A. KOUTSANTONIS: Yes, sir. Standing order 127:

A Member may not

1. digress from the subject matter of any question…

2. or impute improper motives to any other Member,

3. or make [any] personal reflections on any other Member.

That is exactly what the Attorney-General has been doing on members on this side of the house.

Members interjecting:

The SPEAKER: Order! The member for West Torrens has identified what might be a relevant standing order. It is a matter for the member for Florey as to whether or not the member for Florey wishes to press a point of order under that standing order and, if so, to identify the—

Ms BEDFORD: I don't wish to waste another minute of the house's time.

The SPEAKER: There is no point of order. The Deputy Premier has the call.

The Hon. V.A. CHAPMAN: The concern is that 79.2 per cent of the questions asked here in the parliament by the opposition are by men and, of course, we know which ones are always doing the dominating.

The SPEAKER: The Deputy Premier will resume her seat. The member for West Torrens.

The Hon. A. KOUTSANTONIS: The Attorney-General has—

Members interjecting:

The SPEAKER: Order! There will be silence. The member for West Torrens has the call and is entitled to be heard in silence.

The Hon. A. KOUTSANTONIS: Standing order 98: the Attorney-General has no responsibility to the house whatsoever for the opposition's questions or question time. She is reflecting on it, sir, and she cannot. She is debating the answer.

The SPEAKER: I will rule on the point of order insofar as it relates to standing order 98. I don't uphold that point of order. The Deputy Premier is addressing the question by reference to examples, and a range of them. I draw the Deputy Premier's attention to the question. The Deputy Premier has the call.

The Hon. V.A. CHAPMAN: So the area of concern, of course, is that in relation to an important parliamentary responsibility, which is question time and the accountability of government and everything else, is to find a situation—

Members interjecting:

The SPEAKER: Order!

The Hon. V.A. CHAPMAN: —where 1,422 questions have been asked by the blokes and only 678 have been asked by all the women here—

Ms Cook interjecting:

The SPEAKER: Order, member for Hurtle Vale!

Ms Cook interjecting:

The SPEAKER: The member for Hurtle Vale is called to order.

The Hon. V.A. CHAPMAN: —only that number, and that inconsistency just is very concerning.

The SPEAKER: The Deputy Premier will resume her seat. The member for Hurtle Vale is warned. The member for Lee rises on a point of order.

The Hon. S.C. MULLIGHAN: Standing order 98: this is nothing other than debate. This has absolutely nothing to do with the question that was asked by the member for Elder. The Deputy Premier attempts to draw a very long and irrelevant bow.

Members interjecting:

The SPEAKER: Order, members on my right!

Mr Szakacs interjecting:

The SPEAKER: The member for Cheltenham will leave for 10 minutes in accordance with standing order 137A.

The honourable member for Cheltenham having withdrawn from the chamber:

The SPEAKER: In response to the member for West Torrens' point of order raised a moment ago pursuant to standing order 98, I did not uphold the point of order insofar as it related to debate. The Deputy Premier was addressing the question by reference to a number of examples. The point of order subsequently raised by the member for Lee addresses the same subject matter. I am listening carefully to the Deputy Premier's answer. The Deputy Premier will address the substance of the question. The Deputy Premier has the call.

The Hon. V.A. CHAPMAN: As members of parliament, we all have a responsibility to demonstrate the significance of ensuring that women and girls also have an opportunity in leadership. That is a critical part of our strategy—

Members interjecting:

The SPEAKER: Member for Lee!

The Hon. V.A. CHAPMAN: —and we are committed to it. I am deeply disappointed that they are clearly not committed to it on the other side, but we are committed to it.

Members interjecting:

The SPEAKER: The member for Reynell is called to order!

The Hon. V.A. CHAPMAN: And we will ensure that that representation is heard and that they have an opportunity—

Members interjecting:

The SPEAKER: Order!

The Hon. V.A. CHAPMAN: —to ask questions, to answer questions, to be part of this process of airing questions. So instead of denying women—

Members interjecting:

The SPEAKER: Order! The Deputy Premier will resume her seat for a moment. The subject matter of interjections does not make interjection more or less disorderly. Interjection is disorderly. It is open to members on my right and on my left to raise points of order. The Chair will rule on points of order. Interjection is not an alternative to following the procedures that are laid down in the standing orders. The member for Lee will leave for the remainder of question time in accordance with standing order 137A.

The honourable member for Lee having withdrawn from the chamber:

An honourable member interjecting:

The SPEAKER: The member for Playford is warned for a second time. Has the Deputy Premier concluded her answer?

The Hon. V.A. CHAPMAN: The time has gone, sir.

The SPEAKER: The time for answering the question has expired. The Deputy Premier's capacity to answer the question in the circumstances of the level of sustained interjection was rendered difficult. Has the Deputy Premier concluded her answer?

The Hon. V.A. CHAPMAN: No, sir. I would just like to say this: we on this side of the house are absolutely committed to giving all our children opportunities, whatever their gender, and that is something we are committed to do and we will continue with this strategy throughout our term.