WOMEN IN LOCAL GOVERNMENT

The Hon. CARMEL ZOLLO (15:17): I seek leave to make a brief explanation before asking the Minister for the Status of Women a question about women in local government.

Leave granted.

The Hon. CARMEL ZOLLO: Women traditionally took up careers in teaching and nursing, and nowadays women of course are moving into diverse areas of work. Will the Minister for the Status of Women advise the house about the progress made by women in the local government sector?

The Hon. G.E. GAGO (Minister for Regional Development, Minister for Public Sector Management, Minister for the Status of Women, Minister for Consumer Affairs, Minister for Government Enterprises) (15:18): I thank the member for her most important question. Indeed, it is correct that women are increasingly moving to non-traditional areas of work, and this is a change that I am sure we all encourage. Local government is an area where women have great opportunities, both as elected members and employees. That is why on 15 February I was very pleased to host a lunch at Parliament House for newly elected women councillors.

As many of you would be aware, in the last local government elections there was an improvement of 3 per cent of women being elected. It is not a giant leap but, nevertheless, a small step in the right direction. This 3 per cent improvement is worthy of celebration—any improvement is worthy of celebration—but obviously it should not be the only criterion on which we measure success. There were many other benefits that came out of that year, including some very good social networking occasions, useful research commissioned, supportive literature published and some very fruitful public discussions. They are all important outcomes in the scheme of things.

A gathering was held in the Balcony Room of Parliament House. I think it is probably one of the most imposing rooms in the place. It certainly would have been unimaginable, when the building was built, that one day in the future a group of very powerful and capable women would have been here to celebrate their electoral success. Indeed, I would imagine that it would have had a number of the old fellows spluttering into their ports. We can, however, take some pride in the fact that in 1894 South Australian women became the first group of women in Australia to win the vote and to stand for parliament. In particular—

The Hon. S.G. Wade interjecting:

The PRESIDENT: Order! The Hon. Mr Wade is continuing his behaviour from yesterday evening.

The Hon. G.E. GAGO: Members would be aware that I firmly believe that it makes good business sense to take every opportunity to utilise all the talents available to us—not just the talents of men but also the talents of women—and we need to be able to tap into what is an under-utilised pool of qualified professional female talent if we are to continue to deliver excellent local government services into the future. I know there is a great deal of commitment and work being done already by many within the local government sector. However, I continue to encourage them to take up the challenge and to support each other and continue the growth of women in that particular sector.