WOMEN IN LEADERSHIP

The Hon. CARMEL ZOLLO (14:24): Thank you, Mr President.

Members interjecting:

The PRESIDENT: Order!

The Hon. CARMEL ZOLLO: I seek leave—

Members interjecting:

The PRESIDENT: Order! The Hon. Mrs Zollo.

The Hon. CARMEL ZOLLO: Thank you, Mr President. I seek leave to make a brief explanation before asking the Minister for Public Sector Management a question about women in executive positions.

Members interjecting:

The PRESIDENT: I called the Hon. Ms Lensink three times.

Leave granted.

The Hon. CARMEL ZOLLO: The percentage of women in executive positions has increased from 29.4 per cent, when the Strategic Plan target was set in 2003, to 42 per cent in 2010. This is a significant increase, with nearly a third more women in executive positions in the South Australian public sector than in 2003. My questions are:

1. Can the minister provide more detail about the importance of women in executive

positions?

2. What are some of the elements that contribute to the advancement of women?

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) (14:25): I thank the honourable member for her important question. Certainly, there is a strong commitment from this government to achieve equity for women in the public sector executive. In fact, South Australia's Strategic Plan target 6.23 aims to have women comprising half of public sector employees in executive levels by 2014. As Minister for the Status of Women, philosophically I am certainly committed to reaching these goals, but this is more than just about philosophy. This is about common sense, smart management and also leadership role models.

I have long been impressed by the Commissioner for Public Sector Employment Warren McCann's compelling business case for achieving the women in executive positions target. In the business case, the commissioner is essentially making the point that increasing the number of women executives not only is the right thing to do but the smart thing to do. We know that skilled and capable women are out there who can bring an innovative and insightful approach to senior levels of government and we need their abilities on board to meet the challenges of the future.

It is an unfortunate reality, however, that this enlightened view is taking time to sink in for some people. It is obvious to me that there is still a broader cultural problem to address here, and that problem is old-fashioned sexism. It seems that some are still keen to associate women with home and children, not the workplace and careers, and there are those who persistently judge women based on their appearance and gender. For women in the public eye this is particularly true, and it seems to me that, for instance, our own Prime Minister continues to be judged as a woman first and as a politician second, with a lot of attention placed on her clothing, her outfits and her physical appearance, rather than her politics.

I am sure members are aware of the disgraceful behaviour of the opposition leader, Tony Abbott, yesterday. It is absolutely appalling that he chose to stand in front of a sign which is so blatantly sexist and offensive. It is not so much that those signs were personal attacks on the Prime Minister—

Members interjecting:

The PRESIDENT: The opposition should not allow the minister to wind them in.

The Hon. G.E. GAGO: It is not so much that those signs were personal attacks on the Prime Minister: it is that the language used was negative and derogatory and attacked women. It is one thing to enter into a vigorous political debate—and no-one wants to stifle that—and sometimes we use powerful and emotive statements to make our points in politics, but those signs contained language and messages that were crude, rude and outright offensive.

There is no room for sexism in our public debates, and I am astonished and deeply disheartened that Mr Abbott's female colleagues, Bronwyn Bishop and Sophie Mirabella, chose also to be involved. I cannot believe that they stood there in front of those signs, that they did not feel some sense of shame and that they did not ask themselves what on earth they were doing there associating with those offensive remarks to women.

What do their actions, by standing in front of those signs, say to the women of this nation? Tony Abbott, Bronwyn Bishop and Sophie Mirabella condoned those offensive comments. That is what their actions did. What was Tony Abbott's response this morning? He chose to get on his bike and ride off, not into the sunset but actually the sunrise. Shame on you, Mr Tony Abbott! I understand that he was reported in the media today at 12 noon saying that no apology was necessary.

The really sad part about this is that the Liberal Party actually seems to be proud of this behaviour. I challenge Mr Abbott, if he has a shred of decency or courage, to formally apologise to the Prime Minister and to all Australian women. He should apologise to those women who fought long and hard to ensure that they were not judged on their gender alone and that they were not treated in a sexist way. It is so important that our leaders provide these positive cultural examples and that they respect and value women.

I also challenge the leader of the state Liberal Party, Ms Isobel Redmond, to join me in condoning this shameless behaviour—

Members interjecting:

The PRESIDENT: Order!

The Hon. G.E. GAGO: Again, I put on the record that I challenge—

The PRESIDENT: Order, Minister!

The Hon. R.P. WORTLEY: Point of order, Mr President. I find it quite offensive that the Hon. Mr Stephens shouts out 'stupid' to a minister who is trying to give an answer. I think it is disrespectful and should be curtailed.

The PRESIDENT: The opposition should come to order. The minister.

The Hon. G.E. GAGO: I reiterate that I challenge the leader of the state Liberal Party, Ms Isobel Redmond, to join me in condemning this shameless behaviour. We should condemn this behaviour—

Members interjecting:

The PRESIDENT: Order! She can have eight, like the Hon. Mr Ridgway.

The Hon. G.E. GAGO: I also challenge the other women of the Liberal Party in this chamber to join me in condemning the actions of Tony Abbott and senior Liberal women. I challenge members here, the Hon. Michelle Lensink and the Hon. Jing Lee, to stand up and condemn this outrageous behaviour.

Unlike Mr Abbott and his colleagues, time is actually on the side of women. In 2009-10 South Australia recorded the highest percentage of women in executive positions in all Australian states. We are leading the nation in the number of women executives; as of June 2010 approximately 42 per cent of executives were women, an increase of 3.3 per cent since 2009. This is a very positive indication of the momentum we are gaining.

I look forward to the day that figures such as these are no longer remarkable, when the habits and patterns that prevent women's full participation are seen as the dusty relics of the past. In the meantime, efforts to bring about change will continue unabated, and I will continue to challenge in a fearless and ferocious way.