ZONTA CLUB OF GAWLER

The Hon. G.A. KANDELAARS (15:47): I seek leave to make a brief explanation before asking the Minister for the Status of Women a question regarding Zonta Club in Gawler.

Leave granted.

The Hon. G.A. KANDELAARS: Established in 1919, Zonta International is an organisation which works together to advance the status of women worldwide. Zonta has chapters across the globe and Zonta Gawler recently celebrated its 20^th birthday. Can the minister inform the chamber of the celebrations held by Zonta Gawler to recognise 20 years of work?

The Hon. G.E. GAGO (Minister for Agriculture, Food and Fisheries, Minister for Forests, Minister for Regional Development, Minister for the Status of Women, Minister for State/Local Government Relations) (15:48): I thank the honourable member for his very good question. The Zonta Club of Gawler Inc. began in 1993 and for the past 20 years has supported local women and the wider community via a number of projects and scholarships. I was very pleased to be invited by Ms Pru Blackwell, President of the Zonta Club of Gawler, to attend their birthday celebrations in August and to speak to the Zonta past and present members, volunteers, local councillors and supporters who attended.

Zonta is renowned for their work worldwide in advancing the status of women through service and advocacy. Zonta Gawler has shown commitment to local community issues, especially those affecting women and young girls and their education. In keeping with their philanthropic spirit, they even used their birthday celebrations to highlight one of their favourite programs that they contribute to, the Birthing Kit Foundation (Australia). This foundation is dedicated to improving conditions for women who give birth at home in developing countries. Kits provide clean equipment to reduce the incidence of infection and death for mothers and babies during childbirth.

Their efforts are also felt widely in the Gawler community. Zonta Gawler is a longstanding contributor to the International Women's Day events and I have been very pleased, over the years, to be able to provide financial support to them for that purpose. Further, it is organisations such as Zonta that provide the valuable training ground for young women to help them to identify their own leadership potential and the confidence to pursue their ambitions.

I have spoken in this place before of the marvellous work that the Gawler IWD committee undertakes in its fundraising events each year to provide financial assistance to young women in years 10 and 11 from each of the three secondary schools in the area: Gawler and District College, Trinity College and Xavier College. The scholarships are awarded each year to young women from local schools to advance their education. I was pleased to again be able to offer my financial assistance to contribute to a scholarship for a young woman from each of these schools.

These types of initiatives are so important in supporting young women to believe that they are capable of and have the right to participate in and be actively engaged with the whole community, not just some parts of it. As Minister for the Status of Women and Regional Development, being able to attend events such as these supports two of my passions: equality for women and advancing women's leadership at not only the state and national level but also within a regional context. Our rural and regional women make a significant contribution to South Australia's development in economic and social terms. It is my belief that promoting and increasing the participation of regional women in leadership and decision-making roles are key to ensuring that their voices are not only heard but that policies reflect the diverse needs of the whole community, not just half.

Increasing the number of women to actively pursue leadership opportunities in their businesses, communities and industries ultimately helps to produce stronger regional communities. For many regional women these opportunities can be difficult to come by when compared to their city counterparts. The chamber would have heard me speak previously about the scholarships announced by the Premier and myself for 25 women to attend governance training delivered by the Australian Institute of Company Directors. I am very pleased to be able to update the chamber and inform members that this training, held on Friday 23 August, was considered to be a considerable success. I have received correspondence since this training was completed, attesting to the value of offering opportunities like this to South Australian women who otherwise may not have that chance.

Further, more than half of these scholarships went to women living in regional areas. This demonstrates the willingness of women to stand up and take a leadership role within their business and community and, again, shows that it is this government—a Labor government—that will stand up and advocate for our regions and support regional women to reach their full leadership potential. I wish to congratulate Zonta Gawler on the 20 years of work in supporting their region and the women in their community. Congratulations to Zonta Gawler.