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Legislative Council - Fifty-First Parliament, Third Session (51-3)
2009-09-08 Daily Xml
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BURNSIDE COUNCIL DEVELOPMENT ASSESSMENT PANEL

The Hon. DAVID WINDERLICH (15:28): I seek leave to make a brief explanation before asking the Minister for Urban Development and Planning a question about the Burnside council development assessment panel and gender equity.

Leave granted.

The Hon. DAVID WINDERLICH: Members will be aware that there has been some controversy about the appointment of Mrs Davina Quirke of Burnside council to the Development Policy Advisory Committee. That debate has been over whether Mrs Quirke (a first-time councillor with no experience of development assessment but extensive links to the ALP) was appointed on the basis of her ALP links. Mrs Quirke has told me that she is no longer a member of the Australian Labor Party.

On 31 August, the Minister for Urban Development and Planning defended the appointment of Mrs Quirke on the grounds that she was one of the few women who applied for the position.

Members interjecting:

The PRESIDENT: Order!

The Hon. DAVID WINDERLICH: The government's commitment to gender equity is reflected in the Development Act under section 56A, which provides:

Unless an exemption is granted by the minister, the council should ensure that one member of the panel is a man and one is a woman and should ensure, as far as practicable, that the panel consists of equal numbers of men and women.

The Burnside council appointed a new development assessment panel on 16 December 2008. At that meeting, on three occasions, the majority of councillors voted against the appointment of the sole female applicant—a solicitor who holds an honours degree in architecture, is studying for a masters degree in urban planning and has served a full four-year term on a metropolitan council. Instead, they appointed three males—all with some relevant qualifications but none who appeared to be as strong a candidate as the single female. Mrs Quirke voted for the female applicant on one occasion and against her and in favour of arguably less qualified male candidates on two occasions. My questions are:

1. Is the minister aware that Burnside council appears to have chosen to appoint relatively less qualified men to the development assessment panel over a highly qualified woman?

2. Does the minister consider this to be a potential breach of section 56 of the Development Act which requires that, as far as practical, the panel consist of equal numbers of men and women?

3. Will the minister investigate this potential breach of the act?

4. What action will the minister take to promote the participation of women in the Burnside council development assessment panel and other council development assessment panels?

The PRESIDENT: In his answer the minister will avoid touching on those parts of the honourable member's questions in which he has asked the minister for an opinion on whether someone was more qualified than someone else.

The Hon. P. HOLLOWAY (Minister for Mineral Resources Development, Minister for Urban Development and Planning, Minister for Small Business) (15:31): I understand this matter has been raised with me through correspondence, and I recall writing to Burnside council some time back. I will recover that correspondence and get back to the honourable member in relation to the issue. If my memory serves me correctly, the matter has been raised with me and I have raised it with Burnside council; however, I will check the correspondence and get back to the honourable member.

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