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Legislative Council - Fifty-Second Parliament, First Session (52-1)
2011-03-23 Daily Xml
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AUGUSTA ZADOW SCHOLARSHIP

The Hon. I.K. HUNTER (15:16): My question is to the Minister for Industrial Relations. Will the minister provide the chamber with details of the Augusta Zadow Scholarship program?

The Hon. B.V. FINNIGAN (Minister for Industrial Relations, Minister for State/Local Government Relations, Minister for Gambling) (15:16): I thank the Hon. Mr Hunter for his question. The Rann government is committed to improving the health and safety of workers in South Australia and, particularly, of South Australian women in the workplace. On 13 March this year, I announced the next round of applications open for the Augusta Zadow Scholarships which help meet that commitment.

Two scholarships up to the value of $10,000 are funded by SafeWork SA and are awarded to fund research or projects aimed at improving the health and safety of South Australian women in the workplace. The annual Augusta Zadow scholarships were initiated in 2005 and are named, clearly, in honour of Augusta Zadow. In 1895, Augusta Zadow became the first woman inspector of factories in South Australia. She played a crucial role in securing better conditions for workers in factories, particularly women and children. Many of the working conditions that we now take for granted are due to the efforts of pioneers such as Augusta Zadow.

Previous recipients of the scholarships have played an important role in identifying and exploring options to improve health and safety for women in the workforce. Sexual harassment, aggressive clients, manual handling and exposure to hazardous substances during pregnancy are some of the issues that have been, and are being, researched by recipients of funding from the Augusta Zadow scholarships. All of these projects will directly help women in South Australia in a meaningful and tangible way.

For instance, last year Nadine Levy and Anne Purdy from the Young Workers' Legal Services were awarded a $10,000 scholarship to deliver their project on young women, small business and sexual harassment in an occupational health safety and welfare context. Their research will explore possible mechanisms to protect young female workers and educate employers on sexual harassment as both a discrimination and an occupational health, safety and welfare issue.

In 2009, a $9,000 scholarship was awarded to Vicki Hutchinson and Belinda Purvis from the Repatriation General Hospital to undertake a project examining the management of aggression and violence in a clinical environment. Their project developed an electronic learning program to educate and prepare nurses for dealing with aggression or violence in the workplace. Their program will complement and enhance the current hands-on training program and is directly transferable for use by other health units.

These projects are examples of work undertaken by some of the past successful recipients of the scholarship program. I encourage anyone with a relevant proposal to apply. Proposals must be submitted by 5pm on Friday 26 August. Selection criteria and other details can be found, I understand, on the SafeWork SA website.

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