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Legislative Council - Fifty-Second Parliament, Second Session (52-2)
2012-05-30 Daily Xml
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WOMEN'S INFORMATION SERVICE

The Hon. CARMEL ZOLLO (15:12): I seek leave to make a brief explanation before asking the Minister for the Status of Women a question about the Women's Information Service.

Leave granted.

The Hon. CARMEL ZOLLO: The minister has spoken before about the importance of WIS to South Australia and the strategic directions that the service is heading in. Can the minister tell the chamber about the further changes at WIS?

The Hon. G.E. GAGO (Minister for Agriculture, Food and Fisheries, Minister for Forests, Minister for Regional Development, Minister for Tourism, Minister for the Status of Women) (15:13): I thank the honourable member for her most important question. I am delighted today to announce that the Women's Information Service (WIS) will co-locate with the Office for Women in Grenfell Street. This move is indeed a significant new chapter in the 34-year history of the Women's Information Service.

The co-location of WIS and the Office for Women policy team at 101 Grenfell Street was a key recommendation of the 2005 Women's Futures report, and I am very pleased that we have been able to fulfil this very strategic recommendation. It is my view that the co-location of WIS with the Office for Women policy team is an ideal outcome, not only for women in South Australia but also for the staff and volunteers at WIS.

Just while I am speaking of the WIS volunteers, I should put on record that an event to celebrate the contributions of WIS volunteers over the years was recently held. It was wonderful to acknowledge the efforts of two WIS volunteers in particular: first, Pat Ellis, who has been an active volunteer for a remarkable 15 years. Pat was unfortunately not able to attend the celebration. I was also delighted to personally honour Marie Tyerman, who has reached a fantastic milestone of 20 years of volunteer service at WIS.

I am sure that the Hon. Michelle Lensink will be very pleased to know that I announced at that volunteer occasion the development of a new project that will record the history of the Women's Information Service. The project will involve the development of an interactive wiki website, which allows users to create and edit web page content.

You will recall reasonably recently that the Hon. Michelle Lensink asked me whether there was any history collection of WIS and I said that I was not aware of any, but I thought it was a very good idea and I have taken action, so thank you to the Hon. Michelle Lensink for that wonderful idea. Women who have been involved with WIS, either as employees or volunteers, or those who have used the service, will be encouraged to visit and contribute—

The Hon. T.A. Franks interjecting:

The Hon. G.E. GAGO: The Greens want to bag that idea, do they? Are the Greens bagging the idea of a WIS history?

The Hon. T.A. Franks interjecting:

The Hon. G.E. GAGO: No, they're not—they are acknowledging and giving the government and Michelle credit for it.

The Hon. T.A. Franks: No, we're bagging you for telling people to FOI government information that should be available—

The PRESIDENT: Order!

The Hon. G.E. GAGO: Oh, gee whiz, it's a class act, isn't it? Oh, gee, what a pack of whingers! The wiki platform, which will be moderated by the Office for Women, will allow for the community of women involved to edit and improve the information posted, enabling a history that is written and shaped by those who were directly involved. As members would know, the Women's Information Service is known for providing a range of services, including information and referral, computer access and support through Forward IT, the Family Court Support Program and tax help, as well as being a welcoming space for women.

All this work will continue with the co-location and will also continue to embrace new technology and collaborative projects through digital and community engagement strategies. I have no doubt spoken before about the WIS community engagement framework, the digital engagement framework and strategic partnerships with other services, which increase women's access to knowledge and services by ensuring that WIS actively is engaging with different communities of women.

I also want to briefly mention the digital engagement process through which the South Australian and commonwealth Ombudsman offices also provide a monthly outreach service from within WIS, and I have spoken about that before. I am sure members will agree that WIS is taking some very strategic and important actions in positioning and repositioning itself in both the online and broader community. The information service will remain open and operate as normal as it prepares for co-location, and details of the move are available on our online information site.

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