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Legislative Council - Fifty-Second Parliament, Second Session (52-2)
2012-04-05 Daily Xml
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WOMEN'S INFORMATION SERVICE

The Hon. CARMEL ZOLLO (15:39): 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 outreach.

Leave granted.

The Hon. CARMEL ZOLLO: The minister has informed this place before of the great work being done by the Women's Information Service. As minister for the regions, I know she is committed to engaging with women in the regions. Will the minister inform the chamber about some of the WIS's efforts to ensure that they work with women from regional areas?

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) (15:40): Indeed, the Women's Information Service (WIS) has consistently worked hard to ensure links with regional and remote areas. I am sure members will recall that a number of WIS information hubs have been established in regional areas where women can access a range of material and information.

Over the next 12 months, a WIS worker will be visiting each of the WIS hubs in rural and regional areas and meeting with local women and services to ensure that the hubs remain relevant and meet the needs of women in the local community. WIS workers and volunteers will continue to work with communities by attending community events, holding information stalls and giving presentations to community groups.

A WIS staff member visited the Riverland from 26 to 28 March. The worker dropped into a number of services in Waikerie, Barmera, Berri and Renmark to provide information about WIS services that are accessible to women in regional areas. Things like the rural women's phone link-up service, the WIS legal service line, the Family Court support program and access to information via the WIS Facebook page are just a few examples. If women living in regional areas need to access a service in South Australia that does not offer a toll-free number, there is a number they can phone WIS on and have their calls then transferred free of charge.

WIS has information hubs for women in both Waikerie and Renmark. The staff member visited the hubs to ensure that the information on offer was up to date and relevant to the women living in those communities. This visit included visits to a range of service providers as well, such as women's health providers. These visits enable WIS to broaden their knowledge of services available to women outside of Adelaide and to better assist women who make inquiries via the WIS phone service. There are of course other benefits to these visits, such as giving WIS the opportunity to:

increase regional women's knowledge of SA government and community support services available to them;

broaden their knowledge of services available to women outside of Adelaide, to better assist women to make inquiries via the WIS phone service;

increase their knowledge about challenges for women in particular areas;

talk with women living in regional areas about the issues that are concerning them and then share this information with other women's services and the broader Office for Women; and

raise their profile and visibility to regional women.

WIS's work in the regions is part of a broader community engagement framework which aims to reach women who cannot access the WIS shopfront in Grenfell Street. I want to acknowledge and congratulate those staff who go out and do that regional work. They do an amazing job. There are very long hours and they are very committed and dedicated staff who are very committed to ensuring that all women, including regional women, maintain high access to services.

The PRESIDENT: The Hon. Ms Lensink has a supplementary.

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