Premier's Council for Women

The Hon. T.T. NGO (14:36): I seek leave to make a brief explanation before asking the Minister for the Status of Women a question about the Premier's Council for Women.

Leave granted.

The Hon. T.T. NGO: A survey has been launched which gives women the opportunity to let the Premier's Council for Women know what affects them. My question is: can the minister tell the chamber about the launch of the Premier's Council for Women survey?

The Hon. J.S.L. Dawkins: There's a tough one!

The Hon. G.E. GAGO (Minister for Employment, Higher Education and Skills, Minister for Science and Information Economy, Minister for the Status of Women, Minister for Business Services and Consumers) (14:37): Much tougher than any question the opposition has given me yet. I thank the honourable member for his most important question. The government is committed to providing for the needs of women. The Premier's Council for Women last week launched a survey which asks women in South Australia to identify the key issues affecting them.

The 'What matters to women in South Australia' survey gives women an opportunity to let the council know about the sorts of issues that affect them: things like employment, money, family, health, safety, wellbeing or whatever the issue might be, whatever is important to the women of South Australia. This survey will provide the council with direct input from women in South Australia and guide the council's choices of issues to focus their attention and efforts on.

Established in 2002, the council provides leadership and advice to ensure that the interests of women are at the forefront of government policies and strategies. The council is comprised of influential women from diverse areas and targets the efforts in areas where they have knowledge, experience and ability to advocate on behalf of women. The council's work plan focuses on five priority areas: women's employment and economic status, women in leadership, women's health and wellbeing, violence against women and safety, and women and disabilities.

The council continues to be committed to redress inequalities between women and will continue to advocate on particular issues of importance to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander women and women from culturally and linguistically diverse backgrounds.

As one of the government's key advisory bodies, the council was actively involved in the review of South Australia's Strategic Plan, and the council members were on the SASP Audit Committee and continue to maintain a focus on women and gender differentiation with respect to SASP.

The council is also working to ensure that women's interests and gender equity receive adequate attention in the government's strategic priorities, and early in 2013 met with the chairs of senior officer groups to discuss the issues that council identifies as important for women. It also developed a number of strategic relationships and alliances in the private sector to assist with the promotion and importance of increasing women's representation in senior executive and board positions in the corporate sector.

In partnership with the Office for Women and local industry, the council developed a guide to best practice for attracting, retaining and promoting women at executive levels called, 'Words into Action: A practical guide to achieve gender equity and improve your company's performance'.

Now, more than ever, it is important to listen to women talk about the issues that affect them. We clearly have a federal government which has a proposed budget where many changes will disproportionately affect women because they make up a significant number of low income earners, health service users and carers. Women who are pensioners (women tend to live longer than men) will be slugged when changes are introduced to the pension age and the low income superannuation contribution and they lose the seniors supplement.

Women with families will be adversely affected by the introduction of a GP tax, increases in co-payments to PBS prescriptions and changes to the family tax benefits. Women who face the greatest disadvantage are disability pension recipients, the homeless, those affected by domestic violence and Indigenous women. They will all find it much harder to access services as the federal budget slashes funding for services and targeted programs. Now, more than ever, this government is committed to listening to the concerns of women in South Australia and providing them with accessible ways to raise their issues.