Mrs PADGHAM-PURICH - 1994-12-01
Mr Speaker, assuming that the Country Liberal Party continues in power, is the Chief Minister planning for the future with regard to an increase in women in his ministerial and backbench ranks and even in his own job vis-a-vis the Women's Advisory Council? How many women is it necessary to have on his backbench and in his ministerial ranks before a Women's Advisory Council is unnecessary?
ANSWER
Mr Speaker, I am glad that the member threw in that last line otherwise I would not have been sure what she was referring to. Quite clearly, as far as planning for future changes to the Cabinet is concerned ...
Mrs Padgham-Purich: You know my views about this.
Mr PERRON: Indeed I do.
Mr Bailey: That is why ...
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Mr PERRON: And others are about to assume them, probably accurately.
As far as future changes to the Cabinet are concerned, quite clearly the options of the Chief Minister, whether myself or someone else, will be limited by the numbers of women in the ranks of the parliamentary wing of the governing party. I am pleased to say that, after what we might describe as a period of drought in this regard, we now have a woman on this side of the House. I hope that, in the future, we will have many more so that the Chief Minister's range of choices can be maximised in relation to attaining gender balance in the Cabinet. I am sure that that is desirable although I fall short of saying that it should be achieved by means of any quota system.
In relation to the member's implication that, sooner or later, we ought to reach a position whereby a Women's Advisory Council to the Territory government is no longer required, I believe the Women's Advisory Council has been a very big success for the Northern Territory. Over the years, it has brought forward to government very many significant initiatives which it has developed and we have picked up. Regularly, it has warned the government about issues of concern to women in the Northern Territory that otherwise might not have come to light. The Women's Advisory Council is selected from women across the Territory who come from a variety of backgrounds and interests. This ensures that it maintains a significant diversity of views within its own ranks to assist its rational decision-making. That has been a formula for success in the past and hopefully will be well into the future.
I am not sure when the time will come when we do not need a Women's Advisory Council. I have to say - and I am sure that this will be taken in the spirit that it is given - that I think that the day should come when such an organisation is not required. I think that most members of the Women's Advisory Council would acknowledge that the day when there is no longer a need for one will be a very good day. Of course, that would mean that women no longer felt that their specific concerns were not addressed adequately by government.
Mrs Padgham-Purich: You would need to have a men's advisory council.
Mrs Hickey: We have many of them.
Mr PERRON: It is true that, even today, occasionally men feel somewhat aggrieved about the enormous attention given to some women's problems - and I refer specifically to the medical area - whereas there are a few areas of concern to men that do not seem to receive anywhere near the attention or the funding.
Like other members, I am sure, I look forward tothe day when women feel that their role in society is recognised and recompensed to the extent that they do not require specific organisations to draw attention to their own concerns. However, looking at today's statistics, it is a fact that women have not yet achieved in society even such a basic principle as equal pay for equal work. Without considering any other statistics, I believe we would all say that we should strive to achieve that principle. Wherever the government employs women, we employ them on the same pay and conditions as men. In fact, in some respects, there are women who have additional conditions over men in small ways. Nevertheless, the pay rates are exactly the same. However, when one examines the statistics of women in the
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work force, generally they do not yet have equal pay for equal work. Thus, there is some way to go in terms of that one example alone.
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ANSWER
Mr Speaker, I am glad that the member threw in that last line otherwise I would not have been sure what she was referring to. Quite clearly, as far as planning for future changes to the Cabinet is concerned ...
Mrs Padgham-Purich: You know my views about this.
Mr PERRON: Indeed I do.
Mr Bailey: That is why ...
Page 383
Mr PERRON: And others are about to assume them, probably accurately.
As far as future changes to the Cabinet are concerned, quite clearly the options of the Chief Minister, whether myself or someone else, will be limited by the numbers of women in the ranks of the parliamentary wing of the governing party. I am pleased to say that, after what we might describe as a period of drought in this regard, we now have a woman on this side of the House. I hope that, in the future, we will have many more so that the Chief Minister's range of choices can be maximised in relation to attaining gender balance in the Cabinet. I am sure that that is desirable although I fall short of saying that it should be achieved by means of any quota system.
In relation to the member's implication that, sooner or later, we ought to reach a position whereby a Women's Advisory Council to the Territory government is no longer required, I believe the Women's Advisory Council has been a very big success for the Northern Territory. Over the years, it has brought forward to government very many significant initiatives which it has developed and we have picked up. Regularly, it has warned the government about issues of concern to women in the Northern Territory that otherwise might not have come to light. The Women's Advisory Council is selected from women across the Territory who come from a variety of backgrounds and interests. This ensures that it maintains a significant diversity of views within its own ranks to assist its rational decision-making. That has been a formula for success in the past and hopefully will be well into the future.
I am not sure when the time will come when we do not need a Women's Advisory Council. I have to say - and I am sure that this will be taken in the spirit that it is given - that I think that the day should come when such an organisation is not required. I think that most members of the Women's Advisory Council would acknowledge that the day when there is no longer a need for one will be a very good day. Of course, that would mean that women no longer felt that their specific concerns were not addressed adequately by government.
Mrs Padgham-Purich: You would need to have a men's advisory council.
Mrs Hickey: We have many of them.
Mr PERRON: It is true that, even today, occasionally men feel somewhat aggrieved about the enormous attention given to some women's problems - and I refer specifically to the medical area - whereas there are a few areas of concern to men that do not seem to receive anywhere near the attention or the funding.
Like other members, I am sure, I look forward tothe day when women feel that their role in society is recognised and recompensed to the extent that they do not require specific organisations to draw attention to their own concerns. However, looking at today's statistics, it is a fact that women have not yet achieved in society even such a basic principle as equal pay for equal work. Without considering any other statistics, I believe we would all say that we should strive to achieve that principle. Wherever the government employs women, we employ them on the same pay and conditions as men. In fact, in some respects, there are women who have additional conditions over men in small ways. Nevertheless, the pay rates are exactly the same. However, when one examines the statistics of women in the
Page 384
work force, generally they do not yet have equal pay for equal work. Thus, there is some way to go in terms of that one example alone.
Page 385
Last updated: 09 Aug 2016