❓ A parliamentary question regarding the achievements and priorities of the Women's Interests portfolio is met with a lengthy response from the Minister, highlighting initiatives and progress made by the Liberal-National government.
AnsweredQoN 498Legislative Assembly
QuestionView source ↗
WOMEN'S INTERESTS PORTFOLIO —
ACHIEVEMENTS AND PRIORITIES
498. Mrs G.J. GODFREY to the Minister for
Women's Interests:
Can the minister please update the
house on the achievements and the priority areas in her portfolio of women's
interests; in particular, is she able to inform the house of any new
initiatives to be implemented this year?
Ms M.M. Quirk interjected.
The SPEAKER : Member for Girrawheen, I call you to order for the first
time. Member for Belmont, start again, please.
Mrs G.J. GODFREY : Can the minister please update the house on the
achievements and the priority areas in her portfolio of women's
interests; in particular, is she able to inform the house of any new initiatives
to be implemented this year?
ACHIEVEMENTS AND PRIORITIES
498. Mrs G.J. GODFREY to the Minister for
Women's Interests:
Can the minister please update the
house on the achievements and the priority areas in her portfolio of women's
interests; in particular, is she able to inform the house of any new
initiatives to be implemented this year?
Ms M.M. Quirk interjected.
The SPEAKER : Member for Girrawheen, I call you to order for the first
time. Member for Belmont, start again, please.
Mrs G.J. GODFREY : Can the minister please update the house on the
achievements and the priority areas in her portfolio of women's
interests; in particular, is she able to inform the house of any new initiatives
to be implemented this year?
AnswerView source ↗
I thank the member for Belmont for
her question in this house on women's interests, and I welcome all
questions on women's interests.
Several members interjected.
The SPEAKER : Member for Girrawheen, I call you to order for the
second time and the member for Cannington, for the first time. Let the minister
answer the question.
Mrs L.M. HARVEY : The government continues to work —
Ms M.M. Quirk interjected.
Mrs L.M. HARVEY : Mr Speaker, I need to address this interjection
from the member for Girrawheen. The opposition controls what time is allocated
in estimates.
Several members interjected.
The SPEAKER : Members! Member for Girrawheen! Right, through the
Chair, thank you.
Mrs L.M. HARVEY : As I understand it, the opposition requests the
time to examine the budget, and then that gets allocated. There were no
questions on women's interests and there has been one question since I
have been minister.
Several members interjected.
The SPEAKER : Member for Cannington, I call you to order for the
second time. I am amazed that we are now getting the wall of noise again.
Mrs L.M. HARVEY : Thank you, Mr Speaker.
Dr A.D. Buti interjected.
The SPEAKER : Member for Armadale, I call you to order for the
second time.
Mrs
L.M. HARVEY : I know that opposition members suffer with this, but since
2011, the representation of women on boards in this state has increased from
35.5 per cent to 41.7 per cent, which exceeds the national target set for women
on boards. We have got a lot to talk about in this space, and I know that the
opposition does not like it. Members opposite say that they own the space, but
let us talk about the Liberal–National government's
achievements in this space. I am pleased to advise that two editions of the ''Women's
Report Card'' have been issued since 2009. We are currently collating
the third report card on the status of women, which will be available in 2015.
Members on this side of the house would be interested to know that we are
providing a statistical snapshot that will pull the evidence together to allow
us to make informed decision-making in this very important policy area for the
Liberal–National government. My department of women's
interests, which sits within the Department of Local Government and
Communities, has established contact with the national Workplace Gender
Equality Agency. We have done that to assist us in identifying the reasons for
the gender pay gap in Western Australia, and to help us address these issues of
inequity. Our partnership with the Committee for Perth's Filling the
Pool research project continues with funding of $10 000 over the next two
years. In March this year, I launched ''Being Board Ready: A Guide for
Women'', which has been very well received by the community. It provides
a guide for women who are interested in advancing their careers in this state,
and it is available through the Department of Local Government and Communities'
website. I have spoken about it in this house before. We have a partnership
with Austrade—Women in Global Business—which is helping us to
advance the status and opportunities for women around that initiative of
economic independence and entrepreneurship.
Ms
E. Evangel : An excellent initiative!
Mrs
L.M. HARVEY : Indeed! Sixteen scholarships have been provided for women to
participate in the Women in Global Business workshop mentoring program. These
workshops provide opportunities for women to source mentors to allow them to
expand their business potential. We have a collaborative partnership with the
Small Business Development Commission, which we are very pleased about, and the
Minister for Small Business and I have discussed this before. Also, the
Department of State Development, under the Premier's guardianship —
Ms
S.F. McGurk interjected.
The
SPEAKER : Sit down, please. Member for Fremantle, I call you to order for
the first time. Right, minister, I want you to start thinking about winding
this up.
Mrs
L.M. HARVEY : Thank you, Mr Speaker. There is a lot to talk about but I
might have to shorten it for the sake of your direction. We are now continuing
with our third event in the series, Inspiring Entrepreneurship—Celebrating
Women in Enterprise. It is something I am particularly proud of, given this
series has attracted 200 attendees and provides women with networking
opportunities. We are planning our next event for 2015, and I know it will be
well subscribed. We have also awarded 10 scholarships through our partnership
with Curtin University's Curtin Centre for Entrepreneurship, which is
allowing women to participate in the university's ignition program. Mr
Speaker, I am winding up, but our industry partnership through which we provide
funding and support to Women in Technology WA, is bubbling along and helping us
to deliver key programs and networking sessions to support women in this very
important area of technology. Of course, that dovetails nicely and sits
alongside our techtrails project in schools. We have a commitment to
encouraging girls to go into those non–traditional technology based roles
in the workforce. Speaking on behalf of government members on this side of the
house, we are really proud of our achievements. It is a whole-of-government
achievement, given that we have every agency and every minister looking at ways
we can ensure we are advancing the interests of women in this state.
her question in this house on women's interests, and I welcome all
questions on women's interests.
Several members interjected.
The SPEAKER : Member for Girrawheen, I call you to order for the
second time and the member for Cannington, for the first time. Let the minister
answer the question.
Mrs L.M. HARVEY : The government continues to work —
Ms M.M. Quirk interjected.
Mrs L.M. HARVEY : Mr Speaker, I need to address this interjection
from the member for Girrawheen. The opposition controls what time is allocated
in estimates.
Several members interjected.
The SPEAKER : Members! Member for Girrawheen! Right, through the
Chair, thank you.
Mrs L.M. HARVEY : As I understand it, the opposition requests the
time to examine the budget, and then that gets allocated. There were no
questions on women's interests and there has been one question since I
have been minister.
Several members interjected.
The SPEAKER : Member for Cannington, I call you to order for the
second time. I am amazed that we are now getting the wall of noise again.
Mrs L.M. HARVEY : Thank you, Mr Speaker.
Dr A.D. Buti interjected.
The SPEAKER : Member for Armadale, I call you to order for the
second time.
Mrs
L.M. HARVEY : I know that opposition members suffer with this, but since
2011, the representation of women on boards in this state has increased from
35.5 per cent to 41.7 per cent, which exceeds the national target set for women
on boards. We have got a lot to talk about in this space, and I know that the
opposition does not like it. Members opposite say that they own the space, but
let us talk about the Liberal–National government's
achievements in this space. I am pleased to advise that two editions of the ''Women's
Report Card'' have been issued since 2009. We are currently collating
the third report card on the status of women, which will be available in 2015.
Members on this side of the house would be interested to know that we are
providing a statistical snapshot that will pull the evidence together to allow
us to make informed decision-making in this very important policy area for the
Liberal–National government. My department of women's
interests, which sits within the Department of Local Government and
Communities, has established contact with the national Workplace Gender
Equality Agency. We have done that to assist us in identifying the reasons for
the gender pay gap in Western Australia, and to help us address these issues of
inequity. Our partnership with the Committee for Perth's Filling the
Pool research project continues with funding of $10 000 over the next two
years. In March this year, I launched ''Being Board Ready: A Guide for
Women'', which has been very well received by the community. It provides
a guide for women who are interested in advancing their careers in this state,
and it is available through the Department of Local Government and Communities'
website. I have spoken about it in this house before. We have a partnership
with Austrade—Women in Global Business—which is helping us to
advance the status and opportunities for women around that initiative of
economic independence and entrepreneurship.
Ms
E. Evangel : An excellent initiative!
Mrs
L.M. HARVEY : Indeed! Sixteen scholarships have been provided for women to
participate in the Women in Global Business workshop mentoring program. These
workshops provide opportunities for women to source mentors to allow them to
expand their business potential. We have a collaborative partnership with the
Small Business Development Commission, which we are very pleased about, and the
Minister for Small Business and I have discussed this before. Also, the
Department of State Development, under the Premier's guardianship —
Ms
S.F. McGurk interjected.
The
SPEAKER : Sit down, please. Member for Fremantle, I call you to order for
the first time. Right, minister, I want you to start thinking about winding
this up.
Mrs
L.M. HARVEY : Thank you, Mr Speaker. There is a lot to talk about but I
might have to shorten it for the sake of your direction. We are now continuing
with our third event in the series, Inspiring Entrepreneurship—Celebrating
Women in Enterprise. It is something I am particularly proud of, given this
series has attracted 200 attendees and provides women with networking
opportunities. We are planning our next event for 2015, and I know it will be
well subscribed. We have also awarded 10 scholarships through our partnership
with Curtin University's Curtin Centre for Entrepreneurship, which is
allowing women to participate in the university's ignition program. Mr
Speaker, I am winding up, but our industry partnership through which we provide
funding and support to Women in Technology WA, is bubbling along and helping us
to deliver key programs and networking sessions to support women in this very
important area of technology. Of course, that dovetails nicely and sits
alongside our techtrails project in schools. We have a commitment to
encouraging girls to go into those non–traditional technology based roles
in the workforce. Speaking on behalf of government members on this side of the
house, we are really proud of our achievements. It is a whole-of-government
achievement, given that we have every agency and every minister looking at ways
we can ensure we are advancing the interests of women in this state.
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