Page 594 - Week 03 - Tuesday, 30 March 2021
Next page . . . . Previous page . . . . Speeches . . . . Contents . . . . Debates(HTML) . . . . PDF . . . . Video
I also want to acknowledge and celebrate the contribution of Sue Salthouse, who was an incredible disability advocate as well as respected community leader who sadly passed away in 2020. The impact of her work is long lasting.
MS ORR: Minister, how have women working on the frontline during this challenging time been impacted?
MS BERRY: Well, 2020 was a challenging year for many people in the ACT and everywhere. It was a year of uncertainty and change, as well as insecurity. In 2020 women were particularly affected by the impacts of COVID-19—their economic insecurity, the greater role they played in undertaking unpaid household and caring responsibilities and the feminisation of frontline education and healthcare sectors during this time.
I wanted to make sure that these women were recognised during the International Women’s Day ceremonies and celebrations, and it was important as part of those celebrations to recognise the health workers as Citizens of the Year for Canberra. That was an important acknowledgement of the workers in that space, as well as an acknowledgement that a lot of these spaces are dominated by women.
DR PATERSON: Minister, how is the ACT government continuing to advance gender equality in the ACT?
MS BERRY: There has been a significant amount of work done over the last couple of decades in the ACT and also in Australia. Of course there is significantly more work that needs to be done. However, in the ACT we have committed to doing that work collaboratively across the government and with community support. The ACT government officially launched its Equity Together second action plan for 2022, under the ACT Women’s Plan. The goals under that plan are to improve the mental health and wellbeing of women and girls in the ACT; foster gender equity in Canberra workplaces; build a community where women and girls feel safe and supported to participate; improve housing support and sustainability, as well as reducing homelessness for women; and develop appropriate and accessible services, programs and policies.
The ACT government has shown its ongoing commitment to the delivery of these actions under the plan, despite the issues that were faced by our community last year, and redirected resources to ensure that our community was supported during the COVID-19 pandemic. To support the delivery of Equity Together, the ACT government has committed to holding implementation workshops over the life of the plan to ensure that we can continue to consult with the ACT community on the important and complex issues around gender inequality in the ACT.
Municipal services—community facilities
MS CLAY: My question is to the Minister for Transport and City Services and it relates to community space. Minister, I have recently been approached by many constituents in Scullin who previously hired Humpy Hall as a community facility.
Next page . . . . Previous page . . . . Speeches . . . . Contents . . . . Debates(HTML) . . . . PDF . . . . Video