Page 1070 - Week 06 - Thursday, 27 July 1989
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campaign does not use doctors during the testing of women participating in the project?
Mr Kaine: This will be a highly technical answer, I assume.
MR BERRY: Certainly the response will not be so technical that you will not be able to understand it, Mr Kaine, but, yes, it is true that I am on the left of Mr Wood and I am pleased to respond to the question that he has put to me. Before I go directly to it, Mr Speaker, I might just touch on the issue of cervical screening; the importance of early discovery in the fight against cancer, in particular as a matter which concerns women; and the importance of this program that the ACT Community and Health Service has embarked upon. The program is an 18 months pilot scheme and it is targeted at two groups: initially women over 40 years of age and later on, in 1990, women in the age group of 14 to 24 years. So it is a broad based screening program.
On the issue of doctors participating in it, I am advised that these comparatively simple examinations are conducted by specially trained nurses; all of the women seen in the program will be asked to nominate a doctor to whom the result will be sent; and doctors will then provide any necessary follow-up counselling or treatment.
Women's Employment
MS MAHER: I would like to address my question to the Minister responsible for employment. I am concerned by comments I heard this morning from the secretary of the Trades and Labour Council, Charles MacDonald, that the proposed cuts in the ACT budget will impact adversely on women because they affect the income of nurses, hospital cleaning staff, teachers and support staff. Can the Minister advise the Assembly whether this is true and what measures the Government will adopt to broaden and improve the position of women in the work force?
MR WHALAN: The fact is that the Government is committed to developing a comprehensive approach to improving the economic status of women in the ACT. Very shortly, in the next few weeks, a discussion paper with the title Realising the potential strategies for improving the economic status of women in the ACT will be released, outlining the proposed initiatives. One of the reasons why women are in a disadvantaged position in the labour market is that they are concentrated in a narrow range of jobs like teaching, sales and service, and community services.
The ACT women's employment strategy and the women's budget enterprise scheme announced in the budget both aim to broaden the training and employment options for women so that they will not be concentrated in a narrow range of
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