Page 4420 - Week 12 - Thursday, 24 October 2019
Next page . . . . Previous page . . . . Speeches . . . . Contents . . . . Debates(HTML) . . . . PDF . . . . Video
leading cause of homelessness for women and children and costs Australia $22 billion annually. Women in the ACT are three times more likely to experience domestic and family violence than men. YWCA Canberra continues to empower victims, to encourage bystanders to speak up and educate the broader community.
I think YWCA Canberra’s future looks pretty bright. As a part of its 90th birthday celebrations it announced a new guide for the development of board traineeship programs to improve diversity on boards and $90,000 over the next 10 years for the Great Ydeas small grants program, to support even more local women, including female identifying and non-binary people, to pursue professional development opportunities, pilot a project, get a business idea off the ground or address a need in the community.
I take this opportunity to thank the YWCA Canberra for supporting women and girls in our community so tirelessly. Ninety years is an incredible achievement and I have no doubt that countless women and girls are better for it. Their organisation really is priceless. Here’s to another 90 years of girls and women thriving.
Before concluding I note that this speech was written by Michiko Mujizatya who has been joining my office over the past few weeks as part of the Australia-Indonesia youth exchange program. It has been a pleasure to have her presence and her contribution.
Jasiri Australia—girls take over parliament program
MR PARTON (Brindabella) (6.11): I rise to speak about the girls take over parliament program run by Jasiri Australia. Although we have touched on this topic in previous years and a number of members have spoken about their experience this year, I cannot stress how important this program is in helping to empower young women to reach their goals and create the opportunity of becoming involved in politics. Australia is a diverse nation. As a result I think we would all like to see more women of all cultures become engaged in politics, to voice their opinions and to speak up for what they believe. There are six elected women in this parliamentary team and a number of others across the parliament. I am proud to say that I work alongside all of these amazing women.
I congratulate Caitlin and Ashleigh for their hard work in building the girls take over parliament program and making it possible for young women across Australia to take part in the program and to work alongside some incredible politicians, and I guess some pretty ordinary ones, as well.
This week my office has been taken over by one of the participants whom I have had a great time mentoring. Aamena Alizai joined our team on Monday when we put her to work. She had the chance of meeting some inspirational people such as Alistair Coe and others as well including Ginger Gorman and Margaret Reid. She was involved in a lot of activities in the Parton office. She is a very enthusiastic, driven and positive young individual, and it is not over yet. She gets the chance to join us to listen to the great man, Mr Coe, deliver an address at the National Press Club tomorrow and she is helping me cook a barbeque at Theodore shops. So what more can you ask for.
Next page . . . . Previous page . . . . Speeches . . . . Contents . . . . Debates(HTML) . . . . PDF . . . . Video