to
8 November 1984
FOR MEDIA
NATIONAL CONSULTATION AND ASSISTANCE PROGRAM FOR WOMEN
I am happy to announce today a National Consultation and
Assistance Program for women totalling $ 472,000.
The first part of the Program will provide an annual
increase of $ 122,000 in funds for grants to national women's
organisations. These grants will be administered by the
office of the Status of Women in my Department.
The second part of the Program is designed to assist member
organisations of the National Women's Consultative Council.
These comprise a wide range of national women's
organisations and other organisations committed to improving
the status of women. The Government consults the Council
about major issues which affect women.
The Government has approved a special one-off payment of
$ 10,000 for each of the non-government organisations on the
Council. The total allocation will be $ 150,000 over two
years. This will provide Council members with the resources
necessary to seek out the views of their members on issues
identified by the Government and to generally consult their
members on issues of importance to women.
The organisations to benefit from these payments are:
Association of Civilian Widows
Australian C6uncil of Churches
Australian Council of Trade Unions
Australian Federation of Business-and Professional
Women
Australian Federation of University Women
Australian Union of Students
Country Women's Association of Australia
Disabled Peoples International
Federation of Aboriginal Women
Federation of Ethnic Communities' Councils of Australia
National Aboriginal Conference
National Council of Women of Australia
Union of Australian Women
Women's Electoral Lobby
In addition, the Council Convenor, Mrs Edith Hall, will
receive an allocation to assist her with the expenses
associated with running the Council.
The third part of the Program is an annual allocation
totalling $ 200,000 for grants to approved organisations for
projects to assist women.
Organisations will need to submit projects for approval and
in most cases the grant will be limited to $ 15,000.
Eligible organisations could include trade unions, churches,
ethnic or Aboriginal groups as well as the traditional
women's organisations.
The whole Program is designed to increase the input of women
into decisions made for and about them.
My Government is committed to providing women with
opportunities to participate fully in all aspects of
Australian social and economic life. I am particularly
aware of the widespread interest expressed by women's
organisations in taxation matters. I have informed the
Council that at least one of its members will attend the
Taxation Summit specifically to represent women's interests.