I WtAIALL
PRIME -MINISTER
CHECK AGAINST DELIVERY EMBARGOED, UNTIL DELIVERY
SPEECH BY THE PRIME MINISTER
OPENING OF CLUB* 88 AT WORLD EXPO 88
BRISBANE 29 FEBRUARY 1988
Sir Edward Williams,
Sir Liew Edwards,
Distinguished Guests,
Ladies and Gentlemen.
We are now some two months into our Bicentennial year and
have already shared such memorable events as the
' Australia Live' telecast, the start of the year-long
journey around the continent by the Australiah Bicentennial
Exhibition, and the Australia Day celebrationt on Sydney
Harbor which were without doubt the most spectacular ever
witnessed in this country.
A full year of special activities is set to unfold for the
remainder of 1988. Some, the result of years of careful
planning, have a high public profile, international
participation and will attract world wide attention. Others
are organised at a community level and are built simply on
the enthusiasm and commitment to Australia of its citizens.
One event on the Bicentennial calendar stands out because it
exhibits all of these characteristics. It is a major
internationbA event involving many years of careful
planning; i~ t has attracted some 50 government and
corporate participants; but with ticket sales far in excess
of predictions it has also obviously struck a powerful chord
at the community level.
I am, of course, referring to World Expo 88 in Brisbane.
World Expo 88 will be an undoubted highlight of the
Bicentenary, and I am proud to be associated with it.
I share the confidence of the organisers and commentators
alike that ~ world Expo 88 will be an outstanding success.
my government will continue to support Expo 88 through
the office of the Commissioner-General, Sir Edward Williams,
and his staff, and through our participation as an
exhibitor. 004671
I pay tribute to Sir Liew Edwards, and his staff, for their
dedication to the task of nurturing this project from its
early, difficult, times. Today we see a very advanced site
with participants fitting out their pavilions with, what
promises to be the world's most exciting exhibits.
Expo 88 is not a trade fair but a world fair. It is a
unique gathering of nations brought together to review human
achievement, an unparalleled opportunity for nations to meet
and participate in cultural and technological exchanges.
The opening of Club 88 marks yet another stage in Expo's
development; it symbolises the confidence we all
organisers and participants share in World Expo 88.
With the Business Visitor Program in place, and with so many
governments and corporate participants committed to attend,
Expo 88 offers an excellent opportunity for Australians to
establish business and personal contacts of lasting
significance. Club 88 offers excellent private facilities,
on location, to further these contacts.
Club 88 will provide high quality facilities for members to
entertain their guests, and membership carries with it the
opportunity to participate in major ceremonies and official
functions.
Club 88 is an excellent example of Australian enterprise,
but it does not stand in isolation; it is part of Expo 88
and it complements the other facilities and activities being
planned. It is part of the overall picture; just as Expo 88
itself is part of our nation's overall Bicentennial
celebrations. Ladies and gentlem en
The Bicentenary is more than a celebration; 1988 is also a
year of reflection.
Australia in 1988 is a dynamic, modern nation, a nation with
much to be proud of but with much still to achieve. we are
a young nation in an ancient land; a land w~ hose history
reaches back-' beyond 1788 through some 40,000 years of
Aboriginal culture.
The Bicentenary provides an opportunity for us to consider
what we have achieved as a nation, and what form of
individual contribution each of us might make toward
Australia's future.
This ceremony prompts us to reflect on the achievement of
those who have worked to bring us World Expo 88, and to
consider what efforts we as individuals might make to
emulate this contribution to Australia's development.
I commend Club 88 to you, and have great pleasure in
declaring it open. 004672
SENATOR MARGARET REYNOLDS, MINISTER ASSISTING
THE PRIME MINISTER ON THE STATUS OF WOMEN
LAUNCH OF THE NATIONAL AGENDA FOR WOMEN
MONDAY, 29 FEBRUARY 1988
BONDI JUNCTION PLAZA,
SYDNEY
4.. 004673
This is a day of great significance for the women of
Australia. It not only marks women's progress in having
their voices heard, but also signifies the progress of
Governments in introducing social reform.
This is the first time a Government has reached out and
responded to the expressed needs of Australian women
and established a set of strategies to provide them with
greater opportunities in the future. It is the first
time a Government has developed a detailed, practical
and comprehensive long-term plan to improve the status
of women.
Australian women have come a long way since 1902, when
we won the right to vote in Federal elections. We and
our New Zealand sisters were at the forefront of the
suffragette movement. We were the first women to receive
the right to vote, and were to take the battle to other
countries.
Despite our early achievements, however, it has only
been in the past 15 years that dramatic steps forward
have been taken. Between 1969 and 1974, the concept of
equal pay for work of equal value became enshrined into 004674
pp.
. Y t)
central wage-fixing. In 1973 unmarried mothers and
deserted de facto wives were for the first time provided
with some income support in the form of a Supporting
Parents' Benefit. The Whitlam Government also introduced
a system of Commonwealth subsidised child-care.
In the past 15 years women's participation in the
workforce has increased from 40% in 1972 t6 49% in 1987.
of all Australian women aged 15 and over are now in
some form of employment. The retention of girls to Year
12 has escalated from 36% in 1972 to 50% in 1987. This
has coincided with a growing awareness of the importance
to girls of a full and balanced secondary education.
Advances for women have been made in every field of
employment and education. Many initiatives have been
taken which provide a framework in which women can make
free choices and achieve economic independence.
Change has not come as quickly as many of u รต would have
liked, however, nor as rapidly as it should have. And
while our status has improved substantially, it would be
unwise to think no more efforts are needed. We cannot
afford to be complacent.
The National Agenda for Women is the prime mechanism for
ensuring that the great surge forward in social and 004675
economic reform for women maintains its momentum.
My predecessor, Susan Ryan, played an important part in
realising so many of these reforms. She was an active
and founding member of the Women's Electoral Lobby,
which took part in the struggle of the late 60s and
early 70s to achieve recognition from society that women
should be treated as equal across all spectrums of
society. Both the Sex Discrimination and Affirmative
Action Acts came about largely because of her energies
in pushing social reforms through Parliament.
Senator Ryan was a major force in developing the
National Agenda for Women. She led the Australia-wide
consultations in 1986 that involved more than 25,000
women from all walks of life,-spending much of that year
talking to women in the community about the importance
of their contribution to the Government's proposed
Agenda. The consultations ran for six months. A ndmber of women
Members and Senators, including myself, took part
and organised meetings and conferences. The National
Women's Consultative Council also assisted in the
consultations. Meetings, small and large, were held all
around the country, in capital cities and in smaller
towns. S :: 004676 004G76
More than one hundred consultation reports and proposals
were received. Some women made individual contributions.
Two major conferences were held. One was organised by
the Women's Electoral Lobby and attended by
approximately 500 women from 159 organisations. The
other was organised by the Federation of Ethnic
Communities' Councils of Australia and brought together
200 women from more than 30 ethnic backgrounds.
A questionnaire was distributed to encourage maximum
participation from women who may not havd been able to
participate in conferences and meetings or to make
submissions. The report of the consultations was tabled in Parliament
last year by the Prime Minister. Titled Setting the
Agenda, it remains a valuable picture of what Australian
women see as their future priorities.
Education, 6mployment, women at home, child care, income
security, violence against women and children, dignity,
and health emerged as the major issues of concern.
There was also widespread recognition of the needs of
groups of women who have characteristics which often
mean they face additional disadvantages in relation to 004677
Strait Islander women, women of non-English speaking
backgrounds, women with a disability, sole parents,
young women, older women and women living in regional
Australia all have special needs and confront additional
difficulties in accessing services or in participating
to the full in Australian society.
The Government has already acted to respond to the
particular needs of certain groups of women. Our
response to Women's Business, the report on Aboriginal
women, will be completed in the next few weeks. We have
appointed a consultant to prepare a response to the
Survey of Rural Women in Australia that was launched by
the Prime Minister a few weeks ago.
Today the Prime Minister is launching our National
Agenda for Women, the Government's response to the
report of those consultations.
The National Agenda for Women represents a key element
4..
in the Government's ongoing program to achieve equality
for all Australians.
Its significance cannot be overstated, but it is only
the beginning.
In my capacity as Minister Assisting the Prime Minister 004678
on the Status of Women, I will work with my ministerial
colleagues to ensure that the policies and programs that
make up the National Agenda will be introduced and that
those already in place will continue to be developed.
How will we know if the National Agenda is being
effective? The Government has developed a series of
indicative measures to monitor progress relating to this
Agenda. They have been devised to:
illustrate the changing position of women in key areas
of concern;
establish the impact of economic and social progress
on women in a form th~ at is clear and easy to understand;
identify clearly the policy issues which are being
addressed and to highlight those in need of further
attention; monitor the Government's progress to asbist in
achieving the National Agenda commitments towards the
year 2000; and
heighten public awareness of women's ecbnomic status.
Most of them will illustrate the position of women
relative to men.
Ongoing responsibility for implementation of the Agenda 004 6719
will be through annual reports to Cabinet by the
combined heads of Commonwealth Government Departments.
Every Commonwealth department has a women's unit or an
officer who is responsible for advising the Government
on the impact of the policies and progratls of the
portfolio on women. By this means the Agenda will be
monitored within each Department.
The Office of the Status of Women will pl. ay an important
part in implementing the Agenda, and will provide advice
to the Prime Minister and myself on the implementation
and impact of Agenda policies.
The Women's Budget Statement is published annually by
the Office. It will, in the future, report on progress
in implementing-the strategies included in the Agenda,
and provide updated indicators of the status of
Australian women.
It is vital that consultation with women continues. The
National Women's Consultative Council is the
Government's major formal link with womeh in the
community. The Council represents 15 major women's
organisations, covering all States and Territories. Its
convenor, Mrs Edith Hall, is here with us today. 004680
Only through consultation can the future needs of women
be absorbed into the Agenda. The National Agenda for
Women is not fixed. It will respond to changing social
needs. Many obstacles still remain, both institutional and
attitudinal, which prevent women from exekcising real
choice and from participating to the full in Australian
society. The Government does not pretend to have a magic wand to
resolve every need of Australian women. But it can help
to create an environment which is more receptive to the
needs of women, more willing to recognise and
acknowledge their skills, and more able t6 accommodate
their full and equal participation in society.
The National Agenda provides programs and policies that
will enable women to move ahead. Different groups of
women have different needs the Government's
consultations with both rural and Aboriginal women have
indicated their particular concerns. And as women's
lives change, their needs and priorities will change.
This Agenda with its five-year action plans and detailed
strategies is evidence that the Government is serious
about sociar and economic reform. It is committed to 0046 81
social justice and looks forward to ongoing
communication with Australian women to achieve the
reality of genuine equality for men and women. 004682