National Council of Women of Victoria congratulates the Taxi Services Commission (TSC) and CEO Marnie Williams on its first year of operation

We have been following the government’s reforms to the taxi and hire car industry, with great interest, including the introduction of the Knowledge Test, new taxi zones, changes to the availability of taxi licences from July 1, 2014, and the on-line price notification system.

It is great to see that the information about these initiatives is now available to the wider community, through the TSC  website, and by signing  up to receive Taxi eNews. The TSC’s commitment to better communication is helpful not just for those working in the industry but also those who are the users of taxis in Victoria.

We note that the Knowledge Test is to be delivered by Genix as contractor, and the Knowledge Test includes a module on driver behaviour.  We hope that future versions of the sample questions in the driver behaviour section will make reference to the need for Respectful Behaviour towards women! And it is concern that as yet drivers in regional and country taxi zones and the country hire car zone are not required to pass the Knowledge test.

NCWA Mid-Term Conference

The NCWA Mid -Term Conference, held at the Chifley Resort, Alice Springs, Northern Territory, from 27th May,  to the Dawn Service on Anzac Hill on Friday 30th a.m., was a great success. 

This photo (courtesy Rowena Chen)  shows the Victorian delegation with Senator the Hon. Michaelia Cash, Minister Assisting the Prime Minister for Women; Associate Professor Dea Delaney-Thiele (CEO) and Karin Williams (VIC) from the National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Women’s Alliance, NCWA President  Julie Morris and Monica Glenn OAM, veteran of the first NCW NT established in 1964.

Some of the outstanding speakers were Dr Patricia Miller AO, Deputy Administrator of the Northern Territory who welcomed delegates  to Alice Springs; Local member, The Honourable Bess Nungarrayi  Price, NT Minister for Women’s Policy, Community Services, Statehood, Parks and Wildlife; Former NT Senator Trish Crossin; Jan Turner from Reconciliation Australia who spoke about the process and options  for the forth coming referendum  on recognition of Aboriginal and Toees Strait Islanders in the Constitution; Three Board members from NATSIWA the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Alliance and Senator the Honorable Michaelia Cash, Minister assisting the Prime Minister for Women who read a message to the conference from the Prime Minister.

Two Honorary Life Vice Presidents were elected in recognition of their outstanding contributions to NCWA: Joan M. Elliston AM (NCW NSW) and Judith A.Parker AM (NCW WA).

Resolutions: Five resolutions were adopted including the one presented by NCW Victoria on Forced, servile/early, underage marriage which was carried unanimously.

My Vote, My Voice

On Thursday 20th March 2014, National Council of Women of Victoria hosted an excellent International Women’s Day event in the Legislative Chamber of the Parliament of Victoria. 

After refreshments and photos of participants and attendees in Queen's Hall, we went into the ornate Legislative Chamber and were welcomed by the President of National Council of Victoria, Mrs Sheila Byard, who introduced the panel and the speakers.

I-vote!-Presenters,panel members, students, and members united at National Council of Women of Victoria’s International Women’s Day event March20th Queens Hall, Parliament of Victoria.
(Photo-Sophie Nowicki)

Guest speakers were: Ms Safa Al Mahoun, Youth Commissioner Victorian Multicultural Commission, Ms Billy Crombie, Education Team Victorian Electoral Commission and Ms Ramla Giirre, Caseworker, Migrant Support Programs of the Red Cross (and Adviser NCW SA)

The secondary students who spoke were introduced by Historian and past President of the League of Women Voters, Dr Deborah Towns: the students were Miranda Hoffman, Eliza Chantrell and Dawn Lee (Melbourne Girls Grammar School) and Elena Mitchell, Claudia O'Callaghan and Erin White (Ivanhoe Girls' Grammar). These engaging 3 minute presentations were well received. Mr Johnny Yang, (Deakin University) spoke about the situation of overseas students.

The panel responding to the students comprised the Hon Judy Maddigan (Speaker in the Legislative Assembly 2003-2010), Councillor Helen Harris, City of Whitehorse) and Councillor Helen Yang, (Deputy Mayor ,City of Manningham).

This year is the 100th anniversary of women being able to stand for local government office and the 90th Anniversary of the date when women were first able to stand as candidates for the Parliament of Victoria. Female Members form only 33% of the Legislative Assembly even today. It was not until 1979, that Victoria's first female Legislative Councillors were elected one of whom Gracia Baylor AM, former Member for Boronia Province was able to be with us on the day. Among the other guests was Mrs Beryle Foster (the former Councillor Beryle Campbell) who was the first woman elected to Swan Hill Council in 1959.

(Eva Court, NCWA Coordinator, Arts and Letters)

National Council of Women of Victoria acknowledges the support of our partners in its 2014 International Women’s Day event ‘My Vote My Voice’ including the Presiding Officers and staff the Parliament of Victoria, especially the Hon Bruce Atkinson MP, President of the Legislative Council and his staff, the Victorian Electoral Commission, the Bessie Rischbieth Memorial Trust of the League of Women Voters of Victoria, The Hon. Jeanette Powell MP, Minister for Local Government, The Australian Women’s Local Government Association (Victoria), Sophie Nowicka Photographer and the YoungNCWVic team (Gauri K., Olivia S., Pyrrha P-B and Yvette W.)

youngNCWVIC is on the Way!

Strategic planning advice obtained by NCWV from Deakin University and the pink paper exercise from early 2013 confirmed the urgent need for National Council of Women of Victoria to bridge the generation gap by embracing the new social media and to find ways of involving younger women in its work. 

In order to create a framework to engage younger women, we looked for an opportunity to have some young women to take on a task that could be successfully accomplished within a given time frame. 

The idea is to get the under 30s to facilitate the involvement of the secondary students in the NCWV project ‘My Vote, My Voice’ linked to the Victorian Electoral Commission Passport to Democracy program. We have had a careful look at the arrangements adopted by NCW Great Britain but have decided not to adopt their system of signing young women up directly and charging a fee of 15 Euros. Rather we have been trying to involve younger women through one or another of our affiliate or partner organisations working under the supervision of an experienced NCWV member. 

Thanks to some great work by the younger women with whom we already have contact, we now have a social media set up for youngNCWVIC. This will help their work with us on projects like the Year 9 students event at the Parliament of Victoria on March 20th. 

The Gmail address is youngncwvic@gmail.com and a blog has been created at the youngncwvic Wordpress page linked with with Facebook, Twitter, Tumblr and Hootsuite links. Tumblr is a way of enabling students to post photographs of themselves working on the presentations they will bring to the Parliament on Thursday March 20th and thus helps build momentum for engagement in the project, as well as act as a base set of information about the progress of the project.

Professor Kim Rubenstein delivers the 53rd National Council of Women of Victoria’s Australia Day Address

Trailblazing Women and the Law research project leader, Professor Kim Rubenstein, was the invited speaker for the National Council of Women of Victoria 53rd Australia Day ceremony on January 23rd, 2014. Speaking in the Pioneer Women’s Gardens, in the Melbourne’s Domain, Professor Rubenstein said that NCWV 

… has always been intimately concerned with issues about women and the law. In Ada Norris’s excellent book we hear “In 1905 our first woman lawyer had awakened Council members to legal inequalities affecting women. Subsequently, particular aspects of this subject came before the Council. The demand for legal equality with men has grown ever since as more and more women have realized that many things they had taken for granted and considered inevitable and even right and proper were indeed unjust and discriminatory”.

Professor Rubenstein also gave the audience an update on the Trailblazing Women and the Law project and what has been achieved since the project began in 2013. Her address can be read in full at the site for the joint ANU/University of Melbourne research project with a short introduction by Dr Nikki Henningham on Tuesday, January 28th, 2014.

                                L-R Back Row: Mrs Elizabeth Chernov - NCWV Patron-in Chief,
                                Cr Cathy Oke - City of Melbourne

                                L-R Front Row: Professor Kim Rubenstein, NCWV President Sheila Byard, 

                                Photo by ‘Nuie’ Official Party

Forced Marriage – I Do...

How did you meet your partner?  Do you remember the proposal?  Very often we share funny stories and fond memories with our friends.

For many women this is not a fond memory.  In fact, it can be the awkwardness of an arranged marriage or the trauma of a forced marriage.  If we continue along this spectrum women forced, threatened or deceived, become a commodity that is used by others. This can lead to forced labour, brutal treatment and organ trafficking.  So serious was this that women’s groups including the National Council of Women Australia began asking the government to investigate and to make changes to the law.

Early in 2013 the Australian Parliament passed new laws to criminalise forced marriage.  Penalties of up to seven years jail for forcing a woman into marriage or harbouring a victim.  If someone helps another person to entice a woman by threats or deception they too, can face charges.  Australia celebrates its cultural diversity but there is a tension between some multi-cultural communities and this new Australian law.  We need to get the word out but with sensitivity to cultural influences.

What we all value is to be in a country where we are free to choose, including our human relationships - our friends or those we choose to love or spend our lives with.

 

In past centuries kings and queens were married to preserve political power or to ensure the monarch’s line was continued – at odds to the freedom to choose in Australia.  Questioning old age rituals is possible in countries like Australia.  Some women will choose new ways; other women will choose to retain the old ways.  Whichever choice if freely chosen is OK.  But where a woman’s wishes are not considered the people involved can expect to be charged under Australian law.

Will forced marriages under the new laws become a thing of the past or not?

Let’s hear your views. 

The Sandwich Generation

Dorothy Miller coined the phrase “Sandwich Generation” which originally used to describe women in their 30’s and 40’s sandwiched between their young kids, mates, employers and aging parents.  While the term still refers to this demanding juggling act, the demographics have changed.  Today this generation is juggling many responsibilities; including having to make employment choices and redirect financial resources as a result of caring responsibilities.  According to Susan Feldman, director of the Healthy Ageing Research Unit at Monash University, “that as our population ages and women increasingly delay having children until their 30’s and 40’s; we’ve more likely to find ourselves juggling the school run and play dates as our parents start needing our help.  Factor in that women are more likely to be working, and less likely to have extended family around them, it’s little wonder so many are left feeling like the proverbial meat in the generational sandwich” From this study released in July 2012   published in the Sydney Morning Herald, the value put on supporting this intergenerational transfer of worth was valued at $53 billion in terms of time and money here in Australia.

Joan Hughes former CEO of Carers Australia points out that “many women caught in between the generations are in the prime of their career, and are often forced to cut back on paid work or quit altogether – with dire financial consequences.  “Once you’re out of the workforce you start to use up any savings you might have, because caring can be very expensive, and you end up in the Centrelink system”.

The increase of older adults caring for aging parents and adult children has increased to 52% in 2000 according to the American Journal of Financial Service Professionals and has caused a financial and emotional squeeze.  Trying to cope simultaneously with the cost of caring for aging parents while you help your children pay for college or launch careers, while funding your own retirement, you’re in this sandwich generation.  According to one report by American Psychological Association 40% of those aged between 35-54 report extreme levels of stress and this is taking a toll on personal relationships as well as on their own well being.   Here in Australia it’s estimated between 10,000 and 21,000 Australians with children under the age of 15 also provide ongoing care to their parents.  The study also found that 93% cared for their elderly parents out of love, but 70% admitted they were also motivated by obligation.  Similar to the finding from the American Psychological Association report the Australian study of Sandwich Generation Women found that almost half didn’t receive enough practical or emotional support which would indicate a similar personal toll on their relationships and well being.

Below are some common stressors felt by those caught in this Sandwich Generation.

• How do I split my time between caring for my children and caring for my parents
• How do I find the time for my marriage
• How do I keep the generational peace between my children and my elder parents
• How do I find the resources that I need to care for myself and my love ones.
• How do I combat my feelings of isolation
• Guilt, for not having enough time to accomplish all that “should be” doing

So what can be done to alleviate the stress that women are currently feeling, stuck in this sandwich.  Here are some helpful tips but I would be interested to hear what other suggestions you may have so click on the link below to send your feedback.

Helpful tips

• Make sure all legal documents are in place before you need them.
• Find a financial advice to develop and emergency fund.
• Hold a family meeting to discuss care giving tasks that need to be accomplished each week.