Summary by Diana Temple
This is described as "a charter for political equality for women and for good
government for all Australian citizens". It has been produced by Women into
Politics (WIP), a coalition of women's organisations of which WISENET is a
part. The Charter, written by Joan Bielski who was largely responsible for
the founding of WIP, was launched in Federal Parliament on 27 June by Senator
Natasha Stott Despoja with the support of Labor frontbencher Carmel Lawrence
and Liberal MP Kathy Sullivan. It is appropriate that support of the Charter
is bipartisan, as WIP is apolitical in its aims to encourage more women into
politics at all levels. The Charter, described in the Sun-Herald as
"urging women to play a less macho role in national politics", covers many
items.
Headings are:
Political equality for women. This requires legal amendments, starting with the Commonwealth Sex and Race Discrimination Acts, and requires political parties to nominate and select equal numbers of women and men for winnable (+ 5% margin) seats.
Regulating the influence of money in politics. The Australian Electoral Commission should oversee the financial management and organisation processes of political parties.
Changing the parliamentary system of remuneration and entitlements. Members' salary, superannuation and allowances as well as party donations and abuses should be overseen by an independent statutory commission.
Changing the system of parliamentary representation. Proportional representation should be maintained as it benefits women's representation; terms in all lower house parliaments should be fixed at 4 years and members should be limited to three consecutive terms. Parliamentary practices should be reformed to be more family friendly with respect to child-care and shorter sitting hours, and the level of behaviour and discourse should be improved.
The Bill of Rights debate - its relevance to equality for women. Government should legislate a Bill of Rights which encompasses all UN instruments and international conventions to cover all aspects of equality for women, the implementation of which should be overseen by the Human Rights and Equal Opportunity Commission.
Peoples' Conventions - public participation in democracy. Such conventions should be held during every second term of parliament, or more frequently in special cases such as the republic debate, for the purpose of recommending changes to the Federal Government. Delegates could be any registered voter, excluding serving politicians, and a two-thirds majority should require a referral to parliament for action.
See website: www.womenintopolitics.org.au