Advocacy
Local Government Act Reform
As the peak women's group in Local Government, we need to ensure that the proposed Local Government Act reforms are not going to negatively impact nor discourage women in their roles either now, or in the future. ALGWA WA members were invited to provide their feedback on the proposed reforms via phone, email and in person at an event facilitated by Lynne Craigie OAM.
The summation of points raised by ALGWA WA members are included in the submission comments, see below.
ALGWA WA Submission to the Local Government Act Reform
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Mandatory Bullying and Harassment Training for Elected Members
The WAWAs are currently lobbying the State Government for legislative reform in the WA Local Government Act 1995 to afford better protections for Local Government Elected Members affected by bullying and harassment. We are pushing for Workplace Bullying and Harassment training to be enshrined in the Act as mandatory for all Elected Members.
Check out our advocacy position statement below:
Mandatory Bullying and Harassment Training for Elected Members
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Superannuation for Elected Members
A key barrier for women standing for election to local government can be the lack of access to superannuation, with women unwilling to take on more work with insufficient remuneration. Research by the Australian Gender Equity Council shows that women tend to have far lower superannuation balances than men, often due to time out of the workforce caring for family members.
Payment of superannuation for mayors and councillors is an equity measure to address disparities in men’s and women’s superannuation balances, but only if it is made mandatory. The WAWAs are currently lobbying the State Government for legislative reform in the WA Local Government Act 1995 to make superannuation mandatory for all Elected Members across WA.
Check out our advocacy position statement below:
Compulsory Superannuation for Elected Members
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Gender Equity
Women continue to miss out on the highest levels of leadership and decision making. When you have diversity in decision-making bodies, you make better decisions. But gender equality is not just about elected councillors, it’s also about local government staff too.
Coral Ross AM is a founding director and of the Australian Gender Equity Council and current member of ALGWA National board. In 2018, Coral was awarded Churchill Fellowship to improve gender equality in local government by increasing the number of women councillors.
More on this coming soon...