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CWP Newsletter - December 2014 I Page 1
Welcome to the CWP ‘Elections Edition’ Newsletter, which focuses on recent elections in our neighbouring Pacific countries, as well as closer to home in Victoria.
CWP Australian RegionSteering Committee
NewsletterDecember 2014 Issue 2/14
CommonwealthWomenParl iamentarians
Chair and Australian Region CWP RepresentativeHon Catherine Cusack MLC
VictoriaMrs Christine Fyffe MP
Australian Capital Territory Ms Mary Porter AM MLA
New South Wales Hon Robyn Parker MP
Norfolk IslandMrs Melissa Ward MLA
Northern Territory Hon Kezia Purick MLA
QueenslandMs Verity Barton MP
South AustraliaMs Katrine Hildyard MP
Tasmania Hon Michelle O’Byrne MP
Western AustraliaMs Lisa Baker MLA
A Farewell to the Deputy Chair of CWP Australia, Christine Fyffe,by Lisa Baker MLA
The Honourable Christine Fyffe has just announced that she will stand down from her role as Deputy Chair of the Australian CWP. I wanted everyone to know what we are losing!
Christine was first elected by the Australian CWP committee to the position of Deputy Chair just after I was elected as the Australian Chair. There is no doubt that Christine’s professionalism has contributed significantly to the successfully outcomes achieved by CWP. Our CWP has been extremely lucky to have had the benefit of her counsel and
wisdom. Christine has always contributed her ideas and her passion to make our agendas reality. With a personality “writ large” she has brought intelligence and good humour to all our work together.
Christine has contributed greatly to the progress of women in the Commonwealth of Australia and more broadly, through all the wider Commonwealth family through her contribution to CWP.
Our Australian CWP will miss her contribution. Personally, I remain grateful for the chance to work with such a talented woman. I will not lose contact with her!
Lisa Baker MLAWestern Australia Branch Representative
Former Chair of CWP Australia
SAVE THE DATE!CWP Conference- Sydney 2015
Thursday 9 and Friday 10 July 2015 have been set aside as provisional dates for the CWP Conference, to which all Members, interested young women and public figures are invited. Further information will be released once this is finalised however interested parties should bookmark those dates in their diaries, to avoid missing out!
Chair’s welcomeNSW Branch Representative Retires
Robyn Parker, NSW CWP Branch Representative formally announced her retirement from politics on October 20. Robyn was elected to the Australian Region Steering Committee in June 2011 and played a crucial role in increasing awareness of the work of the CWP during her tenure.
The Steering Committee is sad to lose one of its most committed members, who has been a voice for women throughout her 12 year career. We thank her for her contribution to the CWP and wish her all the best in her future
Facts and Figures: The Current State of Women in Politics
TThe CWP is committed to the goals outlined in its Strategic Plan 2014-2018; most importantly, encouraging legislatures to ensure that women occupy no less than 30 percent of decision making positions. As such, the CWP conducts ongoing research into current figures of women in politics, with Branch Representatives providing current figures to the CWP Secretariat.
Unfortunately, the number of Australian Women MPs is in decline. Nationally - across all nine Parliaments- the number of women members has fallen from 254 in 2010, to 239 in 2014 (as of June this year). Elections to be held in Queensland and New South Wales next year hold promise, yet based on the figures below, the need for continued advocacy by the CWP remains important.
CWP Branch Elections- NSW and VictoriaElections for the Victorian, NSW, and Queensland CWP Branch Representatives will be held following their State elections in November 2014 and March
2015 respectively.
Elections will be conducted by each branch. Interested women members are invited to contact their
respective CPA Secretariat for further information.
Numbers of women in each Chamber, across all
jurisdictions
Lower Houses 157 women (26.7% of the total)
Upper Houses 83 women (40.8% of total)
Percentage of Women Parliamentarians in
each Branch:
ACT 41.2%TAS 37.5%
NT 36%VIC 32.8
Commonwealth 31.4%WA 29.5%SA 24.6%
NSW 23.7%QLD 21.3%*figures current as of 30 June 2014
TAKE NOTE!New Members Induction
Inductions for new members in Victoria will take place on 19 December 2014. All inductions will include information on the work of the CWP. New members in Victoria are invited to contact Christine Fyffe at [email protected] for further information.
Elections in the Pacific RegionThe Solomon Islands, Tonga, Niue, Cook Islands and Fiji have all gone to the polls this year, with mixed results for women in each country.
The Solomon Islands’ elections in November saw one female MP elected- Freda Soria Comua- whilst elections held in Niue in April saw women’s representation reduced from three to two MP’s.
The Cook Islands also held their general elections in June, where seven women ran. Of those seven, four women were successfully elected, along with Honourable Ms Nikki Rattle being successfully elected as Speaker for her second term.
Fiji experienced the most success, with eight women
elected in September, including Dr Jiko
Luveni-the country’s first female Speaker.
Most recently in Tonga, despite a record number of 16 female candidates running, no women were
successfully elected in the November elections.
For more information, please contact Lisa Baker, Chair of the Pacific Women Parliamentary Partnerships (PWPP) Reference Group within the CWP, at lisa.
Dr Jiko Luveni, Speaker of the Fijian House of Representatives
Photo courtesy of Fiji Department of Information
The Australian Region
Steer ing CommitteeCommonwealth Women Parliamentarians
CWP Newsletter - December 2014 I Page 3
CWP
The Hon. Catherine Cusack MLCChair of Australia Region CWPMember of the NSW Legislative CouncilEmail: [email protected]
Mrs Christine Fyffe MPSpeaker of the Legislative Assembly Member for EvelynEmail: [email protected]
Ms Mary Porter AM MLAACT RepresentativeDeputy Speaker of the Legislative AssemblyMember for GinninderraEmail: [email protected]
The Hon. Robyn Parker MPNSW Representative Member for Maitland Email: [email protected]
Ms Katrine Hildyard MPSouth Australia Representative Member for Reynell Email: [email protected]
The Hon. Kezia Purick MLANorthern Territory RepresentativeSpeaker of the Legislative AssemblyMember for GoyderEmail: [email protected]
Ms Lisa Baker MLAWestern Australia RepresentativeMember for Maylands Email: [email protected]
Ms Verity Barton MPQueensland RepresentativeMember for BroadwaterEmail: [email protected]
The Hon. Michelle O’Byrne MPTasmania RepresentativeMember for BassEmail: [email protected]
Mrs Melissa Ward MLANorfolk Island RepresentativeMember of Norfolk Island Legislative AssemblyEmail: [email protected]
