Feminist Framework

“Decency”, “fairness and integrity”, “values”, “trust”. We’ve heard these words a lot in this campaign. But is anyone actually doing anything about policies that will match the rhetoric?

WEL has developed a Feminist Policy Framework to examine and score the policies and platforms of all major parties for fairness.

WEL believes that fair policies are those that:

1. Ensure the benefits and outcomes are fairly distributed between women and men, as well as between different groups of women

2. Value and reward fairly people’s different skills, experiences and contributions

3. Recognise the value of caring and supporting roles, whether paid or unpaid

4. Recognise and rectify past and current inequalities and between men and women; and

5. Enhance opportunities for both women and men to take on equal rights and responsibilities in all aspects of society: politics, community, employment and social life

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All policies will be scored on how WEL they meet the above criteria. Scores against each of the above questions are set out below. Those that fail will be sent back to be done again!

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WEL’s Fair Policy Scorecard

Women’s financial & economic security

Pay Equity

Party	1	2	3	4	5	Rating
ALP	Yes have committed to Fair work and equal pay audid	YES support for ASU case recognises gender prejudice	NO Not enough recognition of unpaid care work in income support	YES Support for ASU equal pay case and possible raised pay rates	NO Parental leave payment too low for most fathers to take up
Coalition	NO have made no commitment to fair or equal pay	NO Prefer market rates	NO See above comment	NO No support for ASU equal pay case	NO Parental leave paid at mother’s rate of pay
Greens	YES	YES	YES	YES Supporting ASU equal pay case	YES

Taxing and supporting income

Party	1	2	3	4	5	Rating
ALP	NO Poor recognition of parenting in Welfare to work	NO Income management singles out sole parents and Indigenous Australians as being inadequate	NO Ignored Henry Review in this area, reward single income families	NO No changes	NO	Family Payments disadvantage second income earners
Coalition	NO See above	NO See above	NO See above	NO No changes	NO	Sole parents are on inadequate incomes
Greens	YES	YES	YES	YES	NO

Superannuation & Retirement Income

Party	1	2	3	4	5	Rating
ALP	NO Totally inequitable and failed to address Henry proposals	NO No inclusion of super in parental leave	YES Raised single pension level	YES May reduce unfair tax on low income super	NO Still benefits high income earners, while marginalising women as carers	~~~ Barely
Coalition	N0 No changes on offer	NO No changes on offer	YES As above	NO Opposed the reduction of low income super rebate	NO See above
Greens	Very general	Framework sound but no detail on super	YES Will raise pensions levels	No details	YES Recognises older needs	~~~ Barely Right attitude, not enough detail

Balancing Work & Family

Child Care

Party	1	2	3	4	5	Rating
ALP	YES	YES High quality centres provided non discriminatory services	NO No funding for pay equity raises for underpaid staff	NO Low status women’s services some quality upgrade	YES However this is limited in some areas by restricted access	~~~ Just
Coalition	YES	YES See above no extra services offered but FDC to be extended	YES Promise to review pay arrangements for staff	YES Promise of a review of funding arrangements	YES See above
Greens	YES	YES Change funding and control fees to lower costs	YES Improve status and raise pay	YES Upgrade quality and status	YES Encourages community involvement, raises status

While both the ALP and Coalition policies have been scored as barely passable the question remains for both parties Is a market model suitable to ensure quality child care? Remember and take heed of the outcome of ABC Learning Centres.

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. Paid Parental Leave

Party	1	2	3	4	5	Rating
ALP	YES Limited scheme no paternity leave Some women miss out	NO Paid at standard rate not earnings related 18 weeks	YES	NO Not clearly linked to the workplace – administered through the Families Assistance Office and paid at minimum wage	NO Too low paid for most men to take on	~~~ Barely
Coalition	NO This has just been downgraded in response to the Coalition announcement that PPL would be paid at the mother’s pay rate as “it would be too expensive” to pay father’s at their replacement salary	YES At least the mother gets replacement rate earnings. But we want to see more detail on how this works.	YES	NO More clearly pay related, but still paid as welfare which breaks the workplace link	YES Would cover both paternal and maternal leave and super	With reservations about implementation given National Party opposition
Greens	YES	YES 26 weeks at replacement pay	YES	YES Clearly work related	YES Covers both and super

Family Law

Party

Overall Rating

ALP

Women are being put in danger through this policy

Decisions about care of children not based on who had provided care

Decisions on care of children not based on best care models

A misguided attempt to encourage better fathering has resulted in poor outcomes for women and children

Women and children are being put at risk of violence

After a number of reviews of the 2006 changes the ALP needs to make a commitment to improving the Family Law Act

Coalition

See above

NOSee above

See above

The Coalition pushed for introduction of this policy so are less likely to change it

Greens

Can’t find it on their website

This is a policy area that MUST be addressed

Workplace Culture

Party	1	2	3	4	5	Rating Overall
ALP	YESFair work laws provide improved flexibility,	NONo enforcement of flexibility arrangements	MAYBENeeds improvement to flexibility in combining work and family	YESSupport restructure and funding of Equal Opportunity Agency	YESIntroducing 40% equity of Board representation.
Coalition	NOIndividual contracts with limited clauses prevent flexibility	NO	MAYBELimited flexibility, but 26 weeks parental leave scheme	NONo commitments re	NONo plans to introduce affirmative action or equity quotas
Greens	YES Flexibility for all carers	YES	YES	???	YES

Other

.Asylum Seekers

Party	1	2	3	4	5	Rating
ALP	NO Men are more likely to risk boat passage and leave women behind until settled	NO Refugees are not allowed to use their skills to gain work or educations	NO Families in detention have difficulties in providing appropriate care.	N/A	NO All rights are suspended	Take the lead in policy based on real evidence, and allay unnecessary fears about refugee numbers.
Coalition	NO See above comment	NO See above comment	NO Temporary protection visas stop family reunion	N/A	NO See above comment	Stop playing politics with people’s lives by stirring up unnecessary fear.
Greens	Y	Y	Y	N/A	Y	Looks good

In addition to the above, the asylum seekers policies of both the ALP and Coalition do not conform with the UN Convention on Human Rights

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Comment by Patricia Saunders
26 July, 2010 @ 1:57 pm

On 8 July the Greens announced that they would link both Commonwealth and Defence Force superannuation pensions to indexation, not CPI, thereby bringing Commonwealth pension increases into line with increases in the Aged Pension.

As many women work in the Commonwealth Public Service, this measure will benefit these women in retirement.

Comment by Robyn Stinson
2 August, 2010 @ 12:07 am

The Greens can publish what they like because they do not have budget constraints. Have you looked at the Greens other policies eg capital gains tax (resultant drop in rental accommodation); company tax increase to 33% which would be passed on to consumers – my uneducated guess a rise of about 2-3% in day to day costs of food and services; an ETS far more costly to consumers than the previous ALP scheme. We should be more aware of ALL the Greens policies.
Re Super and Henry proposals – what about ALP policy to increase super from 9 to 12%?
As I recall there’s a big black hole still being filled in when it comes to having sufficient funds to pay Commonwealth super, so I again refer to the fact that the Greens can make wondrous promises because they do not have to worry about a budget.
Thanks for opportunity to comment