After 3 weeks of a campaign focussing on nothing much – lots of rhetoric, not much detail, both parties might finally be forced into addressing good social policy.
And it’s child care that might force their hands.
According to the Sydney Morning Herald, the increasing birth rate is resulting in shortages of quality child care places in key marginal seats in NSW.
WEL is happy that social policy might make a reappearance in this campaign, but we wonder why it takes problems in marginal seats before anything gets done. WEL wants to see good social policy that increases fairness for everybody.
We’ve evaluated both parties child care policies against our Feminist Policy Framework .
Now let’s see if we can get other important issues taken up. WEL’s major areas of concern for fairness are:
Women’s financial and economic security
Balancing work and family
WEL will be evaluating the major parties’ policies on these and other issues against our Feminist Policy Framework which sets out our criteria for a fair society. This is:
.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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