Media Release – Inaugural Gender Budget Impact Statement Wasted Opportunity
Independent Member for Nelson Meg Webb said today the State Government has badly missed the mark despite promising to deliver Tasmania’s inaugural Gender Budget Impact Statement (GBIS).
“The Upper House called for a genuine and rigorous gender responsive budgeting processes to underpin any new Gender Budget Impact Statement, but unfortunately it appears the Government has ignored the memo,” Ms Webb, who has speared-headed the campaign for its introduction, said.
“The Government was warned it was on notice that merely rolling out a women-targeted spending ‘highlights’ list will not cut it. Yet that is all that has been delivered.
“Put bluntly, a meaningful Gender Budget Impact Statement is not a glossy ‘good news’ list of expenditure announcements.”
Ms Webb said the GBIS should pull together the results of a comprehensive gender responsive budgeting process, and deliver a frank critique of the projected impact of the government’s expenditure and taxation priorities, including whether and how they will challenge entrenched social and economic gender inequalities.
“While I welcome the initiatives and repackaged announcements listed in this document, they unfortunately do not constitute a Gender Budget Impact Statement.
“This is a disappointing first try from the Government, I hope to see a genuine effort made next year.”
Did the inaugural Gender Budget Impact Statement 2022-23 measure up?
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x |
NOT just present a spending ‘highlights’ list? |
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x |
Explicitly state gender equality is an outcome that policies and budgetary mechanisms seek to achieve across all portfolios? |
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x |
Include gender equality targets and indicators, and/or current status report on their development? |
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x |
Provide current baseline data, and define delivery timeframes for meeting targets for ongoing evaluation, and/or current status report on timeframe development? |
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x |
Provide an analysis of the current situation of different gender groups for each portfolio/agency, and an analysis of how resource allocations and fiscal policy settings will address identified gendered challenges? |
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x |
Provide an analysis of whether the assigned budgetary allocations are sufficient to implement gender responsive policy? |
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x |
Use gender-disaggregated data, and detail processes for collating gender disaggregated data in any instances where it is currently partially or wholly unavailable? |
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½✓ |
Acknowledge and incorporate intersectional disadvantage or discrimination impacts? |
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x |
Provide baseline performance and outcome indicators by which effectiveness of resource allocations and fiscal policy settings to deliver gender equality can be monitored and evaluated across future budget cycles? |
Media Contact: A.Mark Thomas, M&M Communications, 0422 006 732
