Tasmanian parliamentarian calls for gender impact statements to be applied to future state budgets

Matt Maloney | Advocate Newspaper | November 21, 2020

Future state budgets need to contain a gender impact statement, independent upper house member Meg Webb says.

Ms Webb said in a speech before the Legislative Council on Thursday that the 2020-21 state budget was tokenistic in its efforts to support Tasmanian women.

“It looks to me as if this budget presents us with a male-focused, narrow stimulus program that sees trades and fluoro-vests as more worthwhile than caring, curing and educating,” she said.

Ms Webb said it had been noted during the pandemic that women had been more affected by COVID-19 than men through employment impacts, reduced incomes, heightened work insecurity, increased domestic violence, and greater household demands.

“The government may say it acknowledges this disproportionate impact, and is seeking to address it,” she said. “I say, barely lip-service has been made.”

Ms Webb said it was good to see the government acknowledge more needed to be done to support women in non-traditional employment sectors.

“However, the government’s almost sole reliance on these initiatives smacks of a highly gendered pandemic solution being decided upon, and then belatedly the realisation that the ‘build our way out of a pandemic’ did little to assist in a direct and meaningful way all those women who had also seen their jobs, businesses, and livelihood vanish,” she said.

The federal budget used to feature a gender impact statement though this has since been scrapped.

Ms Webb said such a statement needed to be included in future state budgets.

TasCOSS chief executive Adrienne Picone said the organisation supported the concept of a gender impact statement.

She said future state budgets should include a component which looked broadly at the budget’s impact on household types.

“If we were really serious about addressing disadvantage in Tasmania, and ensuring that every Tasmanian has the opportunity to live a good life, we’d be very focussed on how every state budget does or doesnt address the barriers to full social and economic participation in this state,” Ms Picone said.

“We think a budget impact statement that looks closely at taxes, charges and other measures which impact on certain groups could help prevent the introduction of measures that will impact disproportionately on those who are already doing it tough.”

A state government spokesman said the government was focused on creating a more inclusive Tasmania.

“That goes beyond what would be delivered through a gender impact statement, and instead empowers and enables women and girls to fully participate in our economic, social, political and community life,” he said.

Matt Maloney Examiner/Advocate Newspapers

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