News from the Front

An opportunity to discuss the status of women from an Australian perspective, hosted by Anne Summers.

Monday, March 28, 2005

JP MORGAN BUYS INTO ABC

The rise and rise of ABC Learning Centres just goes on and on. You will recall previous postings about this company, Australia's largest private childcare operator which continues to report record profits and which recently was lucky enough to secure the services of former federal childcare minister, Larry Anthony, as one of its director. Now comes the news that JP Morgan Chase & Co has increased its holding and as of last Thursday owns 6.05 per cent of the company. Yes it is that JP Morgan, the investment bank created by the American plutocrat who famously said, "If I can't take it with me, I'm not going". He's long gone, but the money remains and some of it is now finding its way into Aussie childcare. As previously reported, it's a pretty good investment with Australian taxpayer funds of one million dollars A DAY going into the company, thus pretty much guaranteeing its cash flow. JP Morgan and related entities gave their address as Columbus, Ohio (that's in the USA) when they notified the Australian Stock Exchange last Thursday (just as the market closed for Easter) that it was increasing its stake from the previous holding of 12,416,848 shares to 15,089,188 shares. JP Morgan started buying into ABC just two months ago, with an initial purchase of 200,00, and has been steadily increasing its stake to the current high levels. That's quite a steep rate of acquisition in just two months. Still there's a way to go before the Americans rival the holding of company founder Eddy Grove and his wife Le Nev Ann Grove who each own 18,495,000 shares. Shares closed at $5.45 on Thursday. JP Morgan obviously knows a good investment when it sees one even if Aussie childcare is a bit outside its usual sights.

CONDOLEEZA RICE'S BURDEN

In her autobiography Madam Secretary, former US Secretary of State (and the first woman to hold the position) Madeleine Albright, addressed the question of official sexism towards the US top diplomat. "I am often asked," she wrote, "whether I was condescended to by men as I travelled around the world to Arab countries and other places with highly traditional cultures. I replied, 'No, because when I arrived somewhere, it was in a large plane with "United States of America" emblazoned on the side.' Foreign officials respected that. I had more problems with some of the men in my own government." (Macmillan, 2003 p. xii) The big plane does not seem to be doing it for Condoleeza Rice, current US Secretary of State who is not just female but young,single, childless and African American. She has been given a terrible time during her recent trip to China and North Asia. Maybe to her face the officials are polite and show respect but the bloggers are relentless in portraying her in ways that are both sexist and racist. A report in Saturday's Sydney Morning Herald describes some of the reaction and implies that, in a country where web sites are shut down by the government for the most minor exercises of free speech, that these comments are being officially tolerated, perhaps even encouraged. She is being called ugly, a monkey and so on, but my Chinese-speaking friends tell me the actual postings are far worse than anything quoted. The "c" word is frequently used, often with extraordinarily vituperative adjectives attached. You don't have to like or agree with Condy's politics to admire her achievements (concert pianist apart from the high-level foreign policy expertise) or to deplore attacks of this kind.

WOMEN'S RESPONSE TO TONY ABBOTT

It has not been necessary for me to comment on the startling news that Health Minister Tony Abbott's long-lost son has been revealed not to be "his". Everyone else is having their two-bobs worth so I have just been watching from the sidelines. Two things are worth commenting on about the response. First, has been the vilification of Kathy Donnolly, Abbott's former girlfriend and mother of the young man who is not Tony's. Talkback radio, representing the raw face of the worst of this country, has deemed her a scarlet woman, a slut and a lot worse. All because she had a one-night stand 28 years ago, where the contraceptives failed, and as a result had a baby. While the child was deemed to be Abbott's she was seen as victim, a relinquishing mother forced to give up her baby by a "callow" man who would not marry her. Suddenly, because of a burst condom (presumably) the same woman is being slagged off at. Why? What has changed?
Second interesting fact has been the sex differenced in reactions. This has been especially evident in Sydney's Daily Telegraph, the newspaper you will remember first published the revalations about Abbott being reunited with his long-lost son. This time around there has not been a peep out of Piers Ackermann, the man who wrote the initial story and put the positive pro-Abbott spin on it that proved so helpful to the Health Minister as he dealt with the resultant media frenzy. Instead, there has been a plaintive column from the paper's chief political correspondent Malcolm Farr wondering why women have been so hostile to Tony Abbott. In order to find out, you had only to read Anita Quigley, also on the paper's opinion page. Quigley got it in one. Well worth the read.

Sunday, March 20, 2005

EX-MINISTER JOINS CHILD CARE GRAVY TRAIN

Larry Anthony who until last year's federal election was the federal government minister in charge of childcare has just been appointed to the board of the country's largest private operator of childcare centres, ABC Learning. ABC is one of those fabulously successful companies that just keeps growing and growing. In February this year, it reported a 60 per cent increase in interim net profit for the previous half-year. That meant a profit of $15.5 million for the six months. ABC is predicting an even greater bonanza for the current fiscal year of $77.5 million. ABC controls more than 20 per cent of Australia's long day care market and is growing fast, mainly by acquiring other centres or chains. But the best thing about the business is that its cash flow is guaranteed - by the federal government. The Childcare Subsidy, which is the federal government's only cash assistance to parents for the cost of childcare, is paid direct to the operators. This takes a lot of the risk out of the business. According to a report in the Australian on March 17, 2005 the company expects to receive about $350 million this year in direct federal government subsidies. This, according to a report the same day on crikey.com.au by Stephen Mayne, makes it the most highly subsidised company in Australia, guaranteed a million dollars a day in taxpayers funds. Not bad. And with the former Minister on board to advise on those little technical details - not to mention, continue to grease the political wheels to ensure the system does not change in any way that might disadvantage the company - what could go wrong? Larry gets paid $40,000 a year as a board member. He would have made more if he'd joined Janet Albrechtson on that other ABC Board (which pays directors $50,000) but it will be worth keeping an eye on what stock and options package the former Minister has beebn able to negotiate for himself. These have to be reported to the Australian Stock Exchange. I will keep my eye on ABC's reports and let you know.

RURAL TEEN PREGNANCY EPIDEMIC

Today's Sunday Telegraph reports that in some areas of rural New South Wales there is an epidemic of teenage pregnancies. The story is based on the findings of the NSW Health's Mothers and Babies Report which finds that in some rural areas the teenage birth rate is 6 per cent, compared with 1.6 per cent in more densely populated areas. One reason, it seems, is the lack of sex education in the country but also the unwillingness of some country pharmacists to stock condoms or the morning-after pill. The article quotes the 19 year old mother of a young girl who says she would not have become pregnant if she had not moved to the Huner valley town of Merriwa from the Central Coast where she lived previously and where was able to buy contraceptives. The Merriwa pharmacist told the Sunday Telegraph that he would not stock condoms for "personal ethical reasons".

WHY ARE THERE SO FEW WOMEN COLUMNISTS?

Most newspaper columnists are men. This is true in Australia and elsewhere. Recently New York Times columnist Maureen Dowd examined why this is. read here In the US the debate is now swirling around whether it's the numbers of women that matter or what they have to say. Do we want more right-wing women? (The Margaret Thatcher argument?) Dowd has been attacked for just concentrating on numbers rather than content as, for instance, in the eline daily journal alternet. read here Here in Australia the Sydney Morning Herald's Miranda Devine has also weighed into the debate, claiming that she received more criticisms from women than she does from men. read what Miranda said My own experience is that whenever I write a newspaper column (which is not very often these days) I receive far more criticisms from men than from women. I still cannot believe some of the things some men feel able to say from behind the anonymity of an email address. The level of vituperation and use of obscenities is quite startling. Maybe if we had more women columnists, these men would just get used to it.

Thursday, March 17, 2005

FEMINIST BOOKSHOP EVENT

For those of you who live in Sydney, please feel free to attend a special event at the Feminist Bookshop on Saturday April 2 where I will talk with Marion Hosking about her excellent new book Why Doesn't She Leave? The book is a history of Lyn's Place, the women's refuge in Taree and a very sad story of the violence endured by women who sought shelter there.


MEET THE AUTHOR
Saturday 2nd April 4.00 pm

Marion Hosking
long-time activist in the women’s refuge movement, and author of
Why Doesn’t She Leave?
The Story Of A Women’s Refuge
in conversation with

Dr Anne Summers
author of The End Of Equality
Anne and Marion will discuss domestic violence,
the response of a rural community,
and Marion’s new book
rsvp 02 9810 2666


The Feminist Bookshop
Shop 9, Orange Grove Plaza, Balmain Rd, Lilyfield 2040 ph: (02) 9810 2666 fax: (02) 9818 5745
email: feministbookshop@iprimus.com.au

WOMEN AND THE WA ELECTION

From Emily's List comes this analysis of the outcome for women candidates in the Western Australian election, including the great result for Carol Martin, who is the first Indigenous woman to be re-elected to any parliament in Australia, and who increased her majority. The terrific result for women was not, however, reflected in the nWomen and the Western Australian elections

(news from EMILY’s List)

EMILY's List members will be pleased to note that all EMILY's List MPs were
returned to their seats with increased margins.

EMILY's List supported MPs who won their seats were:

Carol Martin MP
Jaye Radisich MP
Dianne Guise MP
Judy Edwards MP
Sheila McHale MP
Sue Ellery MLC
Louise Pratt MLC

New EMILY's List MPs are:

Shelley Archer MLC
Sally Talbot MLC

Carol Martin increased her margin and has made history once again as the
first Indigenous woman to serve more than one term. Jaye Radisich
dramatically increased her margin to 4 per cent from just 0.1 per cent.
Dianne Guise has won each and every booth in her electorate!

EMILY's List members donated over $15,000 to the election. Congratulations
everyone!

*** WA Cabinet ***

EMILY's List has followed up on these excellent election results with a
media statement about the lack of new women appointed to the Gallop Cabinet:

"EMILY's List Co-Convenor Hon. Joan Kirner today expressed her
disappointment at the failure of the Gallop Government to appoint more women
to the new Cabinet.

Ms Kirner said: "With five positions available and a number of talented
women ready to take on leadership roles, it is incredible that there has not
been an increase in either numbers or percentage terms. Indeed, there are
now less women in percentage terms in the new Gallop Cabinet than before
with women making up just 29 per cent of the Cabinet as opposed to 35 per
cent prior to the last election".

"The Gallop Government now has more women in its Caucus than ever before,"
Ms Kirner said, "the Cabinet should reflect this if the Government wants to
be seen as a Government for the future".

EMILY's List was pleased to have assisted in the election of two new Upper
House MPs at the state election and to have helped re-elect seven EMILY's
List MPs to Parliament, including the first Indigenous woman to serve more
than one term in office, Carol Martin MP (Kimberley)."

THE CRISIS IN MASCULINITY REDUX

Remember last year when the government had to threaten to change our sex discrimination laws so that men-only scholarships could be provided to entice boys to study to become primary school teachers? We had a "crisis in masculinity" both the Prime Minister and then Opposition Leader Mark Latham asserted, because primary school teachers were predominantly women and this was bad for boys. Where were their role models etc etc? So what are we to make of the news that only six of the 12 male-only scholarships offered by the Catholic Education Office have been taken up? Boys don't want to teach primary school it seems. Even when offered preferential treatment. So what are we going to do about this ongoing crisis in masculinity? Maybe we could increase the pay and the status of primary school teachers? That might bring in the boys - and be just rewards for the thousands of women who keep the system going. Just a thought.

CAN HILLARY BE US PRESIDENT?

Today's New York Times postulates that Hillary Clinton, Democrat Senator from New York and former First Lady, is positioning herself with the US heartland via her advocacy of religion and her shift of position on abortion. Read the articleread here

Friday, February 11, 2005

HOWARD'S SECRET ABORTION AGENDA

Today's Age newspaper carried this very illuminating article on what the Prime Minister is really up to with encouraging the debate on abortion that last year he said he did not want. To read the article click here

WHAT RON WANTS TO KNOW

Late last month, National Party Senator Ron Boswell placed a lengthy series of questions on the Senate notice paper relating to the incidence and circumstances concerning abortion in Australia. The questions are directed to Guess Who? Tony Abbott, the Health Minister and co-conspirator in the disgraceful effort to make it more difficult for women to obtain abortions. It is not pushing the envelope too far to suggest that Tony might even have had a hand in drafting Ron's questions. As it is, they constitute a loaded little document. Many of these questions contain assumptions about abortion and related matters, and are not just seeking factual information. Often, questions on the notice paper languish and lapse for want of an answer, e.g. questions relating to the Prime Minister's wine cellar Kirribilli which have been ignored for years. It will be interesting to see if Ron's questions are answered. My guess is they will be, and pronto. To read Ron's questions click here

Thursday, February 03, 2005

ABORTION FIRESTORM REIGNITES

Late last year I predicted that Prime Minister John Howard would find it very difficult to put the abortion genie back into the bottle and, unfortunately, the debate has now re-ignited and is roaring out of control. As soon Howard's back was turned - he was overseas, first in Davos and then visiting Singapore and Acheh - his ministers and backbenchers went to work to get the issue back onto the front line. Tony Abbott, the Health Minister, is of course the driving force behind the push back into the headlines but he is being assisted by deputy prime minister John Anderson and National Party Senator Ron Boswell. There is growing support from across the political divide for a "debate" on the subject of late-term abortions. Earlier this week in Sydney a meeting of anti-abortion MPs from all the parties plotted how to get more "information" to fuel the issue. This meeting was sent a message of support by Tony Abbott. So much for him having supposedly been disciplined by the Prime Minister for raising the issue last year. It is now time for Howard to sack Abbott for his utterly unacceptable use of his portfolio to push his religious convictions. Anything less means that Howard is an implicit accomplice in this push to deny Australian women the right to choose when and if they have babies.
The reaction of the new Labor Leader, Kim Beazley, was predictably disappointing and an example of his total inability to understand the politics of a situation. Instead of drawing attention to Abbott's defying of the Prime Minister's wishes - while he was visiting tsunami victims, no less - Big Kim merely reminded us all that he is opposed to abortion too. Kim, your views are not the issue here. As a party leader it is your responsibility to know and represent the views of the majority of your members and they, like the population in general, are utterly opposed to any restrictions on women's right to choose. It is salutary that it is only men who are pushing this, only men who are worried about so-called late-term abortions, only men who want "more information". Fortunately, the majority of women MPs who have spoken out have denounced this push back to the dark ages. We need more of them to do so - and as many men as possible too. So encourage the women MPs in their battle. Let them know they have your support. You can email all women MPs from the links page of this website.

Wednesday, January 26, 2005

JULIA GILLARD STAKES HER CLAIM

Personally, I am sorry that Julia Gillard is not running for the ALP leadership on Friday. It would have make the contest more credible for there to be an election, and a contested ballot is a good test of the relative strengths of the opposing candidates. Nevertheless, Julia has performed stunningly, not putting a foot wrong in staking out her claim for a leadership position the next time around. She has been a cool and credible media performer and has clearly impressed enough of her colleagues to have reportedly secured around one-third of the Caucus votes had she run. And of course her potential candidacy has flushed out all the troglodytes in the ALP and the media who claim that a "single and childless" person (they mean woman) cannot ever be elected leader of a major Australian political party since such a person would not be electable by the people and thus could never be Prime Minister. Gillard has also been criticised for her kitchen being too clean and tidy! Talk about can't win territory. If her kitchen had been messy, she would have been criticised for being a bad housekeeper (and thus unable to run the country). If she had kids, she'd probably be told to go home and look after them until they grew up, by which time her political moment may well have passed. It is good to get all this stuff out in the open before she becomes a serious contender in the future. I wonder if the Australian electorate is as backward and sexist as many of her colleagues seem to be. I suspect the electorate is more tolerant and more interested in a candidate's competence, ideas and leadership skills than in her marital or maternal status. It is something to explore before Gillard has her next tilt at a leadership position.

A TALE OF TWO CHILDCARE SYSTEMS

It was the best of times, it was the worse of times (for childcare)... depending whether you live in Australia or in Britain.
In Australia, childcare fees are set to rise steeply following the highly deserved pay increase for childcare workers. This increase needs to be compensated for by a rise in the Childcare Benefit, the federal government's sole form of financial assistance towards the cost of childcare, but so far at least there has been no indication that such an increase is even being considered. Worse, the government has reneged on its election promise of a 30 per cent childcare rebate on the out-of-pocket costs of childcare (ie the gap between the Childcare Benefit and the actual cost of a childcare place). Just days before Christmas, when they no doubt hoped everyone was too busy shopping and partying to notice, the government announced two major modifications to the promise. Together they will have the effect of reducing the value of the rebate. First, the rebate can only be claimed as part of your tax in the next financial year. Compare this with the 30 per cent private health insurance benefit which can be received int he form of reduced health insurance fees during the year. Parents will have to wait more than a year to get their money. Most parents will have to wait 18 months to see a cent. Second, the rebate is to be caped at $4,000 a year this making it pretty useless for parents in Sydney and Melbourne who have to pay up to $350 a week for a chilcare place. Neither of these restrictions were disclosed when the policy was announced in the last week of the election campaign. Mean and sneaky.
In Britain, by contrast, childcare and associated family policies have been elevated to a high priority by the Blair government and measures announced that seem positively luxurious by Australian standards.
Under a ten year strategy for childcare announced last December by Chancellor Gordon Brown, parents can claim 80 per cent of the cost of childcare on their tax via a tax credit system (in Australia only 30 per cent can be claimed and, as we saw above, there is a ceiling imposed even on this); this credit can be claimed by parents with an annual joint income of up to $143,818 (in Australia the maximum Childcare Benefit starts to cut out at an annual joint income of $32,485), and the credit can be claimed on weekly fees of up to $426.50 for one child or $731.27 for two or more children (in Australia the maximum amount of government assistance is $140.50, regardless of the cost of the place).
If that all sounds like paradise, consider this: the British government has promised that out-of-school hours care will be provided to all children aged 3 to 14 every weekday from 8am to 6pm for 48 weeks a year. This will be done by the simple device of extending the hours that schools are open. Parents will have to pay a fee for this extra care but it saves them having to transport children from school to care, something many Australian parents would welcome.
Finally, the British government has extended its national paid maternity leave scheme from 6 months to 9 months, starting in 2007. The government has announced an "eventual" goal of 12 months paid maternity leave. Fathers will be entitled to take any of this leave if the mother decides to go back to work during the leave period. (Australia of course, along with the US, is the only country in the world not to have a national paid maternity leave scheme).

HILLARY CLINTON SOFTENS HER POSITION ON ABORTION?

US Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton has delivered a controversial speech to women's organisations in New York in which she appears to soften her position on abortion. Her remarks came on the anniversary of the Roe v Wade US Supreme Court decision that legalises abortion in the US, and at a time when there is concern that the composition of the US Supreme Court could change, leading to a reversal of the Roe v Wade decision. click here

Friday, January 21, 2005

RIP OSW

You will recall that after the last election John Howard announced that the Office of the Status of Women (OSW) was to be downgraded and moved from the Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet to the Department of Family and Community Services. Not only has this happened, but the name of the office has been changed, it has been shunted from its previous office in the Parliamentary Triangle to Tuggeranong on the outskirts of Canberra and, worst of all, its functions have been totally changed. The Office for Women, as it is now called, says "our work is founded on the goal of mainstreaming women's issues". You will remember the last time the government "mainstreamed" a women's function was when it abolished the Women's Bureau back in 1997. Since then, there has been total silence on women's work issues from the Howard government: no reports, no stats and no action to prevent the ever increasing decline in women's full-time participation rate. To see what passes for women's policy under the federal government, go to the OFW web site.click here

DUTCH MP RETURNS TO PARLIAMENT AFTER VAN GOGH MURDER

The woman MP who had to go into hiding after the murder of Dutch filmmaker Theo Van Gogh in Amsterdam late last year has returned to public life, albeit under heavy security. Ayaan Hirsi Ali was the writer of the screenplay about the ill-treatment of women in Islam that apparently led to Van Gogh's murder. (A letter to her was left pinned to his body). Now she is back.
click here