Ms O’CONNOR – Thank you. Minister, we heard in hearings in Attorney-General and Justice yesterday, and in fact when you look at the data in the annual reports, domestic and family violence, sexual assault are persistently – the levels of them in our community and the matters that come before the courts are persistently high and, in fact – I don’t have the Magistrates’ Court annual report here, but there’s an increase in matters coming before the courts that relate to intimate partner abuse and sexual assault.
Obviously, something is not being done in terms of prevention and early intervention. Could you outline to the committee what work is happening, particularly with young people, in relation to Respectful Relationships, which was a program that was rolled out in schools in the Labor-Greens government in order to prevent sexual abuse, discriminatory language and much worse by talking to young people early to prevent it?
Ms OGILVIE – So you’ve touched on two points there. First, I agree with you that there is a trend and Tasmania –
Ms O’CONNOR – It’s getting worse and –
Ms OGILVIE – That’s the trend. Tasmania Police suggest that the trend suggests increased awareness and reduced tolerance within the community in relation to family violence along with a greater knowledge of reporting avenues available. Second, in relation to the government’s priority and long-term commitment to eliminate family and sexual violence in Tasmania, that does have an element of community change, changing attitudes, and to challenge attitudes that allow family and sexual violence to occur. And we’re supporting primary prevention activities and we’ve –
Ms O’CONNOR – In schools?
Ms OGILVIE – We’ve been a proud member of Our Watch since 2015. We’re continuing to fund membership of Our Watch which is $28,000 per annum, and the Our Watch senior advisor role which is $135,000 per annum under the third action plan. Our Watch is the national leader in the primary prevention of violence and works to drive nationwide change in the culture, behaviours and power imbalances that lead to violence against women and their –
Ms O’CONNOR – And the children? Minister –
CHAIR – While the minister takes a breath, I’d like to acknowledge in the room the former Speaker of the House of Assembly, the Honourable Michael Polley. Lovely to see you here today.
Ms OGILVIE – Good to have you in the house. I just wanted to touch on –
Ms O’CONNOR – Thank you, minister. To address the question, which is talking to young people about respectful relationships is really important, wouldn’t you agree –
Ms OGILVIE – That’s where I was –
Ms O’CONNOR – and could you tell us what’s happening in this area?
Ms OGILVIE – That’s where I was
Ms O’CONNOR – Could you tell us what’s happening in this area?
Ms OGILVIE – That’s where I was going.
Ms O’CONNOR – Thank you.
Ms OGILVIE – So the action plan committed $700,000 in 2022-23 rolled over to 2023‑24, and implementation under action 24 of the action plan includes a dedicated project officer to work with Tasmanian government schools to imbed Respectful Relationship education in alignment with the Australian curriculum. I think you were specifically asking about that and continued development of resources and to support and assist all learners to increase their understanding of consent, coercive control and grooming informed through the voice of children, young people and key stakeholders.
Ms O’CONNOR – Just following up on the Chair’s question, the women’s policy unit in the Department of Premier and Cabinet has always, for as long as I can recall, been a really important part of policy development in government. The flatlining in the two out years, does that mean that the women’s policy unit won’t have human beings in it? I’m just trying to understand, page 290, Women’s Policy, you’ve got two flat years, 2026-27, 2027-28. Will there be a women’s policy unit if there’s no funding in those two years for it? Will it have people in it?
Ms MORGAN-WICKS – Through the minister. We absolutely have people working on women’s policy within Premier and Cabinet, including a component of myself. That is within our strategic policy and advice unit, which has, from last memory and I could get this wrong, between 70 and 80 people working in strategic policy.
In terms of trying to get a budgeted line, these numbers reflect, in my understanding, project-based funding to support Equal means Equals program. It’s not to say that there’s not going to be future projects that are funded in the budget that we put into the next 2025-26 Budget submission, but there will always be, whilst I am secretary of DPAC, people working on women’s policy within the department and advising the minister and premier.
Ms O’CONNOR – So within that strategic policy and advice unit, and I know it’s created to deliver some flexibility so that particular policy priority areas, you can put people on the case. In broad terms your expertise and FTEs, how many people in DPAC do you think are working on women’s policy?
Ms MORGAN-WICKS – Through the minister, of course.
Ms OGILVIE – Yes.
Ms MORGAN-WICKS – If I may comment on the first five or so months that I’ve been at DPAC and seen various pieces of, for example, obviously our deputy secretary here in terms of strategic policy, other deputy secretaries and many DPAC representatives that are supporting Women Supporting Women, an initiative that was led and founded by the previous secretary Jenny Gale and which I continue under DPAC.
We have, you know, many people across DPAC contributing in women’s policy support, for example, varying initiatives across cadets, graduates, influencing, for example, selection, looking at recruitment and bias, for example, and assisting other agencies. I don’t have a direct number that I can give.
Ms O’CONNOR – No, that’s okay. It sounds –
Ms MORGAN-WICKS – Mel might know that space better, given her longer history at DPAC.
Ms O’CONNOR – I’m reassured, Ms Morgan-Wicks. Minister, the government has the Women on Boards policy. Highly commendable. There is one organisation which is a bit reprobate in this regard, and that is the Integrity Commission, which has long had a manel.
Ms OGILVIE – Has had a what?
CHAIR – A manel.
Ms O’CONNOR – A manel as its board. Yes, a manel is a panel made of men. It’s a matter certainly that the Greens have raised over the journey. As the minister responsible for women’s policy and someone who I know takes a close interest in justice broadly, can I encourage you to take this one up? From our point of view it seems to be falling on deaf ears. This is no reflection on anyone who’s on the board other than to observe there are many very talented and skilled women with a background in the law or criminology who’d make great integrity commission board members. I mean, do you think it’s well past time that the integrity commission extended itself beyond being a manel, the board?
Ms OGILVIE – It’s probably best for me to talk in terms of principles, and I would like the principle of equal representation across all of our boards to apply. That’s where we need to end up. If you look at a number of our boards, particularly those that I’m aware of that may come from more engineering territory as well, could possibly benefit from the inclusion of highly skilled women.
Ms O’CONNOR – Well, would certainly benefit from it.
Ms OGILVIE – That’s right. I know there’s some pejorative language used around some women’s talents maybe being needed or not needed in relation to certain areas that have occurred over the past few days. My view is women are fantastic. When you look at the private sector, women on boards send profits up. Women are great on boards. It’s a cultural issue that is – I think we’re a bit sluggish within government. It’s something that the private sector has got right. We see that the work being done there is fantastic.
We are working on that, but not just within government but across the private sector, too, to find those learnings, bringing people through, internships, leadership, those sorts of things. We’ve got 48.3 per cent of women on Tasmanian government boards and committees. Not quite there, in my view. It is an achievement, though, because it’s an increase, and we’re very close to reaching what has been our overarching target of 50 per cent of women on boards and committees.
Ms O’CONNOR – Not very close. You’re still 6.5 per cent off.
Ms OGILVIE – It’s close. However, I do think there’s more to be done and I do think we need to look at not just making sure that we’ve got women representing on boards of all our important boards, not just a global figure. That work needs to be done, making for those next generation of female leaders opportunities for them to come through. I’m always happy to take things on. Always happy to be open-minded about ways forward with this kind of stuff.
Ms O’CONNOR – Thank you, minister. I’m pleased to hear your answer. I actually am asking you to commit to take this one on because it’s a persistent issue where our primary – our integrity body has a board that’s entirely male, and it’s been that way for a very, very long time. I just hope that, because you’ve got a position of authority in government, you can, for example, have a chat to the Attorney-General and your other colleagues about correcting this.
Ms OGILVIE – Yes. I do speak up and raise my voice on the women’s issues regularly. I’m very happy to continue to advocate. Now you’ve drawn it to my attention I’m certainly happy to have a look at what we might do as we contemporise our Women on Boards strategy. That’s the right place for it to sit so it’s not specific to any individual or any particular organisation. We need to get this right as a framework and as a culture to make sure that we are doing the best we can across all our organisations. As you have specifically raised it with me, I will ask the department to have a look at it.
Ms O’CONNOR – Thank you.
