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  Barry O'Farrell's record on women

  Posted: Wednesday, 22 February 2012 | By: John Robertson

  Barry O'Farrell's record on the treatment of women since coming to office has been appalling.
  
  He has called Labor Deputy Leader, Linda Burney a 'hooker', compared Carmel Tebbutt to a 'whining puppy' and constantly refers to NSW's first female Premier Kristina Keneally as the 'Kim Kardashian' of NSW Parliament.
  
  Unfortunately, Barry O'Farrell's attacks on women also extend to Government policy.
  
  Here is NSW Premier Barry O'Farrell's record on women.

  • Barry O'Farrell is yet to convene a single meeting of the Premier's Expert Advisory Council for Women, blocking out vital expertise to the Government on important issues such as domestic violence, work-life balance issues and high casualisation rates for women
  • Barry O'Farrell has removed the requirement that 50 per cent of all new appointments to Government Boards and Committees be women
  • Seven senior female public servants forced out. Since coming to office, Barry O'Farrell has forced out seven senior women in the NSW public service:

  1. Deb Piccone, Director General, NSW Health
  2. Jennifer Mason, Director General, Dept of Community Services
  3. Lisa Corbyn, Director General, Office of Environment
  4. Lisa Hunt, Chief Executive Officer, WorkCover
  5. Elizabeth Zealand, Deputy Director General, NSW Transport
  6. Joanna Quilty, Deputy Director General, NSW Transport
  7. Carol Mills, Director General, Communities NSW

  • Barry O'Farrell moved the Office for Women's Policy from his own central agency – the Department of Premier and Cabinet – to NSW Families and Communities. This undermines the Office for Women's Policy's role coordinating policy issues across government.
  • Before the State Election, the Coalition promised to establish a Bureau of Women's Statistics. This has not happened.
  • Pru Goward has promised to produce the first ever annual report on the Status of Women in NSW. After almost one year in office, this has not happened.
  • Pru Goward has cut $52,000 in funding available for local International Women's Day events.
  • Despite promising to do so before the State Election, the O'Farrell Government has yet to commit funding for equal pay for social and community service workers, the majority of whom are women.
  • As part of their draconian wages policy for public sector workers, women could be forced to 'trade-off' lactation breaks for a pay rises.
  • The O'Farrell Government have excluded public sector workers who are surrogate parents and foster carers from receiving paid parental leave.

  Less women MPs

  • Because of the Coalition's choices of candidates for the 2011 State Election, for the first time women's representation in the Legislative Assembly has gone backwards.

  • Women's representation in the Legislative Assembly has fallen from 28 percent before the 2011 State Election to 20 percent after O'Farrell's win.

  • Of 20 Labor Members of the Legislative Assembly, nine are women.
  • Of 51 Liberal Members of the Legislative Assembly, nine are women.

   

  Less women Ministers

  • Barry O'Farrell's Cabinet only includes five women. Before the 2011 State Election there were seven women in Cabinet.

  
  Inappropriate comments

  • Inappropriate comment #1: Called Linda Burney "A Hooker"

  In Parliament on June 15 2011, Barry O'Farrell called the Deputy Leader of the Opposition Linda Burney a hooker:

  Mr Barry O'Farrell: There is some criticism of the front row of New South Wales. The member for Wollongong and I could add some heft to that. I am not sure which other member could be the hooker, perhaps the member for Canterbury.

  • Inappropriate comment #2: Likened Kristina Keneally to Kim Kardashian

  Barry O'Farrell has repeatedly likened the first female Premier of NSW, Kristina Keneally, to US celebrity Kim Kardashian:

  "The Kim Kardashian of State politics would not even go near the media." (Hansard, 8 November 2011)

  "There will be no more Kim Kardashians or Warwick Cappers on this side of politics. We will leave to others the Kim Kardashians, who look good but deliver disastrous results" (Hansard, 23 November 2011)

  "It is untrue that the member for Heffron is the Kim Kardashian of State Parliament." (Hansard, 9 November 2011)

  "I repeat that government Kim Kardashian style is over." (Hansard, 14 February 2012)

  • Inappropriate comment #3: Likened Carmel Tebbutt to a whining dog

  On 21 February 2012, Barry O'Farrell likened the Member for Marrickville to a whining dog.

  "What is the difference between the member for Marrickville and a three-week-old puppy? At six weeks a puppy stops whining." (Hansard, 21 February 2012)
  
  Inappropriate behaviour

  • Winking at Linda Burney

  On 9 August 2011, the Premier repeatedly winked at Linda Burney during question time – enough to prompt this exchange:

  Ms Linda Burney: Point of order: I would like the Premier to stop winking at me.

  Mr Barry O'Farrell: To the point of order: If the member for Canterbury is offended by my eye, I withdraw. However, it has been a long time since I have winked at a woman other than my wife.
  (Hansard, 9 August 2012)

  Tags: Barry O'Farrell, Carmel Tebbutt, community, Kristina Keneally, Linda Burney, women