Leading Issues Journal January 2008

 

Global Issues

Say No to Violence

The UN Trust Fund to End Violence against Women will receive $100,000 from the United Nations Foundation for 100,000 signatures.

Your signature brings $1
to help end violence against women

So far, 36164 people
have already signed up.

To add your signature go to: Say No to Violence

Gender Bias and Female Leadership Styles

Catalyst's 2007 Report, "The Double-Bind Dilemma for Women In Leadership: Damned If You Do, Doomed If You Don't," said women face three "no-win" dilemmas.

First, women are never just right. They are either too tough or too soft. Second, women face higher standards and but get fewer rewards.

Finally, when a woman shows traditionally valued leadership skills such as assertiveness, she is seen as competent but not personable. If a woman uses a more stereotypically feminine style, colleagues believe she doesn't have any valued leadership skills.

Catalyst's gender-bias report said organizations must work to eliminate bias and maximize female leaders' skills. But until that happens, women must look for ways to fight it. Its suggestions:

• Talk about bias issues. Confront an inequitable situation immediately, and address assumptions about women to create awareness.

• Be visible. Show your competence, be consistent, seek high-level assignments, speak up at meetings and find a mentor who can help make you more visible.

• Be clear. Let people know what you want and ask questions. (AZ central.com)

For a summary of the Report see:  "The Double-Bind Dilemma for Women In Leadership: Damned If You Do, Doomed If You Don't" 

Companies with more women Board Directors experience higher financial performance

Fortune 500 companies with the highest representation of women board directors attained significantly higher financial performance, on average, than those with the lowest representation of women board directors, according to Catalyst’s most recent report, The Bottom Line: Corporate Performance and Women’s Representation on Boards. In addition, the report points out, on average, notably stronger-than-average performance at companies with three or more women board directors.

The study, which is the second of Catalyst’s Bottom Line reports, looked at three critical financial measures: return on equity, return on sales, and return on invested capital, and compared the performance of companies with the highest representation of women on their boards to those with the lowest representation.

“Clearly, financial measures excel where women serve on corporate boards,” said Ilene H. Lang, President of Catalyst. “This Catalyst study again demonstrates the very strong correlation between corporate financial performance and gender diversity. We know that diversity, well managed, produces better results. And smart companies appreciate that diversifying their boards with women can lead to more independence, innovation, and good governance and maximize their company’s performance.”

The report found higher financial performance for companies with higher representation of women board directors in three important measures:

  • Return on Equity: On average, companies with the highest percentages of women board directors outperformed those with the least by 53 percent.
  • Return on Sales: On average, companies with the highest percentages of women board directors outperformed those with the least by 42 percent.
  • Return on Invested Capital: On average, companies with the highest percentages of women board directors outperformed those with the least by 66 percent.

The correlation between gender diversity on boards and corporate performance can also be found across most industries—from consumer discretionary to information technology.

This study, sponsored by The Chubb Corporation, follows Catalyst’s 2004 Bottom Line report on the correlation between the percentage of women corporate officers and a company’s financial performance.

The findings in this study were based upon the four-year average for ROE, ROS, and ROIC for 2001, 2002, 2003, and 2004, and women board director (WBD) data for 2001 and 2003. Financial data for the companies examined were obtained from the Standard & Poor’s Compustat database. Because of movement into and out of the Fortune 500 each year, there are 520 companies in this analysis; the top quartile comprises the 132 companies with the highest percentages of women board directors while the bottom quartile comprises the 129 companies with the lowest percentages of women board directors. WBD data was obtained from the 2003 Catalyst Census of Women Board Directors and the 2001 Catalyst Census of Women Board Directors. Financial performance measures vary by industry. To account for this variability, standardized financial performance measures were used to make comparisons within the overall sample.

Source: Catalyst (Founded in 1962, Catalyst is the leading nonprofit corporate membership research and advisory organization working globally with businesses and the professions to build inclusive environments and expand opportunities for women and business.)

International Ethical Leaders of 2007
Ethical Corporation in the UK selected 15 individuals from business, politics and civil society who have done most to push forward the case for responsible business in 2007
1) Stuart Rose
Chief executive, iconic UK retailer Marks & Spencer.
For launching Plan A, Marks & Spencer's groundbreaking five-year, 100-point commitment to sustainability. Rose, like many others, was converted to the climate cause after reading Al Gore's book on the topic. Plan A is the company's attempt to become the greenest retailer in the UK by 2012, and is undoubtedly the most comprehensive environmental and ethical business plan - much copied since - by a UK company.
2) Lee Scott
Chief executive, Wal-Mart, the world's largest retailer.
Scott's shock at the impact of hurricane Katrina on New Orleans in 2005, converted him to the environmental cause. Since then, his company has won plaudits for its green efforts: selling compact fluorescent light bulbs, sourcing from sustainable fisheries and using hybrid diesel trucks. In 2007 Wal-Mart continued its environmental plans, and has begun considering impacts in its supply chain. Wal-Mart is not a Nike on labour standards, but the company's size means any progressive environmental impacts the firm have global reach.

3) Patrick Cescau
Chief executive, Unilever, the consumer goods giant.
Cescau made the move in 2007 to switching all Unilever's tea to Rainforest Alliance certified. The company has continued this year with its cutting edge social and economic impact assessments in emerging markets. After a groundbreaking study with Oxfam on the company's economic impact in Indonesia in 2004, Cescau committed the company to publish another in-depth look at how the firm affects South Africa, to be published in 2008. Cescau deserves his place, like Rose, for bringing an evidence-based management approach to business sustainability, or social innovation, as he calls it.

4) Anne Lauvergeon
Chairman of Areva, the French nuclear group.
Lauvergeon, one of the most powerful women in the world according to Forbes, has spoken out on a wide variety of issues related to ethical business and the environment. From calling for changes in business approaches to diversity to publicly supporting the UN Global Compact, Lauvergeon has established herself as a progressive leader who, according to Time magazine, virtually created her company herself and believes nuclear energy can play a serious role in tackling climate change.

5) Chris Harrop
Marketing Director of Marshalls, the UK stone company.
For the energetic campaigning he has done to reduce child labour in the quarrying of Indian sandstone. Harrop has taken an admirably robust approach to eliminating this risk from Marshalls' supply chain.
6) Richard Ellis
Head of corporate social responsibility at Alliance-Boots, the UK-based wholesale and retail pharmacies group.
Over the past few years Ellis has turned Boots from a sleeping ethics giant into one of the leading companies. Working quietly and modestly with a small team, among other achievements Ellis has recently managed to persuade buyout group Kohlberg Kravis Roberts and its partner and new Boots chief executive, Stefano Pessina, that sustainability and ethics are essential to the future of the company. No mean feat.
7) Noel Purcell from Australia Westpac (see below)

8) Mike Clasper
Former chief executive of BAA, the UK airports operator.
Clasper made progressive moves towards issues facing his business whilst at BAA. In 2007 he chaired the work that created the UK's Marketplace Responsibility Principles, which are now starting to influence companies on taking core issues to the heart of their approach to corporate responsibility. He has also led private meetings to leaders of the mainstream investment houses to make the case for why consideration of these issues should be higher within their approach to valuation.

Civil society and media
9) Chris Avery
Founder of Business-humanrights.org.
For making the Business and Human Rights Resource Centre the key internet human rights information source for companies, NGOs and others. Avery has relaunched business-humanrights.org and, with a small staff and tiny budget, continues to both highlight alleged instances of human rights infringements while also giving space to companies to respond and state their side of the story. A true pioneer.

10) Fiona Harvey
Environment correspondent, the Financial Times.
Harvey has probably done more than any other journalist to further environmental issues in global business in 2007. Casting a critical eye over both business and government, Harvey has made the Financial Times the leading global business newspaper for the environment, as well as for its traditional areas of coverage.

11) Lala Rimando
Business editor, Newsbreak Magazine in Manila, Philippines
Having gained as masters in corporate social responsibility and years of investigative journalism experience in the most dangerous country in the world outside Iraq, Rimando trains Filipino journalists on corporate social responsibility. She also investigates companies and their chief executives. Her magazine publishes groundbreaking stories on both sides of the corporate ethics debate.

12) Christine Loh
Founder and chief executive of Civic Exchange, an independent, non-profit public policy think-tank in Hong Kong founded in 2000.
A prolific writer and commentator on pollution, climate change and corporate social responsibility in Hong Kong and southern China, Loh is former chairman of Hong Kong Friends of the Earth and former liberal and pro-democracy Hong Kong legislator. The prime mover of Hong Kong's environmental community through both Civic Exchange, an international adviser to the G8+5 Climate Change Dialogue, and a director of the Association for Sustainable and Responsible Investment in Asia, Loh continues to be the most influential voice in the region. She is listened to by ordinary people and major multinationals alike and is a thorn in the side of both the Hong Kong government and Beijing over the refusal to tackle environmental issues affecting the region.

Politicians

13) Neelie Kroes
European Union competition commissioner
Arguably the most powerful woman in European business, Dutch-born Kroes has made a point in 2007 of stamping out cartels. First, she busted lift and escalator makers including Otis and ThyssenKrupp for price fixing, fining them a total of €992 million. Then she slapped Heineken and three other brewers for cartel activity with a combined fine of €273 million. A third victory came over Microsoft in autumn, when a European court upheld the commission's 2004 decision to fine the firm €497 million for market abuse. Kroes has also been instrumental in pushing for liberal market reforms to Europe's energy sector.

14) Penny Wong from Australia (see below)

15) Bill Clinton
Former US president.
The Clinton Global Initiative has really taken hold in 2007, and Clinton has played a key role in pushing companies and governments to think of innovative solutions for tackling climate change and other key areas, such as HIV/Aids. While the CGI's exact impact remains to be seen, Clinton deserves credit this year for operating totally outside normal institutions and frameworks. His work may be displacing the World Economic Forum's non-financial initiatives.

Finally an honorary mention to Al Gore for his climate change campaigning.

Source: Source: Ethical Corp  (Half price subscriptions to Ethical Corporation magazine)

Carbon labels – A green mark too far?
The Carbon Trust’s experiment with carbon labels could transform the behaviour of UK companies and consumers. But there are doubts hanging over the scheme.
Labels extolling a product’s ethical virtues are nothing new. Fairtrade goods are now as familiar to shoppers as free-range eggs, while organic food labels reassure consumers that their vegetables have been treated with nothing harsher than compost.

A logo explaining climate change, then, is a logical next step for brands that are cutting their carbon dioxide emissions. The UK Carbon Trust’s Carbon Reduction Label was launched last year with high street retailer Boots, Walkers and Innocent Drinks agreeing to pilot the scheme.
for the complete article see: Carbon Labels
Source: Ethical Corp  (Half price subscriptions to Ethical Corporation magazine)

US Corporate Citizenship Survey
The preliminary results of a US survey shows significant management support for corporate citizenship but reveal gaps between the attitudes and actions of corporate executives and disparities between public expectations and business practices.

Every two years the Boston College Centre for Corporate Citizenship surveys a cross-section of U.S. executives on issues related to the role of business in society.

The research is funded by The Hitachi Foundation, a leading advocate for promoting the positive role companies can play in society, particularly in low-income communities.

The survey of 751 executives reveals that 79% attribute the public distrust of business to excessive CEO pay.

Of the executives participating to the on-line survey, 53% were CEOs, 34% held vice president positions, 10% were directors and 3% held other senior level positions.

The survey, conducted for Boston College by GlobeScan, is described as the only research of its kind that provides a comprehensive overview of small, medium and large-sized U.S. business.

The full results of third biennial survey will be released December 18.
In hopes that the survey's findings will be fodder for discussion, this year a new element has been added to its release: the Corporate Citizen '07 blog.

The blog's founders hope that it will provide a large readership with a rich discussion of the future of business. They say that businesses of all sizes will find something relevant to their context. Likewise, students, consumers, policy makers, and grant makers will find plenty of content to kick around, chew on, dispute, discuss, and apply.

As contributor Doug Sabo - who is also a corporate responsibility blogger for his company, McAfee - said in one of his recent entries that one of the most powerful benefits of the blogosphere is the opportunity to create community - to interact, dialogue and connect with peers, both strangers and longtime acquaintances.

The collaborative blog will use the findings of the 2007 State of Corporate Citizenship survey to spark a conversation on its lessons, how those lessons might be applied in the "real" world, and grapple with the implications for businesses and communities.

Mark Popovich from The Hitachi Foundation wrote recently that while CSR was once viewed as an optional 'add on' it is now generally recognized as a necessity by business leaders across all firm sizes, sectors, and regions of the country in the U.S.

Despite that view, Mark previews the finding in this year's report that real-world actions fall far short of business' positive attitudes towards corporate citizenship by saying that "the gap between attitudes and action seems sure to be fodder for a spirited discussion."
Join the discussion at http://www.corporatecitizen07.com.

Source: Pro Bono Australia

National Issues  

Australia's Apology to the Stolen Generations

Here is the full text of Australia's apology to the stolen generations, that was read by Prime Minister Kevin Rudd in parliament at 9am on 13 February 2008.

"Today we honour the Indigenous peoples of this land, the oldest continuing cultures in human history.

We reflect on their past mistreatment.

We reflect in particular on the mistreatment of those who were Stolen Generations - this blemished chapter in our nation's history.

The time has now come for the nation to turn a new page in Australia's history by righting the wrongs of the past and so moving forward with confidence to the future.

We apologise for the laws and policies of successive Parliaments and governments that have inflicted profound grief, suffering and loss on these our fellow Australians.

We apologise especially for the removal of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children from their families, their communities and their country.

For the pain, suffering and hurt of these Stolen Generations, their descendants and for their families left behind, we say sorry.

To the mothers and the fathers, the brothers and the sisters, for the breaking up of families and communities, we say sorry.

And for the indignity and degradation thus inflicted on a proud people and a proud culture, we say sorry.

We the Parliament of Australia respectfully request that this apology be received in the spirit in which it is offered as part of the healing of the nation.

For the future we take heart; resolving that this new page in the history of our great continent can now be written.

We today take this first step by acknowledging the past and laying claim to a future that embraces all Australians.

A future where this Parliament resolves that the injustices of the past must never, never happen again.

A future where we harness the determination of all Australians, Indigenous and non-Indigenous, to close the gap that lies between us in life expectancy, educational achievement and economic opportunity.

A future where we embrace the possibility of new solutions to enduring problems where old approaches have failed.

A future based on mutual respect, mutual resolve and mutual responsibility.

A future where all Australians, whatever their origins, are truly equal partners, with equal opportunities and with an equal stake in shaping the next chapter in the history of this great country, Australia."

The Sorry Day Pledge Books

Since the Sorry Book launch in 1998, thousands of non-Indigenous Australians have written messages and signed Sorry Books. These books presented an opportunity for non-Indigenous Australians to express their support, empathy and recognition for the injustices experienced by the Stolen Generations, their families and communities as a result of the removal policies.

The Sorry Day Pledge Books present an opportunity for the Australian public to reconfirm and further demonstrate their commitment towards reconciliation, by making a pledge of support towards the fulfilment of the 54 Recommendations of the "Bringing Them Home Report", ensuring Indigenous Australians the Equality, Justice and Human Rights, to which they are entitled.

Click here to sign the National Sorry Day Committee's on line Pledge Book

Australia 2020 Summit

The Prime Minister of Australia Kevin Rudd will convene an Australia 2020 Summit at Parliament House on 19 and 20 April to help shape a long term strategy for the nation’s future.

The Summit will bring together some of the best and brightest brains from across the country to tackle the long term challenges confronting Australia’s future –challenges which require long-term responses from the nation beyond the usual three year electoral cycle.

To do this, the Government will bring together 1000 leading Australians to the national Parliament to debate and develop long-term options for the nation across 10 critical areas:

  1. Future directions for the Australian economy – including education, skills, training, science and innovation as part of the nation’s productivity agenda
  2. Economic infrastructure, the digital economy and the future of our cities
  3. Population, sustainability, climate change and water
  4. Future directions for rural industries and rural communities
  5. A long-term national health strategy – including the challenges of preventative health, workforce planning and the ageing population
  6. Strengthening communities, supporting families and social inclusion
  7. Options for the future of indigenous Australia
  8. Towards a creative Australia: the future of the arts, film and design
  9. The future of Australian governance: renewed democracy, a more open government (including the role of the media), the structure of the Federation and the rights and responsibilities of citizens
  10. Australia’s future security and prosperity in a rapidly changing region and world.

Participants will be selected by a 10 member non-government Steering Committee. The Summit will be co-chaired by the Prime Minister and Professor Glyn Davis, Vice Chancellor of the University of Melbourne.

He is also inviting all Australians to contribute their ideas as we look ahead to how Australia will tackle all these challenges. This website is a great way for you to have input to how we plan for our common future.

The Summit website has now been launched. For all the details, including how you might participate, visit: http://www.australia2020.gov.au/

 

WOMEN have scored three of the four most heavyweight jobs with Prime Minister Kevin Rudd

Deputy Prime Minister Julia Gillard will lead Labor's education revolution, joining this responsibility to her already heavy workload as Industrial Relations Minister.

This puts her control of two of the most important issues facing Kevin Rudd - overturning WorkChoices and implementing his education revolution.

Mr Rudd, whose team will be sworn in on Monday, says she can handle the pressure.

"Julia Gillard is a formidable individual with formidable talents, formidable abilities," he said. She will be one of a record seven women ministers, four of whom will be in Cabinet, the most ever.

Senator Penny Wong from South Australia has also received a huge promotion and will be a Cabinet minister in charge of climate change and water - an issue Mr Rudd sees as "core business" for his Government.

While she gets the hard business end of the environment portfolio, former rock star Peter Garrett will also be in Cabinet in charge of the environment, heritage and the arts - managing solar energy and other programs.

First-time MPs Maxine McKew, has been made parliamentary secretary - or minister in training.

And second-term South Australian MP Kate Ellis has been made the youngest minister ever. At 30 she will aptly take on the role of Minister for Youth and Sport.

She eclipses former prime minister Paul Keating who, at 31, was appointed to the ministry in the dying days of the Whitlam Government.

Nicola Roxon has kept her portfolio and will be Health Minister. Jenny Macklin will be in charge of Families and Community Services and Indigenous affairs. Tanya Plibersek will be in charge of housing and the status of women.

Excerpts from article by Sue Dunlevy, Daily Telegraphy, Nov 30 2007

Ethical leaders who made a difference in 07

Two Australians have made it into a global list of ethical leaders who made a difference in 2007.
Ethical Corporation in the UK selected 15 individuals from business, politics and civil society who have done most to push forward the case for responsible business in 2007.
And the two Australians who have made it onto this exclusive global list are, at number seven Noel Purcell the General Manager of stakeholder communications at Westpac Bank and at number 14 Penny Wong an Australian Labor Party senator and new climate change minister.

Ethical Corporation says over the past ten years Noel Purcell has worked behind the scenes to implement a huge turnaround in the bank's corporate social responsibility. He was the first in the bank to make significant ethics-related internal changes by working directly with the chief executive. He has been the person with ultimate responsibility after the chief executive for implementation.

EC says Westpac is today a responsibility leader, not just in Australia but globally.
According to Ethical Corporation Penny Wong is the most progressive politician on corporate social responsibility worldwide. Wong was appointed in 2004 as shadow minister for employment and workforce participation, and shadow minister for corporate governance and responsibility for the Labor opposition in 2004. Since December 2006, she has been shadow minister for public administration and accountability as well as remaining shadow minister for corporate governance and responsibility and shadow minister for workforce participation.

Largely as a result of her efforts, EC says the two houses of the Australian Parliament conducted a joint public enquiry into corporate social responsibility. The resulting report, "Corporate Responsibility: Managing Risk and Creating Value", was released last year and remains one of the best of its kind. Following the victory of the Labor party in November's elections, Wong has been appointed minister for climate change and water.

Source: Source: Ethical Corp 

Gender Pay Gap & Paid Maternity leave requires Government Action says the Democrats

The Government must implement a national pay equity tribunal within its reformed industrial relations system, according to the Australian Democrats. 

The tribunal should deal specifically with gender pay inequity within the workforce, in light of concerning reports about the growing gender pay gap.  

“Women achieved formally the right to equal pay in 1972 yet, a report released today by the Equal Opportunity for Women in the Workplace Agency shows that women are now enduring a pay gap of 35% below that of their male counterparts,” Democrats’ Spokesperson for the Status of Women, Senator Natasha Stott Despoja said. 

“It is extremely concerning that female CEOs in Australia today are earning just two thirds of the wage of their male counterparts, with female chief financial officers and chief operating officers earning half the amount their male counterparts attract. 

“These figures and the fact that Australia trails other comparable economies in the area of gender equity, should be a wake up call, not only to business and industry, but also the new Federal Labor Government. 

“Pay disparity is not solely a responsibility of business: the Government can show leadership and implement measures to prevent further gender discrimination in the workforce,” Senator Stott Despoja said. 

The Australian Democrats have welcomed reports today that the Rudd Government will consider introducing a government-funded paid maternity leave scheme, but said working families expect more. 

“Finally there seems to be movement on this issue but the Government's commitment to a Productivity Commission inquiry does not guarantee the introduction of a paid maternity leave scheme,” Democrats’ Work & Family Spokesperson Senator Natasha Stott Despoja said.   

"What assurance do we have that the Rudd Government will implement the Productivity Commission's findings? 

"Some women's organisations see this inquiry as a way forward but they are also aware that we have had a Senate inquiry into my Private Senator's Bill for paid maternity leave, as well as former Sex Discrimination Commissioner Pru Goward's extensive inquiry into these issues. We are tired of prevarication, its time for a policy response. 

"Australia is one of only two OECD countries without paid maternity leave, when its health and economic benefits are proven around the world,” Senator Stott Despoja said.

Future of School in Australia Report

On 13 October 2006, the Council for the Australian Federation established a steering committee to review the Adelaide Declaration on National Goals for  Schooling in the Twenty-First Century, which the States, Territories and the Commonwealth jointly signed in 1999. The committee comprised the senior official from each of the State and Territory education departments, a representative from the senior officials of State and Territory Premiers’ and Chief Ministers’ departments, a representative from the Australasian Curriculum Assessment Certification Authorities and Professor Barry McGaw.

In reviewing the Adelaide Declaration, the committee addressed the following questions:

1 What have been the achievements of cooperative federalism in the area of school policy since the Adelaide Declaration?

2 How do Australian schools perform by international standards?

3 Is the time ripe for a new statement on the future of schooling in Australia and, if so, what should it include?

4 In the light of a new statement, what actions should the States and Territories take, collaboratively, to further promote high-quality schooling across Australia?

Their deliberations resulted in a new Statement on the Future of Schooling in Australia by the States and Territories and a twelve-point action plan  which was endorsed by First Ministers in April 2007.

Online Self-Assessment Tool (OSAT)

 

As attention starts turning to what you will be doing next year, we thought it a good opportunity to bring your attention once again to the Online Self-Assessment Tool (OSAT).
This has been developed to assist Learning Choices programs and schools to understand and identify your program's strengths and weaknesses.  It also enables you to see how your program rates against the average of all programs using OSAT, and provides a comprehensive list of relevant resources which are freely available to download from the website.

A survey of programs who have used OSAT found that it was most useful to:

* Inform their strategic planning process
* Guide their planning prior to an audit
* Unify diverse parties (staff/organisations) to an identified common cause rather than individual outcomes
* Guide future projects
* Access relevant resources relating to areas of their program that could be improved

The tool is freely available online at the following website.  This website has been developed to assist you and your alternative learning choices program(s) understand your program's wellbeing (its strengths and weaknesses) by reporting:
• How healthy your program is and what makes a program healthy
• Areas that are tracking well or need improvement
• How your program rates against the average of all programs
• Useful links and contacts for continuous improvement

To find out more and to register visit http://www.dsf.org.au/learningchoices/assessmenttool/  

DSF does not monitor, collect or retain your individual data from OSAT.  The only individual information we gather is your registration details so that we can seek comment on possible improvements to the tool at a later date.

If you have any questions, please don't hesitate to contact Dusseldorp Skills Forum on 02 9571 8347 or info@dsf.org.au

 Building Livable Communities

A Hunter New England Area Health Service research report has examined the key components in building liveable communities in the Lower Hunter Region of NSW as identified by developers, planners, health and social welfare agencies and the community. A consequent resource ‘Building Liveable Communities in the Lower Hunter Region’ has been developed to assist the urban planning industry to incorporate health and social outcomes of proposed developments as well as determining the health and social outcomes of proposed developments. A presentation by Karen Gillham, Service Director, Health Promotion, Hunter New England Population Health, providing details relating to the resource is available on the PCAL website at: http://www.pcal.nsw.gov.au/resources/presentations.html.

A copy of the two documents is also available at: Building Liveable Communities in the Lower Hunter Region:

http://www.pcal.nsw.gov.au/PDF/building_liveable_communities.pdf and Creating Liveable Communities in the Lower Hunter Region http://www.pcal.nsw.gov.au/PDF/creating_liveable_communities.pdf.

Gehl’s vision to reclaim Sydney’s heart

International urban design expert, Jan Gehl has proposed a range of initiatives to make Sydney’s CBD more attractive liveable and sustainable in his report Public Spaces Public Life Sydney 2007 recently submitted to the City of Sydney.

The report contains a list of recommendations to help make Sydney a more vibrant, walkable and liveable city under the general headings of; A waterfront city, A green connected city, A better city for walking and cycling, A strong public transport city, A traffic calmed city, A strong city identity, An inviting streetscape, A diverse, safe and lively city. The full report and recommendations are available at: http://www.sydneymedia.com.au/html/3449-the-gehl-report--a-blueprint-for-greener-more-vital-connected-cbd.asp

No fear: Growing up in a risk averse society

Parents, professionals and decision makers all need to become more tolerant of adversity and accept that misfortune, uncertainty and even a little danger are all essential ingredients of a healthy, happy childhood, according to a visiting UK children’s play expert. Tim Gill, previous Director of UK’s Children’s Play Council, claimed during a recent NSW presentation that ‘if children and young people are to enjoy and make the most of their lives, we need to revisit and revise our ideas of what a good childhood looks and feels like and make neighbourhoods and communities more child-friendly. To listen to a podcast of Tim Gill’s presentation see: http://lectopia.uwa.edu.au/lectopia/lectopia.lasso?ut=278&id=78041

and for designing for active living among children details see: http://www.activelivingresearch.org/alr/alr/files/Built_Design.pdf.

More information about healthy and active children in NSW is available on the NSW Healthy Kids website (www.healthykids.nsw.gov.au) which has recently posted nine useful healthy lifestyle fact sheets, with titles such as ‘Kids and Getting Active’ & ‘Reducing Television Times’ in a number of different languages at: http://www.healthykids.nsw.gov.au/topics/2092.html#factsheets

Ministerial Code of Conduct

The Audit’s Norman Abjorensen comments on the recently released Ministerial Code of Conduct—called Standards of Ministerial Ethics—by the Rudd Labor government: 

Ministers’ shareholdings and post-separation employment are to be restricted under new transparency measures announced by the new Labor government.  A new ministerial code of conduct imposes a 12-month ban on departing ministers having business dealings with MPs, public servants or defence personnel on any matter they dealt with in their official capacity during their last 18 months in office. In addition, departing ministers will have to undertake not to take advantage of their previous position as a minister. 

However, the measures fall well short of independent scrutiny and enforcement, as has long been advocated by the Audit and other bodies such as the Australasian Study of Parliament Group. 

The trend overseas, driven by a perceived need to address growing public disenchantment with government is to move towards some form of independent oversight, such as provided by a statutory ethics commissioner, as in Canada.

Standards of Ministerial Ethics: http://democratic.audit.anu.edu.au/misc/RuddMinCodeConduct.pdf

VICHEALTH: Preventing Violence before it occurs

The Victorian Women's Trust is currently running a violence-prevention project engaging with young men, having received funding from Vichealth to trial the project in groups around Victoria.

Vichealth dedicates a lot of its health promotion work to addressing violence against women, as it found in its 2006 study that violence against women is the "largest preventable contributor to disease burden in women aged 15–44 years".

In 2003 VicHealth identified violence against women as a priority as part of a broader program of activity aimed at addressing the preventable causes of poor mental health. This form of violence was identified given the strong evidential link between violence and anxiety, depression and other mental health problems.

VicHealth has placed particular emphasis on strengthening primary prevention responses to this problem, working in partnership with others across a range of sectors and settings .

In 2006 the Victorian government identified the need to develop a whole-of-government plan to guide activity in the primary prevention of violence against women. This undertaking was made recognising that, while there was a growing momentum of support for primary prevention, it was important this was consolidated and sustained through sound evidence-informed policy, coordinated action and appropriate resource allocation.

To support the planning process the first phase was undertaken by VicHealth in the context of a partnership between it and the Victorian Government. It involved the development of a conceptual framework to guide action to prevent violence against women, based on a review of existing research evidence and input from a range of local and national experts. The end result is this publication Preventing violence before it occurs: A framework and background paper to guide the primary prevention of violence against women in Victoria

This framework is designed to provide a sound theoretical and evidence base to support future government, community and corporate sector activity to prevent violence against women. It identifies priority strategies, settings and population targets.

You can see the publication here, along with several supporting documents, all created by VicHealth.

Multiple copies of both this and the Violence Against Women: Community Attitudes Survey can be ordered from cnicholls@vichealth.vic.gov.au