UNITED NATIONS GENERAL ASSEMBLY

Mr President

Five years ago at the Fourth World Conference on Women, Australia joined with other Member States to affirm our commitment to women.

This distinguished forum provides a unique opportunity for us to learn from and build on one another's experiences since that time and to renew our efforts to address the challenges that remain.

I am honoured to be here today to reflect on progress since Beijing and to join in working together to further advance opportunities for women throughout the world.

Mr President

The Beijing Platform For Action was a rallying point for action for women's equality in all spheres.

The Australian Government has worked hard to give practical effect to the Beijing principles and policy recommendations and has developed a powerful agenda for empowering women, firmly based on respect for women's equality and opportunities. Our record of achievement stands as a testament to this:

· 25 % of Commonwealth Parlametarians are women, nearly double the international average, and women occupy 31% of positions on Commonwealth boards;

· More women than men complete the final years of secondary education and enter university: In 1999, women outnumbered men in undergraduate medical education courses for the fiat time;

· Women are sharing in Australia's sound economic performance and from reforms to taxation,

family assistance, support for those in need and more flexible retirement savings;

· There are more women in paid work than ever before -a record high of 65% of working age women are in the paid workforce (March-2000). Women's unemployment as at its lower level in 10 years and the gender gap in wages is a record low of 15% ;

· Around 35% of small business operators are women and the number of women in apprenticeships and traineeships has grown dramatically from 1996 to 1999 - an increase of almost 150% (from 34,000-in 1996 to 83;750 in 1999):

· The number of child care places increased from 269,000 in 1995 to a record high of 430,000 in 1999.

· There has been a decrease in the number of women who have died from breast cancer, over the last two years.

· There is greater community awareness and less tolerance of violence against women than in the past.

Mr President,

The Australian Government remains firmly committed to improving opportunities and choice for women. An effective government agenda to promote the status of women relies on good governance, fiscal responsibility and the involvement of all sectors of society - public, private and civil.

Within this context, the Australian Government is committed to a robust legal and institutional framework to protect women against discrimination and through both targeted and mainstream policies to provide practical support for women in paid and unpaid work.

The Government's strategies include:

• Major economic reforms to improve the wellbeing of all Australians;

• Educative partnerships across all levels of government and the business and community sectors to address social issues; and

• A strong focus on preventative strategies to tackle problems at their source.

Since 1996, Australia has introduced far-reaching economic reforms that are providing greater financial security for women. Women - whether they are single workers, bringing up families or in retirement - all benefit from this dynamic economic environment.

Australian women are benefiting from deregulation of the financial system, a stronger monetary policy framework, low inflation, low interest rates, better workplace relations and - from July 1 2000 - a whole new taxation system.

Women are benefiting from Australia's new workplace relations legislation, which enables employers and employees to sit down together to tailor flexible working arrangements to suit their needs. Women are now able to build `family friendly' arrangements into their working conditions at the enterprise level. Reforms to superannuation are helping more women to plan for a secure retirement and to reduce the number of older women living in poverty.

The Government is also actively supporting employers to adopt better equal employment opportunity strategies, with an emphasis on education, facilitation and practical advice.

Training programmes have been set up to help women re-enter the workforce, including familiarisation with new information technologies.

There are more women in leadership and more educative programmes to increase women's awareness of the political system.

The new Parenting Payment coupled with new and substantial tax cuts for women with young children provide greater financial independence, as well as recognition of women's valuable unpaid work in the home.

Mr President,

The spirit of cooperation so evident at Beijing recognised that all actors must work together if women's equality is to become a reality. Governments alone cannot deliver equality for women.

Australia has introduced a powerful new social reform agenda called `Social Coalitions'. The Australian Government has taken the lead in building collaborative links with business and community groups, where each partner contributes their strengths and expertise to address social issues. The Australian approach emphasises prevention as well as cure.

The Stronger Families and Communities Strategy, introduced earlier this year, will support women in balancing work and family commitments and strengthen the communities they live in by investing in community capacity building at the local level.

Women in rural communities are benefiting from the delivery of health services for rural women and more research into women's health needs.

Australia has undertaken far-reaching reforms to combat violence against women:

Mr President

Australia believes very much in harnessing the skills and talent of all members of our society if we are to build a better future. However, we still have some way to go before women truly achieve equality.

The Government recognises that Australia's extensive cultural diversity requires specialised measures to meet the concerns of women from these backgrounds and has introduced a range of initiatives to promote a harmonious Australia.

It is vital that governments maintain their efforts to fight discrimination and harmful social attitudes so that women can reach their full potential.

Australia commends the valuable work that has already been done by governments and other key actors around the world to empower women. The Beijing Plus Five Political Declaration and Outcomes Document will contribute to an empowering agenda for women. Political commitment, partnerships across all actors, and innovative `leading edge' practices are powerful ingredients for empowering women.

In this regard, Australia hopes its own experiences may be of interest and value to colleagues at this critical point five years after the Beijing Conference. We see this as a unique and important opportunity to share experiences and to move forward together.

Thank you Mr President