SUBMISSIONS, REPORTS AND MEDIA RELEASES

Education is a key issue for AFUW, with particular emphasis on tertiary education and on the education of girls and women. AFUW is concerned, through its Council and its Standing Committee on Education, to formulate educational policy and to act as an advocate for these policies and on educational issues generally. It pursues the latter aim through advocacy in its own name to State and Federal Governments and also through co-operative advocacy with other non-government organizations and participation in consultative processes.
Below, in descending chronological order, are recorded most current and past submissions and representations made on behalf of AFUW to the Australian Government and other official agencies, examples of revised and new AFUW and IFUW conference resolutions and some relevant reports and various media releases. This material displays AFUW policies and attitudes on education, and on other issues of concern to our membership, especially the preservation of peace and the protection of the human rights of women and children

2008

Email message to the Minister for Superannuation in support of his suggestion that the tax on superannuation contributions should be waived for women in order to bring their retirement incomes more into line with those of men.

Click here to download message

Submission and Supplementary Submission to the Bradley Review of Higher Education (July 2008).
The Submission makes 31 recommendations relating to the characteristics of a university, funding, staffing, staff student ratios, research and teaching, access for low SES and Indigenous studentsand financial support for students. The Supplementary Submission provides additional material based on consultation with Aboriginal community members.

Click here to download the submissions: AFUW Submission    Additional AFUW Submission

Letter to Minister for Immigration re abolition of temporary protection visas and need to deal with longterm immigration detainees (May 2008).
Click here to download letter.

Letter to the Minister for the Status of Women re an Equity Problem for Postdoctoral Fellows and Maternity Leave (May 2008). Similar letters were sent to the Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Education, Workplace Relations and Social Inclusion; the Minister for Families, Housing, Community Services and Indigenous Affairs, the Sexual Discrimination Commissioner (HREOC); the Chair of Universities Australia and the Executive Officers of the Australian Research Council and the National Health and Medical Research Council.
Click here to download letter

Submission to the Productivity Commission Inquiry into Improved Support for Parents with Newborn Children (Paid Maternity Leave), April 2008.
The submission argues for a universal, government-funded system of paid maternity leave for all women in the workforce.
Click here to downlod Submission.

Submission to Sex Discrimination Commissioner Elizabeth Broderick of the Human Rights and Equal Opportunity Commission on issues of economic independence for women, work and family balance across the life cycle and freedom from discrimination, harassment and violence (March 2008).
Click here to download the Submission

Submission to the Treasurer, Wayne Swann, re education funding in the 2008 budget, especially the need for increased funding across the sector, measures to restrain the rising cost of education and to alleviate student poverty, equitable access to quality education and continuing gender issues in employment in the universities (January 2008).
Click here to download the Submission

Letter to Minister for Foreign Affairs re withdrawal of Guidelines preventing use of AusAid money in developing countries for disseminating information about certain types of birth control and abortion. Copies to the Prime Minister, Minister for the Status of Women, and Member for Moore. (January 2008).
Click here to download letter

2007

Letter to the Prime Minister requesting Australia’s support for a UN Women’s Agency; copies to Minister for Foreign Affairs and Leader of the Opposition. (September 2007).
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Letter to Minister for Education, Science and Training and Minister Assisting the Prime Minister on the Status of Women urging re-consideration of Centrelink Guidelines on conditions relating to study undertaken in fulfilment of conditions of Welfare to Work regulations; copies to Shadow Minister for Status of Women and Council for the Single Mother and her Child (August 2007)
Click here to download letter

Letter to Prime Minister opposing the acquisition by the Australian Defence Forces of cluster munitions or submunitions-based weapon systems; copies to Leader of the Opposition, Minister and Shadow Minister for Defence (July 2007).
Click here to download letter

AFUW Advocacy Action Report to the 29th IFUW Triennial Conference held in Manchester, England during August 2007

AFUW reported in June 2007 on follow-up actions undertaken during the 2004-07 triennium on resolutions adopted by the 2004 Conference in Perth or earlier Conferences or in response to advocacy messages from IFUW. The detailed report indicates which resolutions and the type of action AFUW has undertaken - e.g. investigated the situation in Australia, submitted papers to the Australian and State/Territory governments, met with government officials and/or focus groups to discuss concerns, or organized a special project or event to address the issue.
Click here to down load the Report

The IFUW resolutions can be seen at http://www.ifuw.org/resolutions/resolutions-year.htm

Letter to the Treasurer re anomaly in legislation on tax deductibility for scholarships for PhD and Masters students (April 2007)
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Letter to Minister for Communications urging Commonwealth Funding for Indigenous Community Radio. (April 2007).
Click here to download letter
Click here to download letter

Letter to Prime Minister urging that Australia be an early signatory to the UN Convention on the Protection and Promotion of the Rights and Dignity of Person with Disabilities and to its Optional Protocol; copy to the Leader of the Opposition. (February 2007).
Click here to download letter

Letter to Minister for Foreign Affairs calling on the Australian Government to advocate for the protection of the human rights of Fijian women when participating in the international peacekeeping delegation (January 2007)
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Letter to Minister for Foreign Affairs calling on the Australian Government to take steps to protect Iraqi female academics and students from assault. (January 2007). Document
Click here to download letter

2006

Letter to Minister for Foreign Affairs enquiring as to progress in Australia’s ratification of the UN Protocol Against the Illicit Manufacturing of and Trafficking in Firearms, their Parts and Components and Ammunition (December 2006)
Click here to download letter

Letter to the Minister for Health urging that the Cervical Cancer Vaccine, Gardasil, be part of the National Immunisation Programme. Copies to Prime Minister and Shadow Minister for Health (November 2006).
Letter to Minister for Indigenous Affairs urging that the vaccine be provided to women in remote areas, especially Indigenous women (December 2006)
Click here to download letters

2005

Letter to the Prime Minister imploring that Australia demand that the women of Iraq are given full equal rights under the constitution being developed now (August 2005).
Click here to download letter (pdf 52KB)

Similar letters were sent to the Minister for Foreign Affairs (pdf 51 KB, Shadow Minister for Foreign Affairs (pdf 50KB) and Leader of the Opposition (pdf 51 KB).

Letter to the Federal Minister for Education, Science and Training voicing opposition to the abolition of voluntary student unionism; copies to Prime Minister, Leader of the Opposition, Shadow Minister for Education, Leader of Democrats, Leader of Greens (July 2005).
Click here to download letter (pdf 47KB)

Submission to House of Representatives Standing Committee on Education and Vocational Training- Inquiry into Teacher Training (March 2005).
Recommendations:
That all Education Faculties should accept as policy the following recommendations (recently made to the Victorian Institute of Teaching), namely
That all pre-service programs ensure that all teacher graduates have participated in a range of educational experiences that have:

• been developed in conjunction with local Indigenous communities and/or Indigenous peak bodies
• raised the awareness of historical, cultural, socio-economic and educational issues concerning Australia’s Indigenous peoples
• focused on appropriate pedagogy and curriculum for Indigenous students;
  That, as soon as is feasible, an audit be conducted by the accrediting body in each State to establish that the policy is being put into practice in every institution responsible for teacher training;

Building University Diversity: Future Approval and Accreditation Processes for Australian Higher Education. A Response to the Ministerial Issues Paper (April 2005).
Click here to download response (word doc 123KB)

Submission to the House of Representatives Standing Committee on Family and Human Service- Inquiry into Balancing Work and Family (April 2005).
Click here to download submission (pdf 127KB)

Letter to the Prime Minister requesting a list of the voting issues raised at UNHCR (The UN Refugee Agency) over the last 24 months and how Australia voted (January 2005).
Click here to download letter

Letter to the Prime Minister about adherence to the Geneva Convention by Australian Forces in Iraq (January 2005).
Click here to download letter

2004

AFUW comments about the Australian Government's responses to the Beijing Platform for Action questionnaire and Australia's combined 4^th and 5^th Reports on implementing the UN Convention on the Elimination of all forms of discrimination against women.
Click here to download entire submission

Submission to the Senate Select Committee on the Administration of Indigenous Affairs for the Inquiry on the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Commission Amendment Bill 2004 and proposed related changes to the administration of Australian Indigenous affairs policy (August 2004).
Click here to download entire submission

Submission to the Family and Community Statistics Section of the Australian Bureau of Statistics on the Time-Use Survey. (March 2004)
Click here to download entire submission

Submission to the DEST Review of the Higher Education Equity Programme (HEEP) (June 2004).
Click here to download submission

2003

Letter to Minister for Justice re package of measures to combat Trafficking in Women (October 2003).
Click here to download letter

Submission to the Inquiry of the Joint Parliamentary Committee on the Australian Crime Commission into Trafficking in Women for Sexual Services (September 2003).
RECOMMENDATIONS:

That Australia ratify the UN Protocol to Prevent, Suppress and Punish Trafficking in Persons, Especially Women and Children, and that it conform to that protocol in acting on the following recommendation;

That legislation be developed to specifically address trafficking as a crime. That this include legal definition of the crime and appropriate penalties for those convicted thereof, and that it include legal provisions for the treatment of the women involved that treat them as primarily victims in need of protection, not as themselves offenders. (see below for specifics);

That such legislation include protection for women who have consented to prostitution but have been deceived or uninformed as to the conditions under which it will be undertaken;

That such legislation be developed in consultation with community groups and NGOs with special interest and experience in problems relating to the exploitation of women and girls and various forms of violence directed against them;

That such legislation be developed in consultation with the States, so that uniform conditions apply and effective co-operation is facilitated between the Australian Crime Commission, the Australian Federal Police and the law enforcement bodies of the States and Territories;

That the government establish a dedicated unit within the Australian Federal Police with sufficient staff and resources for intelligence gathering and sharing. The unit to set up a database in order to determine the extent and manner of trafficking within Australia and to enable the unit to liaise and interact with other international, national, state and territory bodies.

That the protection offered to women and girls discovered to have been trafficked into Australia for sexual servitude include:
• alternative arrangements to detention in Villawood or Maribyrnong in cases where those identifiable as possible victims of trafficking are detained by DIMA;
• visa arrangements that (a) allow such women a period in which to recover from the physical and psychological trauma associated with sexual servitude and to decide whether they wish to provide the authorities with information which may lead to legal proceedings against other persons; and (b) allow such women to remain in Australia if they give information to the police or testify in subsequent legal proceedings, without such a visa being conditional on the success of any prosecution involved;
• that appropriate services (accommodation, counseling, income support) be provided to women identified as victims of trafficking.

That Australia accept a degree of responsibility to ensure the well-being of trafficked women who are returned to their country of origin, and that bi-lateral and multi-lateral initiatives are set up to ensure that these women are linked to support agencies in such countries;
Click here to download submission

Submission to the Senate Inquiry into Higher Education Funding and Regulatory Legislation (August 2003).
Summary of Submission:

1. The funding proposals inadequately address the needs of universities across the sector to ensure quality teaching, learning and research environments adequately staffed and serviced.
2. The funding proposals inadequately address the needs of students for equitable and affordable access.
3. The funding proposals inadequately address the life-long learning needs of the Australian community.
4. AFUW believes that public funding of the university sector could be made more adequate if the will of the government matched the priorities expressed by very large majority of respondents to the recent Age Poll who expressed their readiness to forego tax cuts in exchange for better funding of health and education.
   Click here to download submission

Letter (July 2003) to Minister for Education conveying Resolution from AFUW Triennial Conference on the exclusion of education from any GATS agreement:
The 32nd conference of AFUW opposes the inclusion of educational services in any General Agreement on Trade and Services (GATS) entered into by Australia on the grounds that

(i) inclusion would remove from Australia's control the content and the quality of the national education system which is a crucial element in the maintenance of Australia's cultural identity and its social and economic wellbeing; and
(ii) inclusion could require Australian governments to abandon the longstanding principle that their primary responsibility in education is to support a public system accessible to all.

Click here to download letter

Letter to the Prime Minister (copies to Minister and Shadow Minister for Foreign Affairs) re the Role of Women in determining a lasting peace in the Solomon Islands
(July 2003).
Click here to download letter

Fax to Minister of Immigration urging him to act in accordance with Family Court ruling on illegality of keeping child asylum seekers in detention (June 2003).
Click here to download Fax

Letter to Attorney-General opposing proposed legislative changes to the Powers and Composition of the Human Rights and Equal Opportunity Commission (May 2003).
Click here to download letter

Letter to the Minister assisting the Prime Minister on the Status of Women conveying AFUW Triennial Conference Resolution on Maternity Leave (May 2003)
The 32nd Conference of AFUW:

(a) affirms the need for employees to have access to paid parenting leave and flexible employment options to ensure that they can exercise their right to choose to combine paid work and parenting;
(b) urges the Federal Government to adopt the findings and recommendations of the Human Rights and Equal Opportunity Commission's report "A Time to Value – Proposal for a National Paid Maternity Leave Scheme"; and
(c) resolves to promote the HREOC report and its recommendations on paid maternity leave.

Click here to download letter

Letter to the Minister for Foreign Affairs conveying AFUW Triennial Conference Resolution on Foreign Aid: The 32nd Conference of AFUW urges the Federal Government to increase the amount of aid given to developing countries to the target set by the United Nations of 0.7% of gross domestic product, such aid to be substantially directed to programs to benefit women and children (May 2003).
Click here to download letter

Letter to Minister for Foreign Affairs re the situation of women in post-war Iraq. Copy to Shadow Minister (April 2003).
Click here to download letter

Letter to Minister for Education, Science and Training requesting funding to publish the results of research undertaken by AFUW nationally and through its State and Territory Associations on Support for Indigenous Education (April 2003). Click here to download letter and text of Application

Letter to Prime Minister drawing attention to League of European Women’s Declaration of Opposition to the Invasion of Iraq and calling on him to reconsider Australia’s commitment to armed intervention against Iraq. Copy to Leader of the Opposition. (February 2003).
Click here to download letter

2002

Letter to Minister for Immigration urging reconsideration of decision to withdraw temporary protection visas from East Timorese refugees (December 2002).
Click here to download letter

Letter to Minister for Foreign Affairs re Fifth Asian and Pacific Population Conference (APPC) and retention of Reproductive Rights in Programme of Action. Copy to Shadow Minister for Health (November 2002).
Click here to download letter

Letter to Minister for Foreign Affairs in support of Nomination of an Australian Women for the International Criminal Court (November 2002).
Click here to download letter

Letter to the Minister for Health requesting strong Australian contribution to Pacific input to the final meeting on the World Health Organization Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (September 2002).
Click here to download letter

Letter to Minister for Foreign Affairs opposing military action against Iraq (September 2002).
Click here to download letter

Second Submission to Higher Education at the Crossroads: Consultative Process of the Department of Education, Science and Training (September 2002).
Summary
This submission supplements AFUW’s earlier submission. It is a combined response to the following Issues Papers: Setting Firm Foundations: Financing Australian Higher Education; Striving for Quality: Learning, Teaching and Scholarship; Varieties of Excellence: Diversity, Specialisation and Regional Engagement

• AFUW submits that a policy of minimising public funding to universities and maximising their obligation to seek funding through market-driven and “user pays” policies entails potentially adverse effects on Australia’s national intellectual capital:
• attrition of disciplinary areas, and hence of the knowledge bank, through excessive tailoring of the curriculum to market demand (whether from corporations sponsoring specific and applied research; employers wanting certain kinds of graduate qualifications; or students driven solely by estimates of future employment opportunities or intellectual fashion);
• excessive dependence on full fee paying foreign students, with the risks of exacerbating unmet demand among Australian students, and a lowering of academic standards when inadequate allowance is made for the additional demands often placed on academic staff by such students;
• exclusion on financial grounds of students otherwise well-qualified to participate in tertiary studies or else an extension of their primary disadvantage through substantial indebtedness incurred in accessing universities.

AFUW submits that policies seeking to expand the already substantial component contributed by students to university funding will increase the degree of inequity in access to the benefits of education, especially as it relates to the situation of women.

AFUW submits that it is not only disadvantaged students but also disciplinary areas that are being excluded; that a species loss of disciplinary areas is resulting from crude measures of valuing courses and subjects, including their capacity to generate funds through attracting fee-paying students and external research funds.

AFUW submits that the most serious threats to the quality of university teaching are the excessive workloads resulting from cuts to staffing levels, and the casualisation of academic appointments.

AFUW submits that the comparable valuing of teaching and research is distorted by the distinctive visibility and variability of funding resulting from research activities as against teaching, a distortion intensified by the increasing dependence of the universities on the generation of funding to supplement inadequate operating budgets.

If universities are indeed to fulfil the vision cited in the Discussion Paper on Quality—to be places of culture and learning, custodians of intellectual freedom, of objectivity and unclouded minds, trainers of future leaders, and enrichers of the entire community, they cannot be subjected to crudely-defined, narrow market forces. And they will be expensive. But surely we should not have to relearn the truth of that slogan from an earlier period of hard times:

If You Think Education is Expensive, Try Ignorance
Click here to download complete submission

Submission on Indigenous Australians and Higher Education to Higher Education at the Crossroads: Consultative Process of the Department of Education, Science and Training (September 2002).
This submission complements earlier AFUW submissions. It concerns itself with a range of issues related to Indigenous Australians in Higher Education and Varieties of Learning: The Interface between Higher Education and Vocational Education and Training.
Click here to download complete submission

First Submission to Higher Education at the Crossroads: Consultative Process of the Department of Education, Science and Training (June 2002).
The submission argues a case for the following positions or recommendations:
• AFUW opposes any increase in the level of HECS contribution and urges the government to consider whether schemes such as Austudy and Abstudy are providing sufficient support to enable students to devote adequate time to their primary task of university study. It is concerned that increased fees and increased student poverty could result from acceptance of deregulation proposals to allow universities to fix their own fees.

• AFUW opposes extension of full-fee paying places for domestic students while qualified but less wealthy students are missing out in the present situation of unmet demand.

• AFUW submits that neither student fees nor external funding can be sufficient guarantee of a quality higher education system for Australia: only a proper level of government funding can do this. It further submits that the decline in government funding to higher education could be reversed if the will to do so were present.

• AFUW submits that staffing issues are crucial to quality and regrets an apparent element of hostility to academic staff in the Ministerial Discussion Paper. It recommends that more attention be given to the factors presently impinging on the capacity of academic staff to fulfil all aspects of their academic role at high quality.

• AFUW submits that excessive use of casual staffing threatens quality

• AFUW recommends that the review give consideration to particular factors negatively affecting women’s full participation in higher education whether as students or members of staff.
Click here to download complete submission

Letter to Minister for Education requesting reconsideration of termination of Commonwealth Funding for the Support of Asian Languages; copies to Prime Minister and Minister for Foreign Affairs (May 2002).
Click here to download letter

Submission to HREOC Inquiry into Children in Immigration Detention
Click here to download letter

Letter to Minister re Tidal Power in West Kimberleys
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Letter to Premier of W A re Ningaloo Reef
Click here to download letter

Letter to Minister for Justice and Customs re trafficked women
Click here to download letter

Letter to UN Human Rights Commissioner re Iranian women teachers
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Letter to Minister for Foreign Affairs re Optional Protocol to Convention on the Rights of Children (File name Downer re Child Prostitution)
Click here to download letter

2001

Letter to Prime Minister conveying Council Resolution calling for a halt to bombing of Afghanistan (November 2001).
Click here to download letter

Petition to UN Secretary General, President and Vice-President of USA and US Secretary of State to have Afghan Women represented at the Negotiating Table (November 2001).
Click here to download letter

Letter to Minister for Foreign Affairs urging that Australia sign the optional Protocols to the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child (September 2001).
Click here to download letter

Letter to Minister for Foreign Affairs opposing Australia’s participation in an American National Missile Defence scheme (July 2001).
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Letter to Minister for Justice and Customs conveying Council Resolution on Trafficking of Women (June 2001).
Click here to download letter

COUNCIL RESOLUTION

On 27 October 2001 the following Resolution was passed unanimously at the Council meeting of AFUW:

This Council Meeting of the Australian Federation of University Women re-affirms its commitment to the furthering of world peace and the promotion of societies in which the human rights of all women, men and children are respected.

In the light of this commitment Council cannot accept that the current bombing of Afghanistan is a justified and proportionate response to the abhorrent acts of violence perpetrated in America on 11 September 2001.

The bombing campaign involves unacceptable civilian casualties and continues the destruction of the physical infrastructure of a country already reduced to desperate poverty.

It inflames political tensions in a volatile region, provokes demonstrations of racist intolerance and intensifies an already acute refugee problem.

Council calls for an immediate halt to the use of violent military strategies to combat violence. It urges all those involved to invoke the authority and resources of the United Nations to set up negotiations to establish a just and stable system of government in Afghanistan.

Council further insists that no permanent and just resolution can be found in any negotiations involving the future of Afghanistan unless Afghan women are active participants and partners in the process. Only if this condition is met can the women of Afghanistan begin to hope for a future in which they enjoy access to education and its benefits, access to health care, freedom of movement, and the right to full participation in public life.

Submission from the Australian Federation of University Women Inc. to the Senate Inquiry into the Capacity of the Public Universities to meet Australia's Higher Education Needs.

AFUW submits that inadequate funding is severely impairing the universities' capacity to fulfil its obligation to produce highly trained minds, skilled in extending the boundaries of knowledge beyond contemporary and contingent market demands; and able to analyse and articulate issues for the future as well as for the present. (See Introduction and sections a, e and g)

AFUW submits further that the public university system is the most appropriate place in which such public benefits (which are of far greater significance than any individual's benefit) can be ensured. (See Section b) It follows that government must accept responsibility for the provision of adequate funding to sustain the public university system. While there will always be a proper and valued place for contributions from the private sector, these must not be allowed to over-ride the autonomy of the universities, or to exert undue influence on programs of teaching and research, or to draw undue private profit from the use of publicly-funded infrastructure. (See section b)

AFUW submits that inadequate funding is having deleterious effects on the quality and diversity of both teaching and research, through various factors such as poor staff morale, increased teaching and administrative workloads for staff at a time of increased demands for research productivity, overcrowding of classes, and stress on deteriorating infrastructure. Increasing dependence on external funding is tending to narrow both teaching and research activities. (See sections a and b)

In addition to shortage of funding, rapid changes in university management have produced internal tensions, especially over issues of freedom of information and academic freedom of speech. AFUW submits that many of the management problems affecting the performance of the university sector are a consequence of applying poor or inappropriate features of corporate management and governance. All these factors make it difficult for universities to attract and retain good staff. (See sections b, e and g)

Participation: equality of opportunity to participate in education is a pre-requisite of a just as well as a prosperous society. Measures must be taken to improve Indigenous participation. AFUW is concerned that the increasing expensiveness of education militates against improved participation of those from lower socio-economic backgrounds and may even reverse the growing participation of women. It is also concerned at the continuing under-representation of women in university staffing. (See section d).

Other matters of concern in this submission

• The Place of Information Technology and the Virtual Universityin the Future of Education;
• The position of General staff;
• The role of TAFE in the higher education sector.

Click here to download entire submission

Submission from the Australian Federation of University Women to the Senate Inquiry into Nursing Education

Australia's health services require nurses whose training involves a constant balancing of up-to-date theoretical knowledge, practical experience, and social skills. This cannot be achieved without good nursing education. To ensure its achievement the Australian Federation of University Women recommends:

(a) That there must be improved funding from Federal and State sources in order

to sustain high quality education programs both in Schools of Nursing and in those hospitals and other institutions in which nursing is practised;

(b) That nurse education must prepare nurses to be socially aware of the difference cultural backgrounds of those for whom they provide health services. In particular, in view of the deplorable state of Indigenous health, AFUW recommends that the education of Indigenous nurses to serve their local communities should be a matter of high priority;

(c) that a system of an internship year, such as was once practised in the teaching profession, be instituted as a means of bridging the theoretical and practical aspects of nursing, and developing the experience of social diversity necessary for nurses in contemporary society. Such internships should be undertaken in constructive partnership with health industry agencies.

Click here to download entire submission

Letter to Prime Minister urging that Australia sign the Optional Protocol to CEDAW
Click here to download file

Letter to Minister for Immigration re ending the incarceration of women and children asylum seekers in immigration detention
Click here to download file

2000

Letter to Minister for Immigration re Need for Changes in Conditions of Asylum Seekers in Immigration Detention
Click here to download file

MEDIA RELEASE

12 April 2000

AUSTRALIAN NGO PROVIDES ASIA-PACIFIC FORUM FOR WOMEN GRADUATES

The Australian Federation of University Women (AFUW) holds its 31st Triennial Conference at the University of Adelaide, 17-20 April with the theme "Lifelong Learning - Effecting Change in the Global Society". Graduate women from Thailand, the Philippines, Fiji, Vanuatu, Papua New Guinea and Samoa will attend, sponsored by AusAID. Other delegates are from New Zealand, United Kingdom, and all Australian States and Territories. The President of the International Federation of University Women, Linda Souter, arrives from Canada on 12 April.

The State Government has recognised the international dimension of the conference with financial support, and receptions will be held for the 100 participants at Government House and the Town Hall

Two days of the conference are open to non-members. There will be a workshop on Tuesday 18 April to assist non-government organisations to make a positive contribution to policy issues affecting women.

An all-day Seminar on Wednesday will focus on the conference theme of Lifelong Learning with well-known speakers including Professor Denise Bradley, Vice-Chancellor, University of South Australia, Dr Ngaire Brown, formerly AMA Adviser on Aboriginal Health Mrs. Cathy McGowan, President of Women in Agriculture, Ms Fij Miller, Small Business Advocate, Adelaide.

The conference will be opened by the Vice-Chancellor of the University of Adelaide, Professor Mary O'Kane, at 9.10 am in LG29 of the Napier Building, on Monday 17 April

MEDIA RELEASE

25 June 1999

BOOK LAUNCH

Meeting of Minds as Indigenous Education Experts Publish Findings

A National Conference on Indigenous Education, held in Adelaide last year, has resulted in the publication of 'Indigenous Education and the Social Capital - Influences on the Performance of Indigenous Tertiary Students',

Sponsored by the Australian Federation of University Women and supported by DETYA, it was published in collaboration with Curtin Indigenous Research Centre, the School of Cultural Studies and Yunggorendi, First Nations Centre for Higher Education and Research at Flinders University, and the Aboriginal Research Unit at the University of South Australia, the book was launched to-day at the Flinders City Art Gallery, in the presence of about 50 leading University personalities and experts in Indigenous Education.

The aim of the Conference was to provide the opportunity for Indigenous and non-Indigenous Australians to speak out about and build strategies to meet the unique needs that Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people have within the University sector and facilitate a better understanding of Aboriginal perspectives in education.

Comments from participants included

* courageous

* positive in its intent and outcome

* inspirational

* challenging and stimulating

The conference featured speakers from around Australia ranging from educators and media producers to Indigenous students and documentary filmmakers. Some of the thirty three speakers at the Conference included Jackie Huggins, author and Deputy Director, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Studies Unit at the University of Queensland; Daryle Rigney, Lecturer in Indigenous Studies/Education, Yunggorendi, Flinders University; Ann Flood, Director, Goolangullia Aboriginal Education Centre, University Western Sydney Macarthur; Veronica Arbon, Head of School of Community Studies, Batchelor, Northern Territory; Helen Curzon-Siggers, Director of the Monash Orientation Scheme for Aborigines and Karen Hughes, Documentary Producer

Some of the hard hitting conference presentations included Colleen Hayward, Deputy Chief Executive Officer, Aboriginal Legal Service of WA who spoke on 'Education by Edict - When all Else Fails - Blame the Victim' , where she warned that WA' s 1997 Education Bill could be this generation' s legitimisation of the removal of Aboriginal children from their families. Tanya Hosch, a previous student at the University of SA, gave her own personal account of racism experienced at university and discussed who should take responsibility for addressing racism in the tertiary education sector.

Nancia Guivarra, Producer of ABC' s AWAYE! Program, discussed the theft of cultural knowledge through Elizabeth Durack's fabrication of Eddie Burrup; Ray Beamish' s claims to Kathleen Petyarre' s work and Leon Carmen' s assumption of Wanda Koolmatrie, and the need for active inclusion of Indigenous culture at all levels of education. Christine Nicholls, Lecturer in Australian Studies at the Flinders University of SA, and who has spent a decade as Principal at a remote Aboriginal School in the Northern Territory, called for a Royal Commission into Indigenous Education to ensure equity in education, particularly at the level of secondary education, which she calls 'The Missing Link'.

Commenting on the conference, President of the Australian Federation of University Women, Dr Daphne Elliott said, 'This conference was an important one, particularly coming as it did when issues of reconciliation are foremost in many people' s minds. The conference aimed to highlight curriculum which is relevant to Indigenous cultures and models for successful study for Indigenous students - particularly as they relate to health and housing.'

'It was one of the most comprehensive forums for experts in their field to come together to discuss Indigenous education and its role in Australia. It is fitting that this event took place in South Australia, which has always played a lead role in the development of education in this country, The book is a rich and rewarding outcome from the Conference." Dr Elliott said.

The book was launched today by Professor Paul Hughes who is Director of Yunggorendi First Nations Centre for Higher Education and Research at Flinders University

MEDIA RELEASE

11 June 1998

Meeting of Minds as Indigenous Education Experts Gather for National Conference

A National Conference on Indigenous education, organised by the Australian Federation of University Women, will take place at the University of South Australia in Adelaide from 18-19 June 1998.

Titled 'Indigenous Education and the Social Capital - Influences on the Performance of Indigenous Tertiary Students' , the conference will feature speakers from around Australia ranging from educators and media producers to Indigenous students and documentary filmmakers. Some of the thirty three speakers at the Conference include Jackie Huggins, author and Deputy Director, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Studies Unit at the University of Queensland; Daryle Rigney, Lecturer in Indigenous Studies/Education, Yunggorendi, Flinders University; Ann Flood, Director, Goolangullia Aboriginal Education Centre, University Western Sydney Macarthur; Veronica Arbon, Head of School of Community Studies, Batchelor, Northern Territory; Helen Curzon-Siggers, Director of the Monash Orientation Scheme for Aborigines and Karen Hughes, Documentary Producer

Some of the hard hitting conference presentations include Colleen Hayward, Deputy Chief Executive Officer, Aboriginal Legal Service of WA who will speak on 'Education by Edict - When all Else Fails - Blame the Victim' ; where she will warn that WA' s 1997 Education Bill could be this generation' s legitimisation of the removal of Aboriginal children from their families. Tanya Hosch, a previous student at the University of SA, will give her own personal account of racism experienced at university and will discuss who should take responsibility for addressing racism in the tertiary education sector.

Nancia Guivarra, Producer of ABC' s AWAYE! Program, will discuss the theft of cultural knowledge through Elizabeth Durack's fabrication of Eddie Burrup; Ray Beamish' s claims to Kathleen Petyarre' s work and Leon Carmen' s assumption of Wanda Koolmatrie, and the need for active inclusion of Indigenous culture at all levels of education. Christine Nicholls, Lecturer in Australian Studies at the Flinders University of SA, and who has spent a decade as Principal at a remote Aboriginal School in the Northern Territory, will call for a Royal Commission into Indigenous Education to ensure equity in education, particularly at the level of secondary education, which she calls 'The Missing Link' .

Commenting on the conference, President of the Australian Federation of University Women, Dr Daphne Elliott said today, 'This conference is an important one, particularly coming as it does when issues of reconciliation are foremost in many people' s minds. The conference aims to highlight curriculum which is relevant to Indigenous cultures and models for successful study for Indigenous students - particularly as they relate to health and housing.'

'This is one of the most comprehensive forums for experts in their field to come together to discuss Indigenous education and its role in Australia. It is fitting that this event should take place in South Australia, which has always played a lead role in the development of education in this country' , Dr Elliott said.

MEDIA RELEASE

UNESCO WORLD CONFERENCE ON HIGHER EDUCATION THEME: "HIGHER EDUCATION IN THE TWENTY-FIRST CENTURY: VISION AND ACTION

PARIS, OCTOBER 5-9TH 1998

The Australian Federation of University Women Inc. (AFUW) has been actively involved in this important World Conference on Higher Education. The President, Dr Daphne Elliott was a member of the International Federation of University Women delegation, and the Education Committee Convener, Dr Marion Myhill, was attending as a member of the

Australian Government delegation.

Dr. Elliott comments that: "I am particularly delighted to see the prominence given to Lifelong Learning at the Conference. At last it has been recognised - internationally and nationally - that the time for lifelong learning has come. This is a very important step forward for women, particularly those who have had career breaks."

Dr. Myhill has focussed at the Conference on women's issues in higher education, equity and minority group access. She states: "It is very pleasing to hear that concern for gender equity and the issues relating to girls and women is very much part of the 'vision' for higher education in the twenty-first century right across the globe. Now we just have to make sure that this vision is translated into 'action'."

Considerable attention was given at the Conference to women's issues - most particularly through a special thematic debate on "Women and Higher Education: Issues and Perspectives" in which the IFUW President was a panellist. AFUW was also pleased to see the acknowledgment given within the Australian statement to the Conference to some of the concerns that it has with regard to the numbers of women taking postgraduate research degrees, and pursuing academic careers, particularly at higher levels, and also to the issues that arise for Indigenous women in our education system. These were well articulated at the Indigenous Education Conference held recently in Adelaide, which was organised by AFUW.

AFUW delegates warned that women's issues have still not yet been mainstreamed. However, at least the rights of women and the principles of equity and equal access to higher education have been universally endorsed by both developed and developing countries

MEDIA RELEASE

July 14, 1997

AUSTRALIAN FEDERATION OF UNIVERSITY WOMEN PARTICIPATES IN UNESCO REGIONAL CONFERENCE

The Australian Federation of University Women (AFUW) had a paper accepted for the UNESCO Regional Conference on Higher Education, "National Strategies and Regional Cooperation in the Twenty-first Century", held at the United Nations University in Tokyo, July 8 - 10. AFUW was the only Australian Non-Government Organisation represented. The paper entitled "The Implications for Higher Education in a Changing Economic and Social Environment" was presented by Dr. Daphne Elliott, President-Elect of AFUW and Visiting Scholar at Flinders University. (A brief outline of the paper is attached; full paper available.) Other delegates from Australia were a representative of DEETYA, three from the Australian Vice-Chancellors' Committee, and one from the Higher Education Council.

The UNESCO Regional Conference was one of a series in preparation for the World Conference on Higher Education to take place in Paris in September - October, 1998. The Tokyo Conference discussed the basic principles and strategies which will support the reform and development process of higher education in Asia and the Pacific in the 21st century. Arising from the Conference the Tokyo Declaration on Higher Education was adopted and a Plan of Action for its implementation was approved. Gender inequality was one of the main trends in higher education in the region in the observations set out in the Declaration.

AFUW participation in the Conference was made possible with the financial support of the South Australian Minister for the Status of Women, Hon Diana Laidlaw, MLC, UNESCO, and the State and Territory branches of AFUW Inc. JAL assisted with a special airfare.

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