A publication of the Ministry of Women's Affairs.
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Contents:
Are protection orders working for women?
Welcome to our new Minister, Lianne Dalziel
Massey joins non-profit sector research project
Gambling - pokies a problem for lonely, single women
CEDAW report underway
New look and content for website
Top award for New Zealand scientist
Scholarship winner aiming for the top
A celebration of our aging workforce
Calling Santa...
Women on the move
Fiordland's guardian angel
Nominations on track for 2010 goal
News in brief

Are protection orders working for women?

Research commissioned by the Ministry of Women's Affairs (MWA) into women’s experiences of protection orders is making good progress.

The Domestic Violence Act (DVA) 1995 is one important component of the legislative framework to prevent and reduce domestic violence.

Protection orders, issued by the Family Court under the DVA, are a key mechanism by which women can seek protection under the legislation. Improving the effectiveness of protection orders is therefore likely to improve the safety of women at risk from domestic violence.

In June 2005, MWA commissioned the University of Waikato to undertake the project. Researchers Ruth Busch, Neville Robertson, Roma Balzer, and Radha D’Souza will carry out 44 case studies of a diverse group of women, including those with and those without protection orders.

Over the coming few months, women involved in the case studies will be asked to describe their experiences of obtaining protection orders, the impact of protection orders and the response to breaches of the orders. The researchers hope to be able to identify those aspects of protection orders that are working well and areas for improvement - including barriers that prevent women from applying for and obtaining protection orders in the first place. Interviews will be supplemented, where possible, by affidavits and interviews with case informants such as the women’s lawyer. 

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The research will also include a literature review, an analysis of case law and an analysis of statistical information. Discussions with key people in the domestic violence field are being undertaken and the researchers have been asking people to contribute their views on the accessibility and effectiveness of protection orders.

Researcher Nevillipe Robertson says that the enthusiastic response from participants has been very helpful. ‘People are really keen to work out ways of making the Act work more effectively,’ he said.

An interagency advisory group of representatives from the Ministry of Justice, Ministry of Social Development, New Zealand Police and the National Collective of Independent Women’s Refuges has been established to provide guidance to the project. 

Although research is still in the early stages, some themes are emerging from discussions with focus groups of domestic violence practitioners. 

Practitioners believe there are inconsistencies in approaches to breaches of protection orders in different localities. For example, some areas are more likely to prosecute respondents who violate protection orders than other areas where there is little or no action.

Team member Ruth Busch, says another message emerging from domestic violence practitioners is that there are significant differences in approaches to breaches that involve psychological abuse as opposed to physical abuse. She says: ‘there seems to be a minimisation virtually of all breaches that involve psychological abuse and that’s an irony because many women will tell you that the psychological abuse is much worse than the physical abuse that they are subjected to’.

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Another theme emerging is that in some localities women are being encouraged to get undertakings rather than protection orders. An undertaking is a signed agreement by the perpetrator to stop being violent. They can be cheaper and easier to obtain than a protection order. However, if the perpetrator goes back on an undertaking there are no consequences – for example, the Police are not able to arrest for breach of an undertaking.

‘If a respondent gets a protection order made against him then he will be court mandated to attend a ‘stopping violence programme’. If he gets an undertaking he’s just a volunteer, he can go or not go, there are no sanctions against him,’ says Ruth. 

A further problem for women according to domestic violence practitioners is the cost associated with obtaining protection orders. Practitioners believe that current legal aid eligibility is low, but completing the protection order forms can often be difficult to do without a lawyer.

Interviews with individual women will progress over the next few months, and information will be analysed to identify what improvements are needed to the systems around obtaining and enforcing protection orders. It will be used to help MWA provide evidence-based policy advice as well as to inform various government strategies and policies regarding domestic violence.

The project is expected to be completed in the second half of 2006.

For more information please contact Margaret Young at the Ministry of Women’s Affairs on 04 916 5857 or email young@mwa.govt.nz

√   Action Plan
Action Plan for New Zealand Women, Well-being 3.2 Reduce the incidence and impact of violence on women.

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Welcome to our new Minister, Lianne Dalziel

I am very pleased to introduce myself as Minister of Women's Affairs. But first I want to pay tribute to my immediate predecessor, the Hon Ruth Dyson, who, in spearheading the development of the Action Plan for New Zealand Women, has made a significant contribution to the portfolio and laid the groundwork for all future work in this area. Of course, the position has been held by many extraordinary women: Dame Ann Hercus, Margaret Shields, Rt Hon Jenny Shipley, Hon Christine Fletcher, Hon Georgina Te Heu Heu, Hon Laila Harre and Hon Ruth Dyson, so I do have large shoes to fill.

Some of you will know that I asked for the Commerce and Small Business portfolios, but Women's Affairs has been an unexpected bonus. I particularly like the potential synergy between all three portfolios and I hope to explore that more fully over the coming months. My background is in law (I graduated from Canterbury University with an LLB in 1984) and I worked for the Canterbury Hotel, Hospital Workers' Union, so my history is representing the concerns of low-paid and usually vulnerable women workers. 

I attended the Christchurch meeting at Hagley Community College in the mid-1980s, when Ann Hercus was setting up the Ministry of Women's Affairs. The Women's Committee of the Canterbury Trades Council was well-represented there to ensure that the women we represented had their voices heard. We have come a long way since then.

In 1995 I attended the Fourth World Conference on Women when the Beijing Declaration & Platform for Action were adopted. Little did I consider that ten years later I would be given responsibility for these issues in New Zealand.

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I believe very firmly in the need for a Ministry of Women's Affairs and the continuing need for there to be gender analysis undertaken on key policy issues. I believe that it is critical to the quality of the policy making process. I worry that serious issues are written off as 'political correctness' when they need to be identified as having gender implications – for example women are overwhelmingly the victims of partner violence; women earn on average 18 percent less than men do; women university graduates earn about $6,000 less than male graduates within six months of leaving university; childrearing responsibilities continue to limit choices for women more than for men…the list goes on. 

It is vital that we continue to inform policy development in a way that acknowledges the reality of women's lives and the differences that exist.

I attended a function one week after becoming the Minister which truly inspired me on several levels and that was the YWCA's Young Leaders' programme. I met extraordinary women, who were mentors to young women who have the potential to be extraordinary, but not necessarily the means or opportunity to even see that potential within themselves. Role models and leadership are important in the complex world we live in and the more women who are prepared to put up their hands and be counted, the better.

 
Lianne Dalziel
MINISTER OF WOMEN’S AFFAIRS

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Massey joins non-profit sector research project

Massey University has joined a project to carry out extensive non-profit sector research over the next three years. 

The May edition of Panui outlined work underway by the Office for the Community and Voluntary Sector (OCVS), Statistics New Zealand and the community and voluntary sector to determine the economic contribution made by New Zealand’s unpaid sector. 

This qualitative research component will contribute to the Johns Hopkins University international comparative study of the non-profit sector, which New Zealand joined earlier this year. Reflecting the collaborative nature of the project, funding for the research has come from both government and philanthropic sources. The final report is due mid-2008.

Massey University’s work will complement the quantitative research by Statistics New Zealand.  This part of the work involves the collection of statistical data necessary to develop a ‘satellite account’ for the non-profit sector.

Massey University’s first job has involved working in collaboration with Statistics New Zealand and the Advisory Committee to determine which organisations fall within the non-profit sector. Work on this is already underway within Statistics New Zealand.  The initial thinking about definitions will be tested at various conferences, meetings and workshops over the next few months.  Government and community groups interested in the project attended the first of these meetings in early October.

For more information contact Diana Suggate, Office for the Community and Voluntary Sector, email Diana.Suggate001@msd.govt.nz or visit www.ocvs.govt.nz

√ Action Plan
Action Plan for New Zealand Women, Work-life balance 2.2.1: Build understanding of the value of unpaid and voluntary work, particularly time spent caring for dependants, by proposing and gaining support for the development of satellite accounts on household and non-profit organisations. 

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Gambling - pokies a problem for lonely, single women   

More than half of New Zealanders with gambling problems are women, compared to about 20 percent a decade ago. Research indicates that lonely, 30-something single women are becoming addicted to poker machines, with Auckland and Christchurch showing the most new clients.

Gambling researcher, Professor Max Abbott of the Auckland University of Technology said that the group aged between 25 and 35 and, increasingly, women showed the worst incidence of gambling.

Professor Abbott and colleagues at Auckland University of Technology’s (AUT) Gambling Research Centre conducted the seven-year study. It is the first study in the world to follow a community sample of problem gamblers, prospectively, over time.

For more information please contact Prof Max Abbott at the Auckland University of Technology, email:  max.abbott@aut.ac.nz

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CEDAW report underway

 Work is now well underway on the preparation of New Zealand’s sixth report to the United Nations on our obligations under the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW). 

CEDAW sets out an agenda for countries to end discrimination against women and every four years signatories report on progress. The CEDAW Committee then reviews the reports and makes comments and suggestions where it believes further progress is needed. The Ministry of Women’s Affairs (MWA) is currently working with government agencies to prepare New Zealand’s sixth report, due in March 2006. 

Like the previous report, it will contain a section called the Voices of New Zealand Women. The content of this section will be informed by consultation with women over the last four years, particularly that undertaken in developing the Action Plan for New Zealand Women. If you have any views about what information should feature in this section, please email engelbrecht@mwa.govt.nz or write to us at PO Box 10-049, Wellington.

There is further information on the MWA website, www.mwa.govt.nz, plus email updates for those who want to stay informed (email mwa@mwa.govt.nz if you want to receive this).

Finally, community groups are able to submit independent reports setting out their view on the way their government is meeting its obligations to the CEDAW agreement. These are called shadow reports. The National Council of Women (NCW) is coordinating a process to develop an independent shadow report for New Zealand. Information about contributing to that report is available on NCW’s website: www.ncwnz.co.nz 

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New look and content for website

The Ministry has just launched a new-look website with lots of new resources.

The site has the same address – www.mwa.govt.nz – but has been built from scratch to replace the old site. Research on the old site completed in 2002 asked users and potential users what types of information they would like to find on the Ministry’s site. The top two items were ‘information on women in New Zealand’ and ‘research/statistics on women in New Zealand’. 

‘When we were building the new site, we tried to reflect that interest with a new Women in New Zealand section,’ said Rod Scotts, Senior Communications Advisor for the Ministry. ‘It includes a great timeline which gives an overview of the history of women in New Zealand and brief information presented under the headings people tend to ask for, such as Pacific women, or women with disabilities.

‘For statistical information on all women in New Zealand we link to the excellent and up-to-date information on women on the Statistics New Zealand site. This is part of trying to take a whole-of-government approach – if another part of government has produced the information and already has it available on the web, we link to it rather than recreate it on our site.’

That kind of co-operation between government agencies was also a feature of the building of the site.

‘We received a great deal of support and other resources from the State Services Commission (SSC) and the site has been built using open-source software that SSC is developing for use on government sites. Open-source means no licence fees and the ability to develop the software for your own use, and then make it available to others who may benefit from it.’

The software includes a content management  system that allows MWA to update content itself, which will mean faster updates and cost savings.

Feedback on the new site is welcome – visit it and tell us what you think.
 

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Top award for New Zealand scientist

University of Auckland neurobiologist and senior lecturer Dr Johanna Montgomery has won a prestigious Finalist Award in the Eppendorf and Science Prize for Neurobiology.

She is the first ever recipient of the prize from the southern hemisphere.

The award acknowledges Dr Montgomery’s groundbreaking research into how the electrical circuitry within the human brain works and its significance in terms of human behaviour, understanding, learning and memory.

‘I have identified how these synapses change and form over time. I have also shown that the information-carrying abilities of synapses is far greater than previously thought,’ she says.

This international prize, established in 2002, encourages the work of promising young neurobiologists by providing support in the early stages of their careers. It is awarded annually for the most outstanding neurobiological research by young scientists, as described in a 1,000-word essay based on research performed during the past three years.

Congratulating Dr Montgomery on her achievement, Professor Stuart McCutcheon, University of Auckland Vice-Chancellor described her ‘among the leading young neuroscientists in the world’ and having ‘an enormous contribution to make’.

The modest Dr Montgomery, who said ‘it was a big surprise to win’, will travel to Washington DC in November for the award ceremony.  

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Scholarship winner aiming for the top

The winner of a prestigious scholarship for women undergraduates is aiming high, but in her position why wouldn’t she?
‘I want to be the leader of a large corporation or a professional director,’ says 21 year old Rachael Germann, one of this year's six international recipients of the Zonta International Jane M. Klausman Women in Business Scholarship. Earlier this year Rachael was named the sole New Zealand winner of the local division of the Scholarship.
Jane M. Klausman was a successful businesswoman in Syracuse, New York, who bequeathed funds to Zonta International for the purpose of setting up women in business studies scholarships.
The international scholarship, worth US$5000, aims to help women pursuing undergraduate degrees in business management overcome gender barriers, and is awarded annually by Zonta International.
Rachael has finished her BCom majoring in Finance – ‘an area I love’ – and has one year until completion of her LLB at the University of Auckland.
In July Rachael co-led a delegation of 14 university law students to the Asia-Pacific Model United Nations Youth Conference held at the University of New South Wales in Sydney, and last year she was a member of the New Zealand undergraduate team which came second in the Boston Consulting Group Business Strategy Competition held in Sydney.
Rachael's other career highlights to date include two years running her part-time business, etched glassware enterprise Vino and four years of Youthline telephone counselling.
Rachael says her love of finance means her initial career steps are likely to be as an equity analyst at an investment bank, her appetite whetted by three years part-time work for Macquarie New Zealand (including two summer internships).

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A celebration of our aging workforce

For most New Zealanders, reaching 65 heralds a welcome transition from the stresses of a busy career to a time of well earned relaxation, reflection and leisure. Not so for an extraordinary group of 13 women and men featured in a new book ‘Lifeswork’, to whom, in the words of Ernest Hemingway, ‘Retirement is the ugliest word in the language’.

Edited by Dr Judy McGregor and published with the assistance of the New Zealand Human Rights Commission, Lifeswork offers a unique and personal insight into the contribution older workers make and the satisfaction they gain from continuing to take an active part in the workforce.

Reflecting the demographics of our aging society, nine of the 13 interviews in Lifeswork are with women.  Dr McGregor says many women are still in paid employment in their late sixties right up until their late nineties. ‘These women are inspirational and are still working because they have skills and experience to offer, because it keeps them fit and active, and because they want to. The money they earn through working past the traditional retirement age is useful too.’ 

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The women whose stories feature in Lifeswork include:

• an 81 year old Department of Conservation hut warden on the Kepler Track
• An 85 year old historian, composer and writer (pictured)
• a 69 year old truancy officer for schools in the Foxton area
• a 92 year old who is the oldest local government employee in New Zealand
• a 96 year old botanist and research associate
• a 76 year old Motueka apple orchard worker, and
• an 89 year old rare book dealer.

The book challenges stereotypes held by employers, other work colleagues, and in society, about the value of older workers at a time when society is rethinking the consequences of an ageing labour market.

Lifeswork is published by Dunmore Publishing and is now available in bookshops around the country.

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Calling Santa

Forget dolls and toy trucks, these days it seems that a child’s Christmas is all about technology. Topping the wish list for today’s girls and boys are cell phones, money, cars and iPods. By age 14, a massive 84 percent are eagerly texting away on their mobile phones. The request for money may well be to pay for their bills!

These results are taken from ‘CensusAtSchool’ an online survey that was completed in September by Year 5 to Year 10 students throughout New Zealand.

Hosted by the Department of Statistics at the University of Auckland and sponsored by the Ministry of Education and Statistics New Zealand, CensusAtSchool is a non-profit, educationally motivated project that has uncovered some interesting information about how today’s younger generation are living their lives.

The 33,000 students aged between six and 17 who took part in the month-long survey were asked questions such as, who do kiwi children admire, what do they do in their spare time, how much do they spend on their cell phones and what do they want for Christmas?

Since the project was last run in 2003, with 18,000 students participating, this year’s survey indicated a significant increase in cell phone ownership – more than doubling for nine and ten year olds. By age 14, 84 percent of the children surveyed owned a cell phone, and 70 percent of respondents had sent text messages the previous day, with almost a quarter of them sending more than 50.  

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The median monthly expenditure on cell phones was $20, with one in five spending over $50. Almost half the children surveyed had their own TV and just over a quarter had their own MP3 player.

CensusAtSchool co-director Rachel Cunliffe from the University of Auckland’s Department of Statistics said that the survey asked the participants questions that aimed to provide real, relevant data to enhance statistical enquiry across the curriculum.

‘Information gathered will be added to an international database which will enable children to learn about data collection and how to make sense of it and information technology,’ said Rachel.

CensusAtSchool is part of an international effort to boost statistical capability among young people, and is also conducted in the UK, Australia, Canada and South Africa.

The 10 most popular Christmas present requests were:

Want to know more?
For more information, visit the CensusAtSchool website: http://www.censusatschool.org.nz

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Women on the move

Carron Blom is the New Zealand Young Engineer of the Year 2005. Carron leads the Beca Group’s Environmental Management sector, and provides overall technical and business development leadership to the team, as well as acting as Job Director on projects. Since joining Beca, Carron has played a key role in the development of its successful and profitable environmental consultancy. As Environmental Manager and Environmental Design Leader she has often established, and then redefined, the delivery of environmental solutions for infrastructure construction projects, many of which have been award winning. Carron is the third female winner since the first awards in 1996.

Tania Williams was a finalist in the New Zealand Young Engineer of the Year 2005. She is the Central Region Manager for Montgomery Watson Harza NZ Ltd (MWH). Responsible for 240 staff, 11 offices and annual revenue of $30 million, Tania has a broad range of technical and management responsibilities in New Zealand, Australia, the UK and USA.

Anne Urlwin has been appointed to the New Zealand Blood Service Board.

Vivian Kloosterman has been appointed to the Standards Council.

Robyn Kamira and Katrina Troughton have been appointed to the Digital Strategy Advisory Group.

Linda Grennell has been appointed National President, Māori Women's Welfare League.

Women have recently been appointed to three top New Zealand Diplomatic posts. Sarah Dennis is New Zealand’s next Ambassador to France. Ms Dennis has served as High Commissioner to Malaysia and has also served in Paris, London, New Caledonia, and Ottawa. She takes up her appointment in April next year. Lucy Duncan is New Zealand’s next Ambassador to Argentina.  Ms Duncan has served in Singapore, Geneva, and Vienna. She will take up her appointment in January next year. Ruth Nuttall took up her appointment this month as New Zealand’s first ambassador to Timor-Leste.  Ms Nuttall has extensive experience in the Asia-Pacific region, including as Deputy Director of the South East Asia Division.  

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Fiordland's Guardian Angel

Profile from the Nominations Service database

The Fiordland Marine Guardians is an advisory committee created under the Fiordland (Te Moana o Atawhenua) Marine Management Act. Committee members are responsible for providing advice to management agencies and ministers. They also facilitate and promote the integrated management of the Fiordland (Te Moana o Atawhenua) Marine Area.

Board Chair: Laurel Teirney
Deputy Chair: not yet appointed
Members: Alan Keys, Alan Mark, Ian Buick, John Steffens, Ken Grange, Laurel Teirney, Malcolm Lawson, Stewart Bull
Board member requirements:
• Knowledge, experience and expertise in one or more aspects relevant to the management of the Fiordland Marine Area such as: Conservation, Tourism, Recreation, and Marine Science
• Ability to network and consult effectively with stakeholders and community groups
• An understanding of effective governance and strategy
• An understanding of, or interest in developing an understanding of elements of environmental law relevant to the management of the Fiordland Marine Area
• Resident in the Otago or Southland regions. 

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Laurel Teirney is an aquatic scientist and resource management consultant.

From an early age Laurel had a passion for lakes, rivers and the coast. As a child, being on, in or under water was a constant delight. Later, zoology seemed like a natural choice of study and when Laurel found her love of water and zoology could be combined by working in fisheries and marine conservation, her career choice was clear.

Laurel grew up in Christchurch and completed her BSc (with First Class Honours) in Zoology at the University of Canterbury. She then moved to Wellington where she spent a large proportion of the next 17 years involved in freshwater research and management with the Ministry of Fisheries.

She changed her focus to the marine environment in 1989 and moved to Dunedin as the Senior Fisheries Management Officer for the Ministry in the South Region.

During this time Laurel was instrumental in facilitating commercial and recreational fishing, charter/tourism and conservation interests in Fiordland.  Laurel’s main challenge was to bring a variety of stakeholders’ interests together to the point where they felt comfortable negotiating a management package for the area. Amongst those groups with an interest were The Guardians of Fiordland’s Fisheries and Marine Environment who were formed in 1995 to represent the local community. Also at the negotiations were Ngāi Tahu Rūnanga of Oraka-Aparima. 

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After ten years facilitating and advising stakeholder working groups, developing policy, conducting fishing surveys, negotiating, managing and reporting on annual budgets of up to $1 million, and managing a policy team of 12, Laurel left the Ministry and established a resource management consultancy.

The Fiordland Marine Guardians were created in 2005 to implement a new marine conservation strategy for Fiordland. Laurel was made Chair of the group after she worked with the Guardians of Fiordland’s Fisheries and Marine Environment to create the strategy.

Laurel’s passion and experience in conservation has led her to believe that ‘the very best can be achieved for the environment by involving community members at a grass roots level. This way the agencies and community end up working together, every angle is covered and all the skills are available’.

Although time consuming, Laurel cherishes her position as one of the Fiordland Marine Guardians. She loves to spend any available free time that she has at her residence in Wanaka where she is constantly reminded of the beauty that she is helping to preserve.

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Nominations on track for 2010 goal

The Ministry of Women’s Affairs Nominations Service recently completed the first-ever whole-of-government stock take of statutory bodies.
As of December 2004, women represented 41 percent (1063) of the total membership (2605) of statutory bodies.  There were 396 statutory bodies included in the stock take, ranging from commercial boards such as Radio New Zealand Limited, to quasi-judicial bodies such as the Human Rights Review Tribunal.
The government’s goal for the Ministry’s Nominations Service is that by the year 2010, women should represent around 50 percent of the membership of statutory bodies.  The stock take will be updated annually so progress towards the 50 percent goal can be tracked.
The stock take has been a major project for the Service over the last six months, and required contacting 28 different agencies to collect and check information.

News in brief

Within this section:

• Karahipi Wāhine Māori ends
• Findings from on-line parent survey
• Briefing to Incoming Minister
• New research on women's health needs
  

Karahipi Wāhine Māori ends

In 1995 the Ministry of Women’s Affairs awarded $3,500 to the first recipient of the Karahipi Wāhine Māori Scholarship.  This scholarship was available to a Māori woman in her final year of fulltime study towards a degree or postgraduate diploma. This scholarship has been awarded annually for the past ten years. 

In 2005 as part of a wider government strategy the State Services Commission’s Ministerial Review Unit reviewed all ethnically targeted scholarships offered by the public service.  The reviews aimed to ensure that all scholarships were targeted on the basis of need and were demonstrably effective in addressing that need.

Based on the findings of the reviews across the public service, the government has decided to disband all ethnic based scholarships.  As a result, the Ministry of Women’s Affairs no longer offers the Karahipi Wāhine Māori Scholarship.
 
For more information please see the State Services Commission’s website: www.ssc.govt.nz

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Findings from on-line parent survey

Many parents find it difficult to juggle paid work and parenting according to 4,475 New Zealand parents who took part in an on-line survey that asked them to comment on parenting and paid work.

The survey run by Equal Employment Opportunities (EEO) Trust found that parents want flexible working hours especially around start and finish times, high quality part-time work and a supportive workplace culture to make family friendly policies work.  Part-time work options are less important to men than to women
(40 percent of the male respondents rated them as important).

Parents want special leave provisions so they can look after their sick children. They want to be able to go to their kid’s schools and sporting events and they want the option of working from home.  Parents said they want breastfeeding rooms and breast-milk storage facilities.  A quarter of men surveyed believe it is important to have breastfeeding facilities in the workplace.

Working parents would benefit from Affordable, quality, childcare located close to work.

Parent’s value paid parental leave. More than a quarter of respondents, male and female expect to take parental leave (paid and/or unpaid) in the next five years.

The main reason people changed employer or job status when they returned from parental leave was to work flexible or part-time hours. Eighty one percent of respondents returned to the same employer after parental leave (paid and unpaid).

The survey found most people work mainly for financial reasons but there are many other reasons for doing paid work. Personal satisfaction, professional development and the opportunity to be a role model ranked highly.

The survey, conducted by EEO Trust ran for just over three weeks in August this year.  To view the report visit the EEO Trust website at:
www.eeotrust.org.nz/research/index.cfm

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Briefing to Incoming Minister

Looking for a quick overview of the status of women in New Zealand and the Ministry of Women’s Affairs work priorities? 

The Briefing to the Incoming Minister, available on the Ministry’s website www.mwa.govt.nz , provides a high-level summary of what is being done to improve outcomes for women. All government departments produce these briefings (usually referred to as ‘BIMs’) when there is a general election, or when there is a change of Minister between elections. Generally a department’s BIM is available on its website and is a good place to gain an overview of the department’s work.  

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New research on Women’s Health needs

 Women’s health is the main focus for the new research centre at the University of Otago’s Wellington School of Medicine and Health Sciences.
 
Led by Dr Bev Lawton, the Women’s Health Research Centre will focus on research dedicated to women’s health.

‘Women have distinct health needs, many of which are different from men. These areas include contraception, fertility, abortion, sexually transmitted infections, menopause, maternal health, and health of the newborn.’

Women’s health issues like Type 2 diabetes and heart disease will be tackled with over 1000 Wellington women aged 49–70 taking part in a two-year lifestyle study that looks at reducing risk factors. 

Personal Patron for the Women’s Health Research Centre and Governor General Dame Silvia Cartwright launched the centre in November this year. 

For more information email Dr Bev Lawton at Women’s Health Research Centre at:  bev.lawton@otago.ac.nz or phone Wellington School of Medicine & Health Sciences on 04 385-5995

PACIFICA Inc. will be holding their AGM on 24th and 25th February 2006 at the Brentwood Hotel, Kilbirnie, Wellington.  The theme of the conference is on Pacific women’s ‘Prosperity’ looking at issues of wealth and wellbeing.  

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Pānui is published by the Ministry of Women's Affairs, New Zealand. We welcome your feedback and ideas.

The Editor, Pānui,
Ministry of Women's Affairs,
PO Box 10-049,
Wellington,
New Zealand.
Email: mwa@mwa.govt.nz

The viewpoints expressed in Pānui do not necessarily reflect the views of the Ministry of Women's Affairs. ISSN 01129716

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