Trump’s move now puts the US in the honourable company of both Nicaragua and Syria as the only three countries in the world to not be involved, and leaves the agreement in a precarious position moving forward.
And it’s yet another reason to feel frustrated by the recklessness and self interest of global leaders when it comes to major issues affecting our future.
Locally, while the prime minister continues to back the Paris agreement, backbencher and environment committee chair Craig Kelly said he had the “champagne on ice” while waiting for Trump’s announcement. Eric Abetz said Australia should “similarly pull back” in order to allow an increased focus on “supporting families and jobs in Australia.”
On a very different note – but still holding a level of recklessness and self-interest – earlier this week we heard in Senate Estimates just how little regard had been given to the 2017/18 Federal Budget’s impact on women, when Michael Brennan from Treasury revealed he was not aware of any requests by the Office for Women to do relevant modelling.
And asked more specifically about any strategies to help boost women’s workforce participation in order to meet our G20 commitment to reduce the gender participation gap by 25% by 2025, he said that as far as he’s aware, “that’s not underway.”
Australia made that commitment in 2014 under Tony Abbott’s prime ministership. It was, at the time, considered at least important enough to warrant this press release from Minister for Women Michaelia Cash. She said, at the time, the importance of women’s workforce participation can not be underestimated: in its ability to reduce women’s susceptibility to poverty, homelessness and violence — as well as boosting gender equality and women’s empowerment.
Somewhere along the line, the G20 commitment’s been sidelined, or forgotten, or simply thrown in the ‘too hard basket’.
So from climate change to gender equality, if you genuinely care about these issues – and I believe a good majority of our audience here on Women’s Agenda absolutely do – then this week would be one in which it would be easy to feel dismayed and overwhelmed by the absolute apathy, recklessness and self interest of those who should be leading us towards something better.
This week, Georgie Dent and I had the pleasure of speaking with Mary Crooks AO on our ‘Work It Out’ podcast.
Mary’s been at this for decades, including the last 20 years leading the Victorian Women’s Trust. She has some common sense and no bullshit ideas on what women can do.
She suggested we can’t simply rely on elected officials.
“I think the bigger issue is that if women are being sidelined in this way it would be wrong and naive of us to think the answer lies with Michaelia Cash or with Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull. The answer lies in how women and men refuse to allow this sidelining to continue,” she said.
“It’s up to us, in my view, to take these political leaders kicking and screaming into the future. We have to flex our activist muscles, otherwise we will continue to lag, we will go backwards.”
Mary said she believes the majority of Australian men and women sit somewhere in between the centre left and the centre right, where “millions of us desire more imagination and boldness on the issues that face us”. She calls this the radical centre.
“It’s a matter of working with it, tapping the energy, and coming up with some public policy proposals that make it hard for our parties to walk away from.”
Also this week, I attended the YWCA’s SheLeads conference in Canberra on Thursday, where I sensed a shift in the mood of those who were speaking, and those participating in the audience.
The event wasn’t about sharing stories, or providing advice on how to break through some of the barriers that stand in the way of women’s leadership. Rather, it was about rethinking the narrative, reframing the system and challenging the leadership we’re witnessing today. From Drisana Levitzke-Grey who said access to education must include everyone, to Michelle Deshong who said Indigenous women must not be left behind, and Clementine Ford who said that in her area of work, she’s proud to be a “bulldozer and a wrecking ball” — there was a call to get proactive on the areas that interest and concern you.
Mary Crooks said there’s no magical solution to dragging “politicians kicking and screaming into the future” but little things can make a difference. Make time to talk to your local member. Target people on both sides of politics, and send them construction emails and information. Have more everyday conversations with your friends and colleagues. Support groups, financially or with your time and energy, that are in someway involved in addressing the issues you care about.
“Don’t remain angry, turn anger into constructive activism,” Mary said. “Use the opportunities you have got – the little and the big – to claim your voice, to be constructive, and to keep your eye on the main game.”
You can listen to our conversation with Mary below: