The Women’s Electoral Lobby Australia (WEL) is deeply concerned and disappointed by Premier Mike Baird’s calls for the Crimes Amendment (Zoe’s Law) Bill No. 2 2013 to be debated in the NSW Upper House.

‘This Bill is an unnecessary and harmful change to the NSW Crimes Act and should not be passed,” said WEL Australia Chair Melanie Fernandez.

Women, especially mid aged and older women, are the largely hidden victims of Australia’s affordable housing crisis according to Women’s Electoral Lobby (WEL).

WEL presented evidence before the NSW upper house Affordable Housing Inquiry on Monday 12 May that the crisis in housing affordability has specific impacts on women.

The 2014-15 Federal Budget will increase the impact on women of income inequality, difficulty accessing affordable quality child care, scarcity of affordable housing, and rising costs of healthcare, according to the Women’s Electoral Lobby.

If Prime Minister elect Tony Abbott is as disappointed as he says about the lack of women appointed to his new Cabinet, he should outline immediately how he plans to address the issue according to the Women’s’ Electoral Lobby.

Days out from the 2013 Federal Election the Greens have come out on top as the party with the best policies for women this election according to the Women’s Electoral Lobby.

The Women’s Electoral Lobby asked the three major parties to respond to its five asks for the election and rated each of them between 0 and 5 based on their responses.

Parental leave payments, whether funded through employers or the government, must be administered by employers or women risk being detached entirely from their workplace and losing their positions according to the Women’s Electoral Lobby.

NSW Women’s groups are deeply concerned about the implication for women’s rights of a bill, dubbed “Zoe’s Law”, which will be brought before parliament this week.

The Bill proposes an amendment to the NSW Crimes Act which would create an additional criminal offence for any person who causes the destruction or harm of a foetus of a pregnant woman

Additional funding to expand outside school hours care and deliver greater flexibility and quality for families is a crucial step in providing women with the flexibility and support they need to balance their work and caring demands, according to the Women’s Electoral Lobby.

Kevin Rudd must quickly reinstate crucial support payments for sole parents removed by current and previous Governments. This is a crucial step in ensuring Australia does not continue its alarming trend towards punishing its most vulnerable people according to the Women’s Electoral Lobby.