Sitting of the Legislative Assembly on 2 March 2011

As foreshadowed in last week’s column the sitting of the Legislative Assembly scheduled for 2 March was adjourned until Wednesday 9 March 2011 at 10 am. This decision was taken by Members to accommodate the ministerial visit to Canberra of the Chief Minister and the Minister for Finance and The Attorney-General to have further discussions with Minister Crean, as well as providing them with the opportunity to brief Members on their discussions and to report formally to the House on 9 March 2011. The Ministers return to the Island this weekend.

The Notice Paper for the sitting was published in last weeks Norfolk Islander; however it is anticipated that there will be additional matters introduced into the House on the day by leave of the House. (Leave must be granted without dissenting voice)

International Women’s Day

Tuesday 8 March, 2011 is International Women’s Day celebrating 100 years of International Women’s Day and Women making Changes. This year’s celebrations are being held at the Paradise Hotel & Resort between 7.00 and 9.00 am with special guest speaker Mrs Fenella Evans.

When reading about International Women’s Day and this year’s focus on “Women making Changes” I was prompted to explore the website www.womenasagentsofchange.org.

As you will be aware from earlier columns of Your Parliament Your Voice that Women as agents of change is also the theme for Commonwealth Day 2011. I found the following explanation on what the theme means on the above website and I quote:

“”It means that by investing in women and girls, we can accelerate social, economic and political progress. Women and girls make up over half of the world’s population. In the Commonwealth, that’s over one billion people. By educating them, giving them accessible health care and making sure they are treated fairly and have the same opportunities and protection as men and boys, we can go a long way towards addressing the many problems of the world. Women and girls need to be included at all levels of decision making to ensure that their needs are properly met. This will benefit us all.” End quote.

Next week I will share with you the programme for Commonwealth Day which is being celebrated in a most meaningful way at the Norfolk Island Central School on Monday 14 March 2011. Our photo is of Queen Victoria, the woman who made instrumental change to all of our lives on Norfolk by agreeing the relocation to this Island of the Pitcairn community in 1856.

Issued from the Office of the Speaker on 4 March 2011.