By Chris Thomson | posted on November 13, 2018
AGRICULTURE Minister Alannah MacTiernan has vigorously defended her rejection of six recommended appointments to farm funding committees on the grounds that every suggestion from an all-male selection panel was for a man.
In the Legislative Council on October 31, Agricultural Region MLC Rick Mazza noted Ms MacTiernan had vetoed the recommendations after expressions of interest had been called on March 8.
He asked how many men and women had applied for the three committees that oversee State funding for the cattle; sheep and goats; and grains, seed and hay sectors of Western Australia’s farming industry.
Ms MacTiernan said she was getting lots of correspondence on the matter from the Pastoralists and Graziers Association of WA.
On September 11 in the Upper House, she had told Mr Mazza that every recommendation – by an all-male appointments committee – for new members to the three funding bodies had been for a man.
Ms MacTiernan explained that of 21 current committee members, 19 were men.
On October 31, she urged the Legislative Council to consider “that in this day and age” such male dominance was “not feasible”.
“It is simply not acceptable and, quite frankly, I think it is an insult to the women in the agricultural sector in this state to suggest that there are simply not sufficient women of merit in order to get a better ratio than 20 to one,” she argued.
She said a second round of applications had drawn 15 from men, 13 of whom had previously thrown their Akubras into the ring.
Five applications were received from men who in the first round had been recommended for appointment. The sixth man recommended for appointment at the time has now been reappointed to the grains, seeds and hay committee until December 31 to ensure a quorum.
Ms MacTiernan said nine women had now lodged applications, with two deemed unsuitable.
She said she’d received advice on second-round applicants from an appointments committee, and results would be available once approved by Cabinet.
On September 11, she told Mr Mazza the appointments committee had needed modernising because it comprised only men.
“We have restructured and there are now two women on the appointments committee,” she added at the time.
“One is from the Rural [, Regional, Remote] Women’s Network [of Western Australia].
“It is really important that we make sure that we take advantage of the entire gene pool that is available to us when making these appointments.”
PHOTO: Alannah MacTiernan in Albany recently. Photo: Chris Thomson
