Teresa Gambaro (Brisbane, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I rise to speak on a number of very positive developments taking place in the Royal Australian Navy as part of its Women's Leadership Strategy. The Navy's Women's Leadership Strategy 2012-15 was an initiative of the then Chief of Navy, Vice Admiral Ray Griggs, and it sets a female participation rate for Navy of 25 per cent by 2023.

The strategy's momentum has been carried forward by the current Chief of Navy, Vice Admiral Tim Barrett, who, recently, very proudly highlighted Navy's achievements in this space to me when, in October, I had a detailed briefing with him in my capacity as Chair of the Joint Standing Committee on Foreign Affairs, Defence and Trade on a whole range of capability issues.

Indeed, so determined is Vice Admiral Barrett to ensure that Navy stays on course to achieve its 25 per cent participation target that he has updated Navy's strategy to include an interim time frame of 2018, which will also include an interim target.

The strategy aims to improve workforce capability by optimising the contribution of women through employment opportunities, professional development and leadership, as well as addressing a number of challenges that women face in progressing their careers. These obstacles include exclusion from informal male-orientated networks, work-life challenges, a lack of flexibility,    gender stereotyping, a lack of female role models, a lack of mentoring opportunities, a lack of work and training opportunities and clear career paths.

It is very encouraging that the strategy specifically recognises that these challenges can be overcome through recognising what women already achieve; empowering women to identify leadership opportunities; supporting women to overcome barriers to participation; and enhancing the leadership skills and professional development opportunities for women.

I am pleased to report that Navy is making great headway in achieving these goals. In the financial year 2013-14, it achieved a female recruiting rate of 22.9 per cent overall, up from 1.2 per cent on the previous year.

The issue of gender-based occupational segregation impacts on the nation, not just on Navy, and it impacts enormously in terms of lost productivity. In this regard, I note what I consider to be yet another very positive development that, by January 2016, all combat roles within the Australian Defence Force will be open to women. Ahead of this time frame, I am very pleased to inform the House that Navy has just recently recruited its first female clearance diver, which to those of us with a non-military background is the equivalent of being a member of the Special Forces.

In line with the first pillar of the strategy, I would like to highlight the roles performed by some of Navy's amazing women: Captain Allison Norris, who just recently completed her command of HMAS Success and who was also responsible for Navy's response to the MH17 incident; Commander Cath Hayes, who, as Commanding Officer of HMAS Toowoomba was responsible for the seizure of more than $280 million of cannabis resin as part of a joint operation with the Royal New Zealand Air Force; and Rear Admiral Robyn Walker, who was the first female in Navy to reach star rank in 2005 and is now the highest ranked woman in the RAN.

These three women in no way represent the exhaustive list of the amazing women who are currently serving in Navy—in fact, far from it. There are so many women and I do not have enough time in tonight's adjournment speech to name them. Many of these women might be embarrassed by having their achievements highlighted and brought to public attention, but pioneers of achievement need to be celebrated and should serve as an inspiration for many others.

Madam Speaker, I commend Navy for its fine work in recognising the force multiplier benefits that embracing diversity brings and I look forward to being able to update the House on its further progress in this area.