Women candidates need financial know-how

as well as views on ‘women’s issues’

Elections are coming up in the Australian National Capital. Here there is a unique arrangement in Australia – the ACT government combines functions that elsewhere are covered by both state and local governments.

This year 18 women candidates are standing for main, minor and new parties.

They were invited to speak for two minutes at a breakfast forum organised jointly by WEL and the YWCA. During their two minutes candidates had to express their views on abortion and one other issue drawn from a box. These issues were broadly expressed and covered such matters as child care, work/life balance, human rights, housing, rape.

My question was an invitation to state their ability to intelligently read and interpret financial statements and government budgets. The question was clearly different from the others and generated something of a snigger amongst the audience. The candidate who pulled this one out of the box wasn’t too thrilled either. Nor did she answer it well.

Why did I submit this question?

The ACT runs on a tight budget. The Pre-election Budget Update tells me we expect to bring in $3304.5m in 2008-09 and have expenses worth $3317.4m. Regardless of what a person’s stance on specific issues is, if they can’t make sense of the money (i.e. how my taxes are spent) then they are not going to be of great use as a MLA. Yes they might learn a lot about finances once elected. I’d prefer to know my candidates have some confidence about the subject before they get elected. Otherwise they don’t deserve my vote.

Dr Ann Villiers, learning guide, professional speaker and author, is Australia 's only Mental Nutritionist® specialising in mind and language practices that help people build flexible thinking, confident speaking and quality connections with people. Visit www.mentalnutrition.com.

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