The Wire

Kevin Rudd’s commitment to increase childcare assistance in the May budget will be welcomed by many working mothers. At the same time, however, the government is proposing to cut services that provide working women with free legal advice and support in the work place. National Working Women Centres have provided free advocacy to disadvantaged women, particularly to those on low pay, for the last 20 years. Over recent years the funding has slowly dwindled, forcing the closure of centres in Victoria, NSW and Tasmania. With the future of the three remaining centres in the Northern Territory, South Australia and West Australia in doubt. The greens say women workers will be left vulnerable without access to free legal advice.