Tuesday August 12 2003
Good news for women, not so sure about the kids though
Former Women’s and Youth Affair’s Minister Laila Harré says the promised strengthening of the Ministry of Women’s
Affairs is good news but that women will need to reserve judgment on the plan until a new CEO is firmly in place.
“The government has promised to strengthen the Ministry – which is badly needed. Recovery of capability after years of
virtual invisibility in the 1990s has been disappointingly slow.
On the other hand, Laila Harré says she’s disappointed by the decision to bring the Ministry of Youth Affairs into the
Ministry for Social Development.
“It’s not the worst option they looked at, but it could have been better. Government has missed the chance to set up a
strong independent Ministry for Children and Youth Development.
“As far as I know children and young people weren’t consulted about the future of the Ministry – I hope they’ll be
included when it comes to establishing the new structure.”
ENDS