Cairns' woman of the year, Centacare executive director Helga Biro shares her philosophy on the maternity leave debate.

It was exciting to be presented with the Cairns Regional Council’s Woman of the Year award last Saturday, at a breakfast function at the Cairns Colonial Club, held as part of the week-long celebration of the International Women’s Day.

Thank you to Anita Andacic from Centacare who nominated me and the panel who selected me from a list of inspiring and dedicated women.

It was exciting to be given this award but quite awe-inspiring to look at the women at the function who could also easily have been given this award for what they do for our community.

In my own world there are many others deserving of the award – the women I work with at Centacare Cairns, my colleagues in the social services and community sector, community leaders and volunteers who do so much valuable work in our community giving of their own time.

I love working in this sector; it is very rewarding.

Some of the stories are such that not a day goes by that I don’t reflect about my own good fortune, that I have family and friends, a roof over my head, food on my table, clothing, education, access to health care, safety and security that many of the clients who access Centacare services do not have.

I am truly grateful and generally manage to maintain a positive outlook on life because I am constantly aware that others suffer enormous deprivation, loneliness and sorrow and I know any difficulties I may have in life are nothing compared with others.

Centacare touches, in some small way, the lives of nearly 10,000 people each year. We have a broad range of services, including counselling, relationship education, child and family therapy, employment, mental health, youth, emergency relief and migrant and refugee services. You can only imagine the richness connecting with people in need brings to our staff's lives.

I am proud of our organisation and its staff. We receive financial and other support from the Catholic Diocese of Cairns, funding from government and collegiality and support from the sector, for all of which we are grateful.

Caring professions are generally mainly staffed by women. Women are critical to a workplace be it in the social services, business or government.

I find it interesting to observe the current debate on paid parental leave. The issue has been around a long time and I don’t believe there is anyone who doesn’t support some form of parental leave per se; the issue is more around who will ultimately pay.

I personally believe the community should support it financially. In this instance, I use the word "community" to include government, business and the workforce, especially those who can afford it.

Where children are concerned it seems eminently fair to bring back that old African proverb "it takes a village to raise a child". That means all of us!

As a taxpayer of some 40 years, who doesn’t have children, I would be more than willing to help "raise a child". In this country, those who can need to pay enough taxes to alleviate poverty and help provide quality education and health services to all children in our community. We are still the lucky
country.

At Centacare, we took a big step forward in December 2009 and staff voted in an enterprise agreement that now provides 12 weeks paid parental leave.

We also provide flexible work arrangements recognising that for many families, part-time work for mothers and fathers is highly desirable. Working in what can be at times a stressful environment, we also wanted staff to have five weeks leave each year; to recharge their batteries so that they can provide the best possible services to clients accessing our services.

Women in Australia have wonderful opportunities despite the fact that they are under-represented on boards and the big end of town and wage equality is still a dream for many. I urge young women in our community to make the most of their education, to seize opportunities and find mentors that are willing to help guide them on their life’s journey.

This is still a land of opportunity for women. We have female governor generals, deputy prime minister and in our own community, a female mayor.

Women of Cairns, I acknowledge you. You can do anything!

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