The Zonta Club of Geelong, (D23 Australia) was privileged to have Mr. John O’Brien, Industrial Relations Manager National Australia Bank, as it’s November dinner guest speaker. The club’s dinner was supporting the Zonta Says No and White Ribbon campaigns, working towards the elimination of men’s violence against women.

Mr. O’Brien gave insight into the NAB’s thoughts and reasoning behind their recent implementation of a Domestic Violence Support Policy for their 28,000 workers Australia wide. The policy supports staff members who may require time away from employment due to recovering from a physical attack, court appearances, moving premises, attending counselling etc. NAB has trained a dedicated team of staff who are able to deal directly with these staff members in a fully confidential manner. The policy was introduced in June of this year. The NAB are certainly the first bank, and one of the first major companies in Australia to introduce such a policy. Given the pervasiveness of domestic/family violence in Australia, it is hoped this lead will be further taken up by Australian employers.

D23 Governor Ann Horrocks also attended the dinner and spoke specifically about the Zonta Says No campaign. Area 4 Director Jane Adornetto also spoke about the ZISVAW programs.

(L-R) Maria Zaluski, ZC Geelong President; John O’Brien, National Australia Bank; Ann Horrocks, D23 Governor; Jane Adornetto, A4 Director.