Since the election of the Kate Carnell Liberal government in the ACT in 1995, most people have experienced a serious loss of services, and attacks on their living standards. In response, and for the first time for many years, an International Women's Day march will be held in Canberra this year.

Despite the public image of Canberra as a relatively wealthy city, poverty is a real issue. Youth unemployment is over 50% (the highest in the country), and women and children are the worst off. Attacks on public services from the federal and local Liberal governments have resulted in more than 10,000 job losses in Canberra. This is on top of major cutbacks by the previous Labor governments which left many services under-funded. Women are bearing the burden of these attacks as public transport, child care, women's services, health facilities and welfare become less available.

A number of services for women and children have recently been closed or had their funding reduced. The Women's Information Referral Centre has been relocated from the city to a less accessible outer suburb. This has resulted in less women using the centre - the first step towards government "justifications" for closing the centre altogether.

The Innana Women's Refuge, the only refuge for psychiatrically affected women and their children, has been shut down. Other refuges and the Rape Crisis Centre have had their funding cut and have had to reduce operating hours.

Most women's services in the ACT were already inadequately funded and were having to turn large numbers of women away. Counselling services for women who have suffered violence are either expensive and/or have long waiting lists. The lack of safe, alternative accommodation and support workers is leaving many women and children trapped in intolerable domestic situations.

Despite a vibrant campaign in Canberra which succeeded in repealing the ACT anti-abortion laws in 1993, cuts to health services and restricted access to contraception and abortion are severely limiting women's ability to control their lives and protect their health.

Drastic cuts to its budget have led the ACT Legal Aid Office to warn of an increase in domestic disputes and deaths which may have been prevented through support services it previously provided. Prior to the introduction of the ACT's family violence legislation, a number of women and children were murdered in tragic and preventable domestic disputes.

Since the 1991 closure of the Royal Canberra Hospital, a number of health and community services have been located on and near that site. However when John Howard and Kate Carnell struck a deal to have the National Museum of Australia built on that land the ACT government abruptly closed the Acton Early Childhood Centre located nearby.

The closure of the centre, which left 55 children without child care and a number of workers jobless, caused an angry outcry. In an example of how to effectively fight such attacks, united action by workers, parents and trade unions has resulted in the demolition of the old hospital building being black-banned until the government relocates the centre to appropriate accommodation.

For all these reasons, we will be marching on International Women's Day. We want to fight back. Join us on March 8 at 11am in Garema Place to march to the Legislative Assembly, then on to the Civic Pool for the annual Radio 2XX "Splash Out" fundraiser.