House debates
Tuesday, 27 February 2024
Statements by Members
Gender Equality
1:51 pm
Zaneta Mascarenhas (Swan, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source
What do Aussie women want? They want to be counted, they want to be heard and they want to be paid fairly. The 2022 election saw the highest number of women elected to this place and this is making a real difference. The Labor Party is a party of action and we are acting on closing the gender pay gap.
Some things should not be secret, and pay is one of those things. That is why we're shining a light on this issue. I am proud to say that the gender pay gap is currently the lowest that it has been in history. Now women can, in workplaces of more than a hundred people, look up to see if they are being paid fairly—and fairness is what the Labor Party is about. That's exactly what Labor's cost-of-living tax cuts are about.
Under Labor's tax cuts more women will keep more of what they earn as they start to earn more. Ninety per cent of Australian women taxpayers will get a bigger tax cut, thanks to Labor. A childcare worker, a disability carer and an aged-care worker will get a bigger tax cut, thanks to Labor. It's gender-equity-lens policy design that brings a real benefit to women. The gender pay gap is the lowest it has been on record because of Labor.
Today's figures are also a call to action. We must double down on our efforts. Under Labor, women will earn more and keep more, where the Liberals want you to earn less and work longer.