Ms Catherine King (Ballarat, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Hansard source

I move:

That this House acknowledges the Australian Government’s significant achievements in improving the economic position of women.

It is a pretty extraordinary anomaly that, in this day and age, women on average still earn less than men and save significantly less for their retirement. Women make up just over half of Australia’s total population and more women than men are now educated in secondary schools and in universities. More women than men graduate from university with bachelor degrees. More than 30 per cent of Australia’s small business operators are women. And of course this government has a Deputy Prime Minister who is a woman and eight other women in ministerial or parliamentary secretary positions. We also have the highest number of women ever in our parliament today. Australia has a female Governor-General and three women on the High Court.

I am proud to say that this government has shown clear and unequivocal leadership—long overdue—in introducing practical measures to improve equality between women and men. New initiatives in the 2010-11 budget are a key part of our ongoing efforts to progress the long-term security of women. First, there is superannuation. Increasing the superannuation package guarantee to 12 per cent by 2020 is a big win for women. It will generate more super savings for women. It lays the groundwork for economic security. It helps provide certainty and peace of mind.

We have improved equity for low-income earners by reducing contributions taxes for those on a marginal rate of 15 per cent or below. This means that, in 2012-13, one million women will be eligible for the up to $500 low-income earners superannuation rebate. Sixty per cent of the recipients of this rebate will be women. We are also helping over-50s top up their super balances when they are most able to do so by keeping their $50,000 concessional contributions cap. What will this mean in real terms? Because of the government’s reforms, a woman aged 30 now and on average weekly earnings with a broken work pattern will have an extra $78,000 upon her retirement. In anyone’s language, that is a stronger and fairer superannuation scheme. These reforms are the next step in the government’s agenda to improve the economic security of women. And this has been a feature of all three budgets that this government has delivered.

A second issue is Australia’s first Paid Parental Leave scheme. This is a clear win for women. It will help working women during the crucial early months of their baby’s life and help women stay connected to their workforce and their careers while they have children. And, being fully funded, it will continue to encourage and support family friendly workplaces, particularly in the important small business sector.

Thirdly, there is the Fair Work Act 2009, which restored fairness to the industrial relations system. It makes it easier for women and men to balance their paid work and family lives. It delivers pay equity. It is a fact that more women continue to be in low-paid jobs. Fundamental measures like a fairer safety net and facilitated bargaining are essential to women’s economic security. Under Work Choices, AWAs stripped away conditions like overtime and penalty rates without any compensation to employees. Women working full time on AWAs took home, on average, $87.40 per week less than their colleagues working on collective agreements. We got rid of the Work Choices rip-off.

Fourthly, the Rudd government is investing $273.7 million to support the introduction of the new National Quality Framework for early childhood education and child care. When Australian parents make the decision to place their children in child care they deserve to know that they are receiving high-quality care and education wherever they live across Australia. The Australian government is committed to ensuring that families have access to high-quality, affordable child care. We have invested $14.4 billion in this sector over the next four years to help more than 800,000 Australian families annually. Better child care means more women will have more options in regard to work.

Finally, this government has delivered a significant increase for pensioners and carers. We have delivered $100 a fortnight for single rate pensioners. Seventy-two per cent of single rate pensioners are women. This will make a real difference in the lives of many women.

There has been a long and vibrant history in this country of singular voices raised in support of the rights and welfare of women. But it was only 44 years ago that the bar on married women being permanent employees in the federal public service was lifted and a mere 27 years ago that Australia ratified the UN Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women. There is still more work to do, but I applaud this government for its strong commitment to improving the economic lives of Australian women, and I commend this motion to the House.

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