Tanya Plibersek (Sydney, Australian Labor Party, Minister for Housing) Share this | Hansard source

I believe that there were two questions asked earlier by the shadow minister that related to my portfolio responsibilities for the status of women. I believe they related to the Equal Opportunity for Women in the Workplace Agency and the review of the act and to the social marketing aspect of the National Council to Reduce Violence against Women and their Children.

Firstly, on the review of the Equal Opportunity for Women in the Workplace Act and the agency, the review was designed to examine the effectiveness and efficiency of the existing legislation to make sure that it is cost effective and well targeted. The review has been progressing very well. One of the reasons that we pursued the review was that we were concerned about the continuing issue of the gender pay gap. We also wanted to look at the current reporting arrangements to see how they support changes in this area. A consultation report has been released and the findings of that report are being considered by the government at the moment. The findings are also being considered in the context of the House of Representatives Standing Committee on Employment and Workplace Relations inquiry into pay equity. Both of the reports are being considered by the government at the same time. I believe you asked why there was no funding in the last budget for these measures.

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