Kelly O'Dwyer (Higgins, Liberal Party) Share this | Hansard source

If further evidence were required that this government is more committed to spin than substance, more committed to talking than doing, then this is it. It is pretty incredible that this government would claim, as it has done, to be the friend of working women. By even the most generous analysis, this government has failed to deliver on its promises to Australian women and their families.

Let us start with child care. We were told that there was a crisis facing working families and that hundreds of new childcare facilities were required. The Rudd government promised to address what it called the ‘critical shortfall’ in the availability of childcare places. This was supposed to be the government solution to the double drop-off. After promising to build an additional 260 childcare centres, this government has done a triple backflip with pike and announced that it will build only 38. This has ended up as just another item on the long list of Rudd’s broken promises and failures in policy. Only three childcare centres have been constructed in three years. At this rate, on average of one a year, we have another 35 years to go.

The Howard-Costello government’s achievements in helping working women are closely tied to its strong record on promoting economic growth, reducing unemployment and keeping interest rates low. Under the coalition more than two million jobs were created. During the coalition’s term the female unemployment rate fell from its high of 8.2 per cent in December 1996 to 4.7 per cent in November 2007, almost half what it had been previously. In absolute terms this meant that the number of women employed in the economy increased by more than 630,000. This was a remarkable achievement.

Job creation is a highly effective way of improving economic conditions for both men and women. More women in work mean more opportunities to accumulate skills and experience, more wealth for families and a high level of social and economic inclusion. Central to employment participation is a flexible workplace relations system. This government has turned back the clock—not just BH, before Howard, but BH, before Hawke and Keating. This government has gone so far as to wind back reforms championed by Hawke and Keating, returning us to an antiquated system of union dominated bargaining arrangements.

This sort of motion is typical of Labor’s propensity to rewrite history to suit its own ideological requirements. Labor would have us believe that the millions of jobs created during the coalition’s term never happened and that Labor’s new workplace relations laws will be good for employment and good for women in the workforce. That is simply not the case, and continually moving motions like this one in support of the government’s own policies will not make it true, no matter how much they try and spin it.

So what has brought about this latest attack of hubris and arrogance, writ large in this motion? Why, it is the self-congratulation of the Labor Party, who have—with the support of the coalition—brought in a paid parental leave scheme. But is this the best policy? No. Tony Abbott announced a more comprehensive paid parental leave scheme that would better meet the financial needs of Australian families. The coalition’s policy will provide a payment of $14,138 per week for 26 weeks, with full superannuation, compared to Labor’s policy of $9,780 for 18 weeks and no superannuation. Our policy provides maximum social benefits, whereas Labor’s scheme falls short of delivering real outcomes. The coalition is the only party with the vision, history of achievement and experience required to look after the needs of women in Australia. Labor’s pattern of failure is a pattern that Australian women can do without.

In the time that remains to me I just note that the Rudd government is continuing to undermine the efforts of working women to support a family and to support their children in other ways. Under the Rudd government, the cost of living is growing. Inflation is beginning to sneak back into the economy and is now 2.9 per cent. For an economy that is emerging from a downturn, this is a remarkable figure. The government has tried to use quick political fixes such as GroceryWatch and Fuelwatch, both of which have been unmitigated policy failures. Meanwhile, the price of petrol, electricity, groceries, housing and medical services continues to rise. This government has failed the Australian people. It has failed Australian women.

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