Jill Hall (Shortland, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Hansard source

I congratulate the member for Griffith for bringing this very important motion to the parliament—a motion that is very important for women and one that this parliament has traditionally debated every year. Women of this parliament get behind the motion—and men, too, I hope—and really debate issues around International Women's Day, which will be next Tuesday, 8 March. Unfortunately, parliament will not be sitting that day.

International Women's Day is a global day celebrating the social, economic, cultural and political achievements of women. I must say that it is pleasing to see a couple of more women on the frontbench on the other side of this House, but I would like to see a lot more. It is great to see how women have been embraced in the opposition, in the Labor Party. The fact that we have a target of 50 per cent of representatives being women by 2020 is, I think, a phenomenal Labor Party policy.

International Women's Day has been observed since 1911. It was relevant then and it is relevant now, because there is still a lot of work to be done in this space. It is about women's struggle for equality and human rights. Over the years, it has seen women campaign for rights to work, to vote, to be trained, to hold public office and to end discrimination. Even though there have been big moves in those areas, there is still a lot of work to be done. I remember when I first started working, I did not receive the same pay that a male colleague working in the same position received. I had done my HSC and I got a similar result to his in my HSC, but I was a woman and, because I was a woman, it was deemed that I should be paid less. That has changed, but there is still pay discrimination and pay discrepancy between women and men. That is a challenge for both sides of this parliament to address, and it is a challenge that we on this side of the parliament are up to.

International Women's Day focuses on celebrating the past and planning for the future and a world free of violence against women. It is important to note that violence against women is still very prevalent throughout the world and, unfortunately, in our own society. Last year two women lost their lives each week as a result of domestic violence. That is something that we as a nation cannot allow to continue. International Women's Day also focuses on empowering women, particularly women in rural areas, ending poverty and hunger and many, many other issues. It covers a broad spectrum of our society.

By empowering women and making sure that women are considered equal in all aspects of our life, we actually empower men too. A society that values every member is a society that will move forward. Nowadays we have made inroads into gender equality in Australia, but there is more that needs to be done and there is more that can be done on the international stage. The member for Ryan mentioned the Pacific Women’s Parliamentary Partnerships. This is something that I have been involved in, and I think this parliament can play an important role. Some other issues that we need to keep in mind are the need for equality of pay for men and women, more women in politics and, as I mentioned, more women on corporate boards. It is something that we need to concentrate on in this parliament. So let's not be complacent, let's not sit back and think there are no issues to address; there are many issues. Addressing and empowering women will be good for our society as a whole. (Time expired)

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