Julian Leeser (Berowra, Liberal Party) Share this | Hansard source

International Women's Day is celebrated around the world on 8 March every year. From business and government to education, the arts and sport, Australian women are achieving in every field of endeavour. They are not only changing the face of our nation today for the better; they are inspiring and mentoring the next generation of strong, influential young women to be positive change makers in our community. This day is an opportunity to recognise the many accomplishments and important contributions women make in our society and the strides that have been made in recent years while acknowledging there is still more work to do.

This International Women's Day, I was delighted to join Western Sydney Women at their awards night at the Hills Shire Council. The event recognised more than 16 women from the Hills District for their incredible work across a whole range of categories from health, business, philanthropy to community services. I was privileged to be at the launch of Western Sydney Women, which was founded last year by two absolutely inspirational women: Amanda Rose, a marketing and media professional; and Maria Kovacic, who runs her own financial services business. Amanda and Maria recognised the need to create an organisation to bring together women from across Western Sydney to advocate for them, empower them and encourage them to achieve in all facets of life. They have quickly built an impressive organisation which holds great events and helps bring together the diversity of women in Western Sydney.

It was also my great pleasure at International Women's Day to introduce Yvonne Keane, the Mayor of the Hills Shire Council—someone who encapsulates the immense ability of women right across Western Sydney and across the country. Yvonne is an award-winning TV producer and former presenter. She is the founder of Hear the Children, an early intervention centre, which provides children with access to life-changing auditory-verbal therapy, giving them the opportunity to develop clear and natural speech.

Yvonne also serves on the board of Endeavour Foundation, is an elected director of Local Government NSW, a member of the NSW Council for Women's Economic Opportunity. Through her work, Yvonne has shown the importance of women mentoring other women. She is an inspiration to thousands of women across the hills and greater Western Sydney.

I want to speak a little bit about government policy to support women. Australia has made a great deal of progress in ensuring men and women are treated equally, and women are recognised for their leadership skills and the contributions they make. On average, women still earn less than men, but the gap in average weekly earnings between men and women has narrowed to 16 per cent—that is a decrease of 1.1 per cent from a year ago and down 2.5 per cent in the last two years. The Workplace Gender Equality Agency provides focus on the pay gap through reporting, auditing and awareness campaigns.

The Turnbull government has strengthened the BoardLinks program by setting a new target of 50 per cent representation of men and women on government boards. Across the Australian Public Service, the Turnbull government has implemented the Gender Equality Strategy that requires every new agency to set targets for gender equality in leadership positions. And we have dedicated over a million dollars to the Australian Institute of Company Directors to deliver board diversity scholarships.

While these are certainly improvements, the government also recognises that we have more to do. Since coming into office in 2013, tackling domestic violence has been at the forefront of the coalition's agenda. Media reports sadly indicate that nine women have been killed in Australia this year as a result of domestic violence. While the homicide data shows that the rate of deaths from domestic violence has been falling, reports of domestic violence are rising.

In September 2015, Prime Minister Turnbull announced the Women's Safety Package—a $100 million program focused on combating domestic violence against women. Additionally, the government has launched a $30 million national campaign in partnership with the states and territories to change attitudes towards violence against women that has been viewed more than 37.6 million times online. In October 2016, the federal government co-hosted the COAG National Summit on Reducing Violence against Women and their Children. At the summit, the third action plan of the National Plan to Reduce Violence against Women and their Children 2010-2022 was launched and the Turnbull government committed an extra $100 million.

There is a great deal of progress being made to combat violence against women in my electorate of Berowra. Women's Community Shelters operates the Hornsby Ku-ring-gai Women's Shelter and The Sanctuary—The Hills Women's Shelter. These shelters are run locally and help provide help and support to women in my electorate who need it most. Hornsby Ku-ring-gai Women's Shelter, led by president Sallianne McClelland and vice-president Dick Babb, provide crisis accommodation to homeless women in need of support services. The Sanctuary, chaired by Yvonne Keane, is a crisis shelter in Castle Hill for women and their children who are fleeing domestic violence. Both of these shelters have been filled to capacity since opening, and I am proud to support both of them.

These shelters come under the umbrella of Women's Community Shelters, led by their extraordinary CEO, Annabelle Daniel. I met with Annabelle and board member Kris Neill recently to hear about their plans to further expand their shelters into other suburban areas and provide a different experience for women and children from that which many of us think a shelter would be. I am inspired by the women of Berowra who are doing such incredible work in our community, and I am proud to be part of a government that is dedicated to making further advances in women's policy across Australia.

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