Lisa Chesters (Bendigo, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Hansard source

In 10 days 700,000 workers will have their penalty rates cut—people who are working in retail, hospitality and pharmacy, the workforces of which are predominantly women. We are talking about women who work in retail saying that they will lose up to $6,000 a year because their Sunday penalty rate will be cut. These are women who say that they spend that penalty rate on their kids, paying their bills or making sure that their kids can participate in basketball.

What are we seeing at the other end? On exactly the same day, people who are in the top income bracket will get a tax cut. Millionaires will get up to $16,000 back in their pay. Are we surprised that those opposite are not standing up for women and instead standing up for people in the top income tax bracket? Only 24 per cent of people in the top income tax bracket are women, meaning that 76 per cent of people in the top income tax bracket are men. We are talking about 1.5 per cent of women. That is who will benefit on 1 July from this government—1.6 per cent of Australian women. That is it.

But we should not be surprised, when it comes from a government where the statistics match up. Only 25 per cent of their members of parliament are women. That matches up with the figure for the people in the top income tax bracket—25 per cent. That is who this mob cares about—

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