Susan Lamb (Longman, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Hansard source

I rise today calling for dramatic change in how we as Australians view the work of women. Despite there having been some recent improvements towards closing the gender pay gap, we still have a very long way to go. Traditionally-female-dominated industries are still typically undervalued and underpaid. A recent Senate inquiry report recognises that the 'glass walls' that segregate Australian working men and women are as significant to the gender pay gap as the famed 'glass ceiling'. A working woman in a female-dominated industry would earn, on average, approximately $40,000 less than the average remuneration of a man in a male-dominated industry. This certainly isn't because these female dominated sectors are easy work or unimportant industries—quite the contrary, in fact. Workers in sectors like early childhood education, aged care, health and disability care remain some of the lowest-paid workers in this country. We've seen workers from these industries come together and call for recognition and a decent wage, like in the Big Steps campaign for early childhood educators. But the government just won't listen. But Leader of the Opposition Bill Shorten and we, his Labor team, are listening to their concerns. We hear them. We know that people who are educating our children in their formative years and those who are providing health and personal care for our families and friends in their senior years are important. We know that the work that they do is valuable, so we are calling for change. But the government just won't listen. They just won't act.

Last year the Senate Finance and Public Administration References Committee released its recommendations following the inquiry into gender segregation in the workplace and its impact on women's economic equality. The report noted that the inquiry had heard that closing the gap between male and female employment and productivity had the potential to make huge and significant boosts to Australia's GDP, like improving it by between 11 and 20 per cent. It seems that addressing gender pay equality would be a comparatively simple measure to reduce the huge national debt that the Liberals have created. Australia's gross debt now sits at over $530 billion, double what it was when the Liberals took office in 2013. That is not a very good report card. I would say it is a huge fail for a party that like to promote themselves as economic leaders. The government should be seriously considering recommendations that can bring the budget back on track, and yet they continually refuse to do so. The Senate committee made nine recommendations that commenced with a call for leadership and coordination across government to urgently deliver tangible, measurable action on pay equity. Yet this government refuse to do so. This inquiry report, with those recommendations, has been available to the government since last year. Yet, again, they refuse to act. Acting would support Australian women, acting would support the Big Steps campaign and the early childhood educators and acting would address the serious systemic gender problem that plagues their own party.

We've all known for quite some time that the coalition has a gender problem, but the events of the last few weeks, or, indeed, months, have made it absolutely apparent just how big this problem has become. There's been internal bullying at such extreme levels that it has seen the member for Chisholm decide to leave the parliament entirely. What a shame. That bullying isn't limited to within their own party either. The member for Brisbane recently referred to Labor's strong team of women as—get this, Deputy Speaker Vamvakinou—'cardboard cut-outs'. In the past week, we've also been on the receiving end of insults from other LNP stalwarts like Senator Abetz and Grahame Morris.

The women of parliament are not dregs; we are hard workers. It isn't fair that those opposite level their own biases against us because of our gender. It's a clear sign of weakness. They can't attack our strong policies, so they attack our gender. I am proud to say that my party, the mighty Australian Labor Party, is truly working towards gender equality as a party and as a nation.

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