Joanne Ryan (Lalor, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Hansard source

I have sat with many women in my electorate office, women over 50, who were on the verge of homelessness. I am proud to be a member of the Labor Party that commits today to making that a thing of the past. Those opposite scoff and say, 'What difference will $30,000 make to your retirement income?' As a woman who had three children before she turned 30, I would have appreciated the compound interest on that $30,000 in my retirement income, if this superannuation package had been there then. Like many teachers who took time out of work to have their families, I would have appreciated this policy being in place back then. I'm proud to be part of a party that is making sure that it won't happen to other women in the future.

Sitting beside me is the member for Newcastle. She led Labor's Setting the Agenda consultation program across this country. The No. 1 issue that women—not just Labor women but women from business and all walks of life—raised with us around the country was women's superannuation. I am absolutely thrilled today to speak on this MPI to highlight what the government won't do but what Labor will do, and that is make a start down the road to making superannuation fairer for Australian women.

I want to give a shout-out to the labour movement. On my desk is a photograph of me with Ingrid Stitt and other members of the ASU, which was taken when they came to talk to me about this very issue. It sits on my desk to remind me every day that my job in this place is to ensure that women are given a fair go from the government of the day. I just want to mention this very important thing. When I joined the caucus, I was shocked on budget night in 2014 to learn that the then Prime Minister, the member for Warringah, had made himself the Minister for Women and had cut—cut!—the overview of the budget's impact on women, and I am shocked that three Prime Ministers later we still don't have a commitment to bringing that back in. Documents and actions like that highlight the problems in our economy where women are suffering, where this government is failing to look at things through that particular lens. It's not a surprise that they're failing to look at it through that particular lens. We've seen it all this week: 29 women on this side of the chamber; 29 women proudly fighting for things in our policies and helping to take the tough decisions so that we can do things like we've done today. It's not a surprise that those opposite don't understand women's issues or women's place in the economy. It's clear on their benches that they don't understand the importance— (Time expired)

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