Libby Coker (Corangamite, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Hansard source

I'd like to begin by thanking the member for Tangney for moving this important motion. It holds great personal significance for me as a mother of two young women and as a member of Australia's first female-majority Labor caucus. Pay equality is an issue that resonates deeply with me as it reflects both the progress we've made and the challenges that still lie ahead. Since Albanese government came to office in 2022, we have made it a priority to lessen the disparity in wages between men and women, and we are having success, with Australia climbing from 43rd to 26th in the global gender gap rating.

Despite the significant advancement in the fight for gender equality, women do continue to face persistent wage gaps and often earn less than their male colleagues. Our government recognises this and is acting to further bridge the gender pay gap. Our government's tax cut package will significantly benefit women in the workforce. It will mean 90 per cent of women will receive a tax cut and they will receive a $1,500 tax cut on average. These are the teachers, the nurses and the aged-care workers who play such an important role in caring for our children, our neighbours and our older community members. These are the same workers who are at the centre of our industrial relations reforms to lift the minimum wage in female dominated industries. We have also increased the wages of aged-care workers by 15 per cent in line with the royal commission recommendations. From these reforms to the employment white paper, we have been placing women at the centre of our agenda and have made pay equality a key economic imperative. We're continuing this work through our expansion of paid parental leave to 26 weeks by 1 July this year.

For young mums in my electorate, this can't come soon enough. They want to see this pass the parliament as soon as possible. I recently visited a local playgroup in Torquay where Gemma Smith, the mother of one-year-old twins, said the changes to paid parental leave would have made a dramatic difference to her life when her boys, Angus and Charlie, were born. Gemma welcomed the extra flexibility in how parents could take leave, which she said encouraged gender equality. She said: 'It is so much harder to go back to work when you have twins. This would have been so helpful. Our family would have had a steadier income sooner.' More paid leave will ease the cost-of-living pressures for young families like Gemma's and, importantly, create greater capacity for parents to share parenting, build a career and earn a pay packet.

With its rapid growth—almost the fastest in the nation—my electorate of Corangamite is home to many young mothers facing challenges similar to this. Our government and I recognise that many women want to return to work or re-enter the workforce to extend their career and, importantly, contribute to the family budget. That's why our government boosted the cheaper childcare subsidy: so that mothers can get back to work, earn a good wage, build their careers and boost their superannuation. The data shows that this has had significant impact across the nation and particularly in my electorate of Corangamite. Since the subsidy was boosted, the average reduction in out-of-pocket expenses across the sector has been 11 per cent for centre based day care, 8.8 per cent for outside school hours care, 12 per cent for in-home care and 13.8 per cent for family day care.

While we take pride in these accomplishments, our government understands that there is much to do. The current national gender pay gap means that on average women working full time earn $253 less each week than their male counterparts. The national gender pay gap is at 13 per cent, and women have an average of 47 per cent less super compared to men, equating to an $85,000 difference for the average superannuation fund. These things matter. I understand they matter, and we must do more, but we are working hard because we believe in fairness and justice in wages.

In closing, I note that over recent years, the voices and experience of women have helped change public perceptions. We are listening to those voices, and women are changing public policy. It's time to build on this and to continue to work to reduce the gender pay gap. Together, as a nation, we will all be better for it because, when women do well, we all do well.

See this speech in context