Alicia Payne (Canberra, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Hansard source

Today the gender pay gap in Australia is at its lowest in history. Last week ABS figures revealed the national gender pay gap has dropped to 12 per cent. This comes as a direct result of the work of the Albanese Labor government to drive a better deal for Australian women, and I want to thank and congratulate the Minister for Women, Katy Gallagher, my ACT Labor colleague, who has been a driving force behind this change.

Today we saw the Workplace Gender Equality Agency release, for the first time, data on the gender pay gap for every company with more than 100 employees. Here in Canberra, on the positive side, the gender pay gap at the Raiders NRL club is down to 2.6 per cent, and the Canberra Labor Club has a pay gap of 1.5 per cent. Congratulations to the Hellenic Club of Canberra, with a pay gap of zero per cent. At the Australian National University, the pay gap is at 7.6 per cent and at the University of Canberra it's only 2.3 per cent.

It's clear that, while our nation is on the right track, many in corporate Australia really need to lift their game in this regard, and it's to their own great benefit. Diversity at all levels of organisations, including leadership, drives the strength of the organisation. Diversity shouldn't be the icing on the cake, rather it is the cake. This Labor government is committed to ensuring that women, and indeed all Australians, earn more and keep more of what they earn with our tax cuts delivered from 1 July this year.

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