Jim Chalmers (Rankin, Australian Labor Party, Treasurer) Share this | Hansard source

I really appreciate the question from the member for Fremantle, who's got a deep interest in superannuation and in our efforts to close the gender gap in super. Compulsory super is a really proud creation of the Labor government and the labour movement.

Our retirement income system is the envy of the world, but that doesn't mean it's perfect. It has its imperfections, and one of its imperfections is the gender gap when it comes to superannuation. To put it bluntly, parents—and especially mums—take much too big a hit when they take time off to have kids. The combination of the gender pay gap and the super gap means that women retire with about 25 per cent less super than men. Of course, we can't fix it overnight, but we are working hard to address the gender pay gap and the super gap at the same time. That's why we are really proud to have announced that we will now be paying the super guarantee on the government Paid Parental Leave scheme. We have said for some time that this is a priority for this Albanese Labor government, and now we will make it a reality for the mums and dads of Middle Australia. This will benefit about 180,000 families a year. It will boost retirement incomes for women. It will reduce some of the impact of interrupted work patterns. It will help make superannuation fairer. And, for all of these reasons, this is not just good social policy; this is good economic policy as well. We are paying super on paid parental leave and we are expanding and extending parental leave itself as well.

Here I pay tribute to the social services minister for getting the paid parental leave extension through the parliament this week. What a really proud achievement of this minister and this government. I pay tribute to her and I pay tribute to the Assistant Treasurer. I pay tribute to Minister Gallagher and, before her, the environment minister. I pay tribute to the member for Newcastle and others who have campaigned for so long for this really important change.

This government is all about ensuring that Australian women can earn more and keep more of what they earn and retire with more as well. Our tax cuts are better for women. Our wages policy is better for women. Our retirement incomes policy is better for women as well, and all three of these important policy areas are working together to close the pay gap and to close the superannuation gap as well. This is how we build on proud Labor legacies like paid parental leave and compulsory superannuation, to deliver for mums, dads and families; for local communities; and for the national economy as well.

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