Kylea Tink (North Sydney, Independent) Share this | Hansard source

I rise to speak to the member for Newcastle's motion, which identifies this government's investment in areas to improve the lives of women. While there have been some positive developments during the time of this 47th parliament, systems in this country remain riddled with gender bias, which perpetuates inequality for women. Every day, women are having to choose between violence and poverty. Single mothers are navigating debts from the weaponisation of child support. Mothers are staying home to care for their children because not working is more affordable than child care. Female employees are watching male counterparts receive promotions to senior leadership roles that should be theirs were it not for the fact that they are likely to have children in the near future. Women affected by intersectionality, including culturally diverse backgrounds, variability, health disorders or low-socioeconomic backgrounds, are experiencing these issues disproportionately.

In recent months, we have seen some positive news, including Australia's first ever strategy for gender equality, and I thank the government for that work. I believe we are seeing a commitment that simply has not existed under previous governments, and I am truly grateful for that. But the news that this government intends to legislate for the payment of superannuation on all forms of paid parental leave is particularly exciting. Yet I note this reform is only provisioned from July 2025, which means this government will need to win a second term for it to be realised.

Despite all of this progress, the fact remains that women in Australia face broad-ranging gender inequality despite the fact that, under article 22 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights—to which Australia is a signatory— everyone, as a member of society, has the right to social security. Systematic gender bias continues to leave many women facing precarious economic situations, and misaligned systems trap women in cycles of poverty and compound exclusion from economic participation. In fact, if current working patterns continue, the average 25-year-old woman today who has at least one child can expect to earn at least $2 million less over her lifetime than the average 25-year-old man who becomes a father. At the same time, women would need to work an additional 44 days to earn the same as men.

For many women, it costs less not to work and stay home to care for their children, while paid care work, which is often performed in feminised sectors, is undervalued. This is true in my electorate of North Sydney, where child care is some of the most expensive in the country and where many who work in the care sector are struggling to balance their budgets. This is despite the government's cheaper childcare package and recent increase in the award rate for aged-care workers. To this, I say: care work must be properly valued in this country.

I also want to take this opportunity to advocate for universal access to early childhood services and benefits for Australian families and for the extension of the Paid Parental Leave Scheme to 52 weeks, boosting the quantum of payments to reach a replacement wage. The national gender pay gap in this country still stands at 12 per cent. While being at an all-time low, it's nothing to be proud of.

In addressing women's economic security, we must also acknowledge the undeniable links to women's safety. In the 12 weeks since this year began, 16 women have already lost their lives to domestic violence, with the shocking truth that intimate partner violence is the main cause of illness and death in women aged 18 to 44 in this country. In my own community of North Sydney, everyday crisis services are stretched beyond capacity, and the need for the Staying Home Leaving Violence program has never been greater. Yet this program is not funded in any of the local government areas on the North Shore or the northern beaches.

I reiterate my calls for statewide funding of the Staying Home Leaving Violence program in New South Wales and the equivalent in all other states and territories. While I make this call, women continue to be gravely underrepresented in senior leadership roles across the country, and I fear that the ears that need to be listening may not be open. It is heartening to see the government strengthening targets for women's representation on Australian government boards and advisory bodies, but we must see women offered at least half the seats at every table.

In conclusion, women's rights are human rights. Everyone is entitled to rights and freedoms that fall from the Universal Declaration of Human Rights without distinction of any kind, including sex. However, that is not the case in Australia. Without a human rights legal framework, human rights are minimally protected here. If Australia had a human rights act, it would ensure that the federal parliament would consider the different needs of women and others from diverse backgrounds when designing law and policy. Personally, I don't think that reform can come soon enough, as it would benefit not only women but all Australians.

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