Julie Collins (Franklin, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

My question is to the Minister for the Status of Women. What action is the government taking to promote the equality of women in Australia?

Sharman Stone (Murray, Liberal Party, Shadow Minister for Early Childhood Education and Childcare) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Particularly the gender pay gap.

Tanya Plibersek (Sydney, Australian Labor Party, Minister for Housing) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I want to thank the member for Franklin for her question. In fact, the member for Franklin is the first female member for Franklin since the establishment of the seat in 1903. It is great to have this opportunity to talk a little bit about the government’s achievements in this area following International Women’s Day yesterday, because International Women’s Day is an opportunity for us to celebrate the great advances that have been made but also to focus on the challenges that remain before we have truly achieved equality for women in Australia.

Sharman Stone (Murray, Liberal Party, Shadow Minister for Early Childhood Education and Childcare) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

In particular in the pay area?

Tanya Plibersek (Sydney, Australian Labor Party, Minister for Housing) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

We are a longstanding leader in gender equality. Everyone knows that Australia was one of the first countries to introduce votes for women. Today we should be proud that we have a Deputy Prime Minister who is a woman, a Deputy Leader of the Opposition who is a woman, a female Governor-General and three women on the High Court. We also have the highest representation of women ever in our parliament today, and that is certainly something that all members, I am sure, would be proud of. But of course we should be proud but not complacent. We still have a long way to go. There is still much work to be done. As the member opposite mentioned, we continue to have a gender pay gap. I am sure all of us still agree that women experience violence in much too great numbers.

We believe as a government that we need to support practical measures that give women options, allowing them and encouraging them to make the right choices for them in their stage of life, in their circumstances. We have returned fairness and flexibility to Australia’s workplaces, including for the first time a right to request flexible and part-time work for parents. It is important that these conditions are available to men as well as women because we know that, without a better sharing of the joys and responsibilities of domestic life, women will not be able to achieve professionally all they deserve to achieve. We have made it much easier for parents to afford to return to work by increasing the child care tax rebate to 50 per cent of out-of-pocket expenses and making those payments quarterly instead of annually.

For the first time, we have introduced a paid parental leave scheme, which will commence in January next year—a scheme that allows women to remain connected to the workforce while easing the financial burdens of taking time off to care for very young babies. The government’s scheme is a fully funded scheme, a scheme that particularly supports financial security for the lowest paid women, and it contrasts very sharply with the scheme that the Leader of the Opposition floated yesterday. It is well worth asking why, in 12 years of government, the previous government never introduced paid parental leave, leaving us and the United States to be the only two developed countries that have never had paid parental leave schemes. At the same time, they introduced workplace laws that made it much, much harder for parents to balance their work and caring responsibilities. They reduced penalty rates. They got rid of unfair dismissal provisions. They introduced AWAs, which we know were phenomenally bad for working women.

Of course, it is also worth asking why the Leader of the Opposition said that paid parental leave would be introduced ‘over this government’s dead body’ when he had the opportunity to do it. It is worth commenting that the broken promise on taxes has meant that no business group in the country supports this proposal, particularly as they are struggling to emerge from the global financial crisis. It is not clear yet whether this is opposition policy or not. It is not clear whether this is another thought bubble or whether we now have a commitment from the opposition that this policy will be introduced. But what I can tell you is that there are women in the community now who are planning to have children next year who need certainty. They are planning their family finances now. They are trying to work out how the mortgage will be paid next year. They need certainty that the opposition will back the government’s scheme and pass the government’s scheme so payments can commence in January next year. Heather Ridout said of this scheme, ‘It is the sort of policy’—

Opposition Members:

Opposition members interjecting—

Tanya Plibersek (Sydney, Australian Labor Party, Minister for Housing) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

It is worth quoting Heather twice, because she is so on the money. She said this is ‘the policy you have when you are not serious about having a policy’. This policy is thinner than a pair of spandex bike shorts and everyone can see that.

Don Randall (Canning, Liberal Party, Shadow Parliamentary Secretary for Roads and Transport) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Mr Randall interjecting

Harry Jenkins (Speaker) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

The member for Canning!

Don Randall (Canning, Liberal Party, Shadow Parliamentary Secretary for Roads and Transport) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Is she on the payroll?

Harry Jenkins (Speaker) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

The member for Canning is warned!

Tanya Plibersek (Sydney, Australian Labor Party, Minister for Housing) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

The paid parental leave scheme, I am sure, is one that will have significant community debate over coming months, as people see how thin this proposal is. But it is worth saying that there are many, many good policies that do have bipartisan support, including the work that the Australian government is doing with business to encourage family-friendly conditions in workplaces.

It was great to be with the Treasurer yesterday at the National Australia Bank as we announced the Equal Opportunity for Women in the Workplace Agency ‘Employer of Choice for Women’ award recipients—

Opposition Members:

Opposition members interjecting—

Tanya Plibersek (Sydney, Australian Labor Party, Minister for Housing) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I know. It is shocking, isn’t it, that 95 businesses around Australia would provide family friendly conditions for their employees! I can understand why that would have that sort of reaction from those opposite. We are committed to improving women’s voices in public life and today I have announced the establishment of six new alliances that will contribute to that work.

Finally, I want to say that all members of the House, and I am sure of the other place as well, and all members of the Australian community, understand that rates of violence against women in this country remain unacceptably high. Just, for example, in the last week the government has expanded programs run by the NRL and the AFL to work with players to encourage them to develop respectful relationships with women. This sort of work on the ground will complement the release later this year of our national plan to reduce violence against women and children. It is work that we can all be proud of.

Of course we have a lot to be proud of in our record. We still have a long way to go. As Anne Manne said at The Sydney Institute:

We will truly have equality when women no longer have to make impossible choices. When they are everywhere in public life and when both men and women are respected for their contribution to love’s never-ending labour.

Kevin Rudd (Griffith, Australian Labor Party, Prime Minister) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Mr Speaker, I ask that further questions be placed on the Notice Paper.