Emma Husar (Lindsay, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I rise very proudly to say that today the women's budget statement was released by Labor. You might remember it from the classic in 1983 when it was first launched. It was ended by your former Prime Minister, the member for Warringah, in 2013, when ironically he was also the Minister for Women. The reality of why women can never ever take a backward step in our fight for equality and to be treated fairly and equally is exactly the reason I have just described. This Liberal government is full of making sure that women never, ever get ahead.

I am going to run through, very briefly, my top three lowlights from this year's budget when it comes to women. The government has still not restored the $44 million in cuts to homelessness shelters under the National Partnership Agreement on Homelessness. Those that are getting any benefit from this budget this year will be more men. The wealthiest two per cent of Australians will receive a tax cut. Three-quarters of those benefits will flow to men. And possibly the worst one is that, after three years of arguing that change was not necessary, the government has finally accepted the Productivity Commission's recommendation to stop alleged perpetrators in domestic violence cases cross-examining victims. However, you have not managed to back it up with one cent of funding. It is a shame and a disgrace.