John Alexander (Bennelong, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

My question is to the Minister for Revenue and Financial Services and Minister for Women. Will the minister update the House on the steps the government is taking to improve women's economic security? Is the minister aware of any suggestions that might undermine this success?

Kelly O'Dwyer (Higgins, Liberal Party, Minister for Revenue and Financial Services) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I thank the member for Bennelong for his question and recognise his deep commitment to ensuring that Australian women can have equal opportunity to participate in our economy and his deep commitment to their economic security. He understands, just like everybody on this side of the chamber, that it is important to give women choices and to give them more options in their life. You can do that by ensuring that they are more economically secure. On this side of the chamber, we actually believe in aspiration. We believe that it is good to help people to get ahead. That's why it's so pleasing that I can advise the chamber that today we are having more women employed, in record numbers, than ever before. Of the more than one million jobs that have been created under this government, the majority of those jobs have gone to women.

It's also important to note that this government has been making an impact when it comes to closing the gender pay gap. They won't talk about this, but when Labor was in office, the gender pay gap was 17.2 per cent. Under this government, I'm pleased to report that it is down to 14.5 per cent. We know that that number is still too high, but it is trending in the right direction and the government is getting on with even more practical measures to be able to lower it even further. I'm pleased to report that, as Minister for Women, I will be delivering for the very first time ever, in the history of the parliament, a women's economic security statement that is focused on these practical measures. The government is making great strides when it comes to women's economic security and their retirement income. We have lifted the restrictions preventing women from making personal deductible contributions to their superannuation, no matter who employs them or how they are employed. We are also helping those women who have taken time out of the workforce to be able to catch-up on their superannuation contributions with a catch-up contribution on a rolling five-year basis.

The member for Bennelong asks, 'Are there any risks, any suggestions or any plans that may threaten this?' Yes, there are. It's the Leader of the Opposition and the Labor Party. They would scrap these catch-up contributions because they have a plan to harm the retirement savings of Australian women. They would no longer see a levelling of the playing field and would not allow the personal deductions that I spoke of. Worse still, Labor would impose a mega retiree tax that would disproportionately impact Australian women. Why on earth does Labor have this plan against financial security— (Time expired)