Tanya Plibersek (Sydney, Australian Labor Party, Deputy Leader of the Opposition) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

My question is to the Prime Minister. Can the Prime Minister confirm that this government has hit the retirement savings of Australian women by supporting cuts to penalty rates, abolishing the low-income superannuation contribution, before being shamed into bringing it back, and delaying the increase in the superannuation guarantee? Doesn't this just confirm that this government's failure to increase the representation of women in important national institutions has a real and lasting impact on the everyday lives of Australian women?

Kelly O'Dwyer (Higgins, Liberal Party, Minister for Jobs) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I thank the member for her question. It is very important to place on the record that there has been no cut to penalty rates by the government. The government has made no decision to cut penalty rates, as she well knows. When the Leader of the Opposition was the minister responsible, he was involved in setting up the Fair Work Commission. The Fair Work Commission and all of the architecture around it can be laid at the feet of the Leader of the Opposition. The Fair Work Commission have made decisions regarding penalty rates for five awards. They haven't abolished those penalty rates for the awards, as those opposite would have us believe, but they have made some adjustments. What the Fair Work Commission have done, for instance, for public holidays is change it from double time and a half to double time and a quarter, so it still is there. So it's completely false for the Deputy Leader of the Opposition to make that suggestion, and it deserves to be called out in this place.

As she should know, it is the people who are sitting on this side of the chamber who have been working hard to ensure the financial security of Australian women. We have been doing that because we have wanted to increase the job opportunities for Australian women, and under our government there are more women in work than ever before. It is very hard to be on the path to financial security if you do not have a job, and it is this side of the House that has been working incredibly hard to put in place important superannuation reforms that would provide flexibility so that women who want to actually catch up on their superannuation contributions can do so under our measures—measures that would be scrapped by those opposite. We've levelled the playing field to make sure that anyone, regardless of their circumstances, can make a personal deduction and have the same concessions with their superannuation. It cost us more than a billion dollars to do that.

But the thing that they could really do to actually help the security of Australian women would be to support the government's Protecting Your Super legislation. That legislation would protect Australian workers, hardworking Australian people, from the rorts and rip-offs that have occurred in the superannuation sector. But those opposite are going to stand with high-fee-charging funds and they are going to stand with big insurers, not the Australian people. (Time expired)