Sharon Claydon (Newcastle, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I move:

That this House:

(1) notes that:

(a) International Women's Day will be held on Sunday, 8 March 2020; and

(b) the theme for 2020 is 'Each for Equality', which calls on all of us to 'Celebrate women's achievement. Raise awareness against bias. Take action for equality;

(2) recognises that entrenched gender inequities remain, including:

(a) high rates of family and domestic violence, sexual violence and harassment;

(b) the under-representation of women in leadership roles; and

(c) pay inequity and the undervaluation of work in traditionally female industries; and

(3) calls on the Government to:

(a) make gender equality a central priority;

(b) commit to urgent action to improve Australian women’s:

(i) safety and physical security;

(ii) economic security and retirement incomes;

(iii) health and reproductive rights; and

(iv) representation in Australian parliaments; and

(c) reinstate the Women’s Budget Statement.

I am very pleased to stand to speak on this motion to recognise International Women's Day. The theme for 2020—'each for equal'—is a call-out to each of us to work together to achieve gender equality. It recognises that every individual has a role to play. Here in this place we bear a particular responsibility when it comes to gender equality, as many of the levers that can bring about change are controlled from this building. We are in a profoundly privileged position of having power to make a difference. The flipside of this is that we must take responsibility when in fact there is little progress.

Looking back over the decades, there has certainly been significant forward momentum for women in Australia. On the Labor side, I'm particularly proud to a member of the party that instituted no-fault divorce, that created supporting mothers benefits, that ensured the pill was listed on the Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme, that gave women the right to the minimum wage and of course reopened the equal pay case that saw women's wages rise by 30 per cent.

But on a shorter time scale things are not looking so rosy. All of the key metrics, by any measure, suggest that we need to do better. While the gender pay gap has been tracking down for a few years now, parity is a long way off. According to the Workplace Gender Equality Agency, men working full time earn more than $25,000 per year more than women working full time. This is an astounding gap. Female dominated industries like aged care and early childhood education are still chronically underpaid, despite undertaking some of the most important work in our communities.

Women are also gravely under-represented in leadership roles. Last year only 17.1 per cent of CEOs were women—unchanged from the previous year. Female representation on boards inched up by just one per cent to 26.8 percent. This place isn't much better. While the Labor Party brought in a strong quota system, the Liberal Party has steadfastly opposed this. The result has been that while Labor has almost achieved parity, less than a quarter of Liberal members in the House of Representatives are women. This matters. When we have more women at the decision-making table, we get better, more inclusive policies, which help women, children and families. When it comes to policy development, the government could do one thing today that would make a huge difference. They could implement gender-sensitive budgeting and reinstate the women's budget statement, which was axed when the Liberals came to office.

When it comes to gender issues, the most diabolical failure of all—the greatest indictment of all of us in this place—is our failure to reduce, let alone stop, gendered violence. One in three Australian women have experienced physical violence since the age of 15, and one woman a week continues to be murdered by her former or current partner. Last week we held a vigil to remember Hannah Clarke and her three children, who were violently murdered by the children's father. We rightly condemned this brutal act, but it keeps on happening. Already this year nine women have lost their lives violently. Clearly this is a truly wicked problem with complex and intertwined factors at play. I recommend to members in this House that they read Jess Hill's insightful book See what you made me do: power, control and domestic violencefor a thorough analysis and specific calls to action when it comes to family law and policing.

I would like to draw the House's attention to one thing we could do right now. I am Deputy Chair of the House Standing Committee on Social Policy and Legal Affairs. We did an extensive inquiry into how we might improve the family law system to better support and protect those affected by family violence. I would like to draw the House's attention to recommendation 19 in the report of this inquiry—which, I emphasise, was a consensus, bipartisan report. This recommendation calls on the government to consider removing the presumption of equal shared parental responsibility, which creates a dangerous situation for women and children escaping violence. We know that the post-separation period is one of the most dangerous times for women and children. This is something the government can do right now.

Tony Smith (Speaker) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Is the motion seconded?

Anne Aly (Cowan, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I second the motion and reserve my right to speak.

Celia Hammond (Curtin, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I thank the member for Newcastle for raising some very important issues in her motion today, particularly highlighting that Sunday 8 March is International Women's Day. In January this year I, along with many parliamentary colleagues, attended the Asia-Pacific Parliamentary Forum with the aim of bringing together nations in the region to foster economic, environmental, cultural and social cooperation. One major focus of the delegation was promoting gender equality in the context of sustainable development and shared prosperity in the region. This forum discussed empowering women and promoting gender equality and how it is crucial to accelerating sustainable development.

Ending all forms of discrimination against women and girls not only is a basic human right but also has multiplier effects across other development areas. Providing women and girls with equal access to education, healthcare, work and representation in political and economic decision-making processes will fuel sustainable economies and benefit societies and humanity at large. Women's participation in decision-making in all sectors is also fundamental to having inclusive and effective solutions. We know that, despite the increasing recognition of the critical role of women in decision-making, women remain largely underrepresented in both public and private sectors at the global, regional and national levels.

The UN issued a SDG progress report in 2019. Encouragingly, the report notes that the Pacific is the leading subregion for progress towards gender equality, but overall progress is still insufficient in the region. Likewise, Australia's first voluntary report on its progress towards the SDGs in 2018 noted:

… women in Australia have made significant strides towards equality with men. At universities, in workplaces, in boardrooms and in government …

But there is still a lot to do.

On a personal level, I need only compare the life opportunities I have had with those of my mother and grandmother to make the observation that we have made progress towards gender equality. But we do need to do more, and in doing more our focus should be on providing equal opportunity and choice for all. We need to recognise and realise, through our laws and general conduct as individuals and society, that everyone has different aspirations, different talents and different goals, regardless of their gender. We need to ensure that everyone has the opportunity to reach their potential to fulfil their ambitions and participate in a society that is best suited to them, regardless of their gender. We must also make sure that we respect the choices that different people make. True equality for women does not mean that all women should aspire to do the same thing or be the same thing, rather that they can aspire to do and be their best selves.

In the context of this motion I also want to comment on a rising phenomenon which has had a greater impact on females than on males and is a form of gendered violence—the insidious rise of revenge pornography and image based sexual abuse. I met with a constituent in my electorate of Curtin. She gave me permission to share her story to help raise awareness for others. Noelle Martin was only 18 years old when she discovered that images of her had been taken from her online social media and had been doctored onto highly explicit pornographic material and that these deepfake images had been uploaded to multiple pornographic websites, along with other personal information, such as where she studied and where she lived.

This abuse, undoubtedly and quite understandably, saw Noelle's mental health suffer, as she worried what this would mean for her future employment and for her future life. The abuse continued but, rather than succumbing to this, Noelle stood up to it and started a relentless campaign to raise awareness of deepfake online abuse. It took Noelle some time to gain momentum, but she persevered, and her perseverance was recognised with her being awarded the WA Young Australian of the Year award in 2018.

Noelle's victimisation at the hands of deepfake online abuse is a very real situation that many Australians have faced and may potentially face in the future. It is a rising trend of online sexual abuse. A recent RMIT report found that 23 per cent of young Australians have experienced at least one instance of being a victim of image based abuse. The scale and severity of this is absolutely alarming. I'm pleased that our government has strengthened laws aimed at protecting victims, but I also urge the government to be as relentless as Noelle was and continue to ensure this insidious evil is stopped. (Time expired)

Anne Aly (Cowan, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I start by commending the member for Newcastle for bringing to the House's attention International Women's Day on 8 March and the theme for this year: each for equal. I would like to take this opportunity to broaden the lens a bit on International Women's Day and draw attention to the fact that a singular focus on gender, as well meaning as it is, inadvertently excludes some women. The fact is that women's rights have not always worked for all women. When women first got the vote, not all women were allowed to vote. We had to fight for that. When women first entered the workforce, not all women entered the workforce. We had to fight for that. The gender pay gap in the US—an Hispanic woman or an African-American woman is likely to earn less than other women. While we don't have the statistics here for Australia, I'm sure that the gender gap for women of colour is much bigger than the gender gap for other women. We have the incarceration rates for Indigenous First Nations women here in Australia as well.

There is also the fact that women of colour and women from culturally and linguistically diverse backgrounds are underrepresented here in parliament as well as in other forms of leadership. If women are gravely underrepresented in the corridors of power and the corridors of leadership, as the two previous speakers pointed out, then they are even more absent if they are women of colour, or women with a disability, or women with a disability and women of colour. If the odds are stacked against women then they are piled high to the ceiling for minority women. What we need is an equality framework that works for all women, that takes into account the intersection of gender, race, ethnicity, religion and disability, that recognises the double sometimes triple disadvantage of being not just female but black and female, ethnic and female, disabled and female—a minority within a minority and sometimes within a minority again.

Equal rights for women will only work if they work for all women and if no woman is left behind. I reiterate that sometimes, when we focus singularly on gender, we inadvertently forget minority women. They're added on as a postscript or as an afterthought to policies that we have about women. I've been and will continue to be very vocal about the fact that women's rights don't work unless they work for minority women and unless they're inclusive of all women. The fact is that we won't achieve true gender equality until the most marginalised among us can share in the success. We cannot celebrate women's success if not every woman can celebrate with us. The measure of our moral code is to be found in how we treat our most vulnerable. While we must keep an eye to where we've come from and the fact that we have made huge strides as women, collectively, we must also keep an eye to the future and continue to agitate for more change. But we can't continue to do so at the expense of women who are yet to experience the wins, the rights and the equality that a lot of other women enjoy.

On a final note, I would like to make a particular reference to violence against women, which is mentioned in this motion. I've spoken about this in parliament before. I've shared my personal story before. I want to make sure that we continue this conversation. I want to make sure that every time we speak about women and about policies for women and about equal rights for women we talk about violence against women, we talk about family and domestic violence and we get this message out to every home, to every living room, to every street in every suburb and to every community across Australia, because the fact is that we're failing on this. The fact is that we're failing to prevent domestic and family violence in the home and, as leaders, we need to take a stand on this. I'll be speaking about it as much as I can.

Katie Allen (Higgins, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I rise to support the motion from the member for Newcastle that we celebrate women's achievements and highlight their unique challenges on International Women's Day, on Sunday 8 March. I take this opportunity to acknowledge all the women sitting here in the chamber. We stand here today because of the hard work and strength of generations of women that have come before us, women who have fought for our right to vote and our right to stand. We should all be proud that Australia was one of the first countries in the world to enable women the right to vote and stand 120 years ago.

I would like to honour one of those early suffragettes in the UK, my cousin Margaret Bondfield, who was the first female member of cabinet in the UK parliament almost 100 years ago. In those days, women, like my cousin Margaret Bondfield, and like our party's cofounder Dame Elizabeth Couchman, had to choose between public life and having a family. The legacy of these women is left to us to champion.

I would like to pay tribute to my predecessor in the seat of Higgins, the former Minister for Women, the Hon. Kelly O'Dwyer—the first member for Higgins who was truly committed to gender equality. Kelly understood that financial security is key to enabling women to have the freedom to follow their dreams and have the power to stand on their own two feet. This is why we should celebrate that, as a result of the work of Kelly and the Morrison government, women's workforce participation is at a record high of just over 61 per cent in Australia and the gender pay gap is now at a record low of 14 per cent. The Morrison government is also working to address the challenges of women returning to the workforce after taking time out of their careers to look after their family. I know what that's like. I have four children myself. We've committed $75 million over four years to our mid-career checkpoint, helping up to 40,000 people who've taken time out of their career to care for their family. This will tailor career advice, coach and train them, and help them get back into the workforce.

It's days like today that we have to take the opportunity to shine the spotlight on the longstanding abuses that women have had to face, and this includes violence that is perpetrated by men against women, not only here in Australia but across the globe. There are 111 countries that have no repercussions for husbands who rape their wives, 45 countries do not have specific laws against domestic violence and 35 per cent of women globally have experienced sexual or physical violence.

'Surely,' I hear you say, 'Australia is immune from these dreadful statistics?' But in the last week alone the staggering figures of women who experienced intimate partner violence have again been brought home, here in Australia, in a devastating way. Words cannot describe the shock of the nation at the terrible event that occurred when Hannah Clarke and her beautiful children were set alight and killed by someone who should have been supporting and protecting them. Unfortunately, this event is not a horrible and tragic one-off. In Australia, one woman is killed every nine days by a partner or a former partner. One in six Australian women have experienced physical or sexual violence by a current or former partner. Every two minutes somewhere in Australia the police are called to a domestic violence incident. By highlighting and talking about this issue, it brings it out of the darkness and from behind closed doors, and we can work to understand it and then fix it.

It should be the commitment of all governments to create and prioritise a safe, secure and equal status for women in our economy and our society. This year's International Women's Day 2020 theme mirrors that commitment. The campaign theme is #EachforEqual. The theme recognises that an equal world is an enabled world. Despite the dreadful statistics there is still much to celebrate on IWD. We can celebrate the fact that around the world more girls today are attending and completing school. Fewer are getting married or becoming mothers while still children. We can celebrate the fact that women are breaking boundaries and stereotypes across all walks of life all around the world and translating dreams to reality. I hope for a world where my daughters and yours are truly equal. Individually we're all responsible for our own thoughts and actions all day, every day.

Anika Wells (Lilley, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Women are usually the first to celebrate the success of other women and to feel inspired by their achievements, but when it comes to our own successes we tend to see self-promotion as fairly unctuous bragging, and most prefer to downplay their work and to avoid bringing attention to their successes. Humility is a trait with many virtues, and it's a trait which many of us in this House could do to remember more often, but while we still live in a world where women are earning 14 per cent less than men for the same job, whilst doing 28 per cent more of the unpaid care of our littlest citizens and oldest citizens, we cannot afford to let each other be silent about our hard work and our success.

The habit of steering clear of self-promotion is a learnt behaviour and is driven by societal, gender-based norms that expect modesty in women. It contributes to the self-promotion gap in Australia, where there is a perception that men in the workplace are more successful not because they actually are but because they are much better at telling each other, their colleagues and their bosses that they are. Before getting elected to this place, I used to work at a workplace with an 80 per cent women workforce, and I still found that stat to be true each and every day. I see the that member for Curtin is nodding. Obviously it is a truth universally common from east to west coast.

We need to change how we look at talking about our achievements. Maybe the way to do it is to see making our work visible as an ultimately altruistic and supportive offering to other women that will encourage other women to speak up about their own successes, because only once we are willing to highlight our achievements can we be properly recognised for them. Today I stand in this place to celebrate and pay homage to the women in my electorate of Lilley who have been recognised by their peers for their dedication to community service and were part of the 2020 Lilley honours list.

Rosslyn Davies has worked as an early childhood educator at C&K kindergarten in Nundah for over 30 years. Ros is passionate about getting her kindy kids out in nature and learning through play. She regularly goes above and beyond her duties as an educator, often spending hours of her own time at home getting art projects and lessons ready for the next day. When I met her, she was busy spending each and every evening gluing photo frames together at night in front of the television in order for the kids to paint for Father's Day gifts. Ros has done a great job getting families and the local community involved in the kindy by organising regular family picnic days and working bees to maintain the kindy gardens and facilities. In doing so she also maintains our community's cohesion. Ros, thank you for everything that you have done for our littlest citizens.

Elma Amberger is a teacher at St Kevin's Catholic Primary School in Geebung. As if being a primary school teachers isn't admirable enough, Elma uses her weekends and holidays to work on making Saint Kevin's a more environmentally sustainable school. Some of the initiatives she has implemented at Saint Kevin's include promoting nude food to reduce single-use plastics, a tin can recycling system, composting, worm farms for garden fertilisers, sustainable gardens that produce crops and a chicken coop that encourages the kids to bring in scraps to feed their chickens. Elma, thank you for doing your part to save our planet and for thinking locally while acting globally every single day.

Lizzie Ashton is a former employee of Wesley Mission in Chermside. Lizzie had barely retired in 2015 before she came back to volunteer at Wesley Mission. She runs 'cooking with Lizzie' twice a week to get residents involved in cooking, as well as regular bingo games, quizzes and fundraisers. Lizzie injects enthusiasm and energy into the life of the residents at Wesley Mission. Lizzie, thank you for bringing a smile to the faces of some of our eldest citizens on the north side.

Carmela Baxter has used her entrepreneurial savvy to open the Silky Oak Espresso in Chermside West, a place I came to cherish while on parental leave. The cafe trains and employs vulnerable and disadvantaged members of our community who are trying to get back on their feet—like survivors of domestic violence, young adults transitioning from foster care and people who have been otherwise struggling to find work. Carmela, thank you for using your business to bring support and purpose to our young people on the north side, who often feel forgotten or left behind.

Colette La Frantz has spent her career as a teacher and principal. Colette is also an active member of the Lions Club of the Brisbane inner-north chapter and a driving force behind some of the club's youth projects. She has spearheaded bravery awards for children with special needs and their supportive siblings. Colette, thank you for mentoring our next generation of activists and leaders.

Fiona Martin (Reid, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I rise today on the motion moved by the member for Newcastle. This week, on 8 March, we will mark International Women's Day. For the growing number of women in this place, International Women's Day is an opportunity for us as female leaders to celebrate the women in our communities and recognise the challenges that we still face collectively. The theme for 2020 is #EachforEqual. It calls on all of us, regardless of our gender, to celebrate women's achievement, raise awareness against bias and take action for equality. Much needs to be done to uproot entrenched gender inequities in our society. For Australia to prosper, we need to take further steps for women's economic security, health, reproductive rights and safety.

While we have made significant gains in some areas of gender parity, other areas continue to leave a scar in our communities and across our country. High rates of family and domestic violence, sexual violence and harassment continue to disproportionately impact women. Since 2013 the coalition government has made ongoing investments, totalling $840 million, to prioritise women's safety. Much of this funding has been dedicated to funding front-line services, prevention strategies and providing safe places for people impacted by domestic and family violence. This investment includes a $60.4 million grants program to provide new or expanded emergency accommodation facilities for those escaping family and domestic violence. We've also expanded the role of the eSafety Commissioner to tackle online abuse and harassment. New tough civil penalties now exist for those posting or threatening to post any intimate image without consent. New criminal offences have been put in place for aggravated and repeated non-consensual image sharing. Abuse is abuse. Whether it occurs online or offline.

Despite bipartisan efforts, violence against women and girls persists. Last week, many of us in this place spoke about the most horrific consequences of domestic violence—an issue which affects women at a disproportionate rate. In Australia, one in six women has experienced physical and/or sexual violence by a cohabiting partner since the age of 15. This means that 1.6 million women and girls right here in Australia are being impacted by gender based violence right now. The majority of men and women in our communities may feel overwhelmed by such devastating statistics.

I spoke last week in this place about how understanding of domestic violence has expanded. The term now refers to abuse in the form of sexual, verbal, psychological, financial, and social abuse. Women and men are being armed with the understanding that abuse is not always physical or obvious but can be sustained and subtle. There are more complex challenges, of course, in the multicultural and linguistically diverse communities, where understanding acceptable behaviour in relationships can be a challenge. Ensuring that services to help and empower victims of domestic violence are accessible and available in community languages must remain a priority and that financial and social support is available to those who choose to leave unsafe circumstances.

We must remember that each of us has the power to challenge attitudes that condone or dismiss violence. We have the power to challenge gender bias. We have the power to keep our friends and family accountable regarding the disrespect of women. We also have the power to reflect on the attitudes we ourselves were raised with and consider whether they truly support a vision of respect for all, regardless of their gender.

An essential way to ensure women's safety is through empowering financial security and employment opportunities. Under the Morrison government, women's full-time employment and female participation in the workforce is reaching record highs. Last year, we delivered the Women's Economic Security Statement, investing $119 million to improve the financial security and independence of Australian women. Initiatives like the Future Female Entrepreneurs Program and the Boosting Female Founders start-up fund are supporting women to become entrepreneurs and access the finance they need to achieve their entrepreneurial goals. We're supporting women across STEM, economics, business and enterprise, so that more women can overcome gender biases and rightfully gain leadership positions in these industries based on their merits and skills. We have introduced more flexible paternal leave to give families more balanced caring responsibilities, and this has provided mothers with choices that suit their employment needs, if they choose to work. International Women's Day refocuses our efforts on gender equality as a central priority of this government.

Rebekha Sharkie (Mayo, Centre Alliance) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

In the few minutes that it takes for me to deliver this speech, the police will have attended three separate calls in relation to family violence. By the time all speakers on this motion have concluded, that number will grow to 30 separate calls for family violence related incidents. By the end of today, the figures will grow to 723 separate calls—if not more, given that we know incidents of family violence spike following natural disasters and given that we know not all women report.

Imagine if these were reports of suspected coronavirus infections. Would we as individuals, as a society and as a parliament respond differently? Ugly violence against women is far more deadly than the disease. A 2016 ANROWS study found intimate partner violence contributes to more illness, disability and premature death than any other risk factor in women aged 18 to 44, with an average of eight women hospitalised each day due to family violence. Arguably, the economic impact of family violence is equal to if not greater than the coronavirus too, with a 2016 KPMG report estimating $26 billion is lost each year as a consequence of violence against women and their children. Former Australian of the Year Rosie Batty issued a statement following the death of Hannah Clarke and her children in which she called on political leaders to think deeply about their leadership on this epidemic.

In 2010, the then Julia Gillard government created the National Plan to Reduce Violence against Women and their Children. It was a historic moment that brought together state, territory and Commonwealth governments to address the scourge of family and sexual violence against women. The national plan was a clear demonstration of Australia's commitment to uphold the human rights of women, and that there can be no greater right than to feel safe and to be free from violence in all forms.

But for our regional and rural communities feeling safe and free can be a challenge. Twenty-one per cent of women in rural and regional areas have experienced violence at the hands of an intimate partner, compared to 15 per cent of their urban counterparts. The problem is further compounded by the fact that women are unable to reach services due to a lack of both private and public transport options, and the closest services and support may be hundreds of kilometres away. In some communities, there is a view that family problems, such as domestic violence, should not be talked about outside of the home. This is perhaps reflected in some of the more disturbing statistics arising from the National Community Attitudes towards Violence against Women Survey, which show that many in our community still hold attitudes and beliefs that tolerate or excuse violence. Two in five Australians believe gender inequality is exaggerated and no longer a problem, and one in five Australians believe domestic violence is a normal reaction to stress and that sometimes a woman can make a man so angry he hits her without meaning to.

Government alone cannot stop violence against women, but it can put in place the necessary frameworks to ensure that every single member of the public has the tools they need to uphold the fundamentals human right to feel safe and to be free from violence. The national plan and accompanying action plan strive to do that. I want to acknowledge the extraordinary work of ANROWS, the national centre for excellence and Our Watch, but we as individuals must acknowledge that everybody in our society has responsibility to tackle the attitudes and beliefs that give rise to violence against women and that we have a role to play in advancing gender equality and respect for women, because women will never be safe if they are not viewed as equals. As Rosie Batty said, this is a serious abuse of human rights in our advanced and privileged culture and must continue to be addressed as an absolute priority by both federal and state governments.

So this Sunday we will recognise International Women's Day. I ask all in this chamber to pause and reflect and to think about the women who are not here to celebrate this day this year. Let us think about what we can do as a parliament collectively, all together, to bring change to this very important and concerning issue.

Angie Bell (Moncrieff, Liberal National Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I agree with the members' sentiments. It's a pleasure to speak on this private members' motion to highlight the amazing achievements that have been made by women. This Sunday marks International Women's Day, a day to celebrate the social, economic, cultural and political achievements of women. From women who are the backbone of families and communities to those who are visionary entrepreneurs and run million-dollar businesses on the Gold Coast, our women are engaged and they are strong. It's fitting that we celebrate their contribution on International Women's Day.

As part of International Women's Day this year, I will attend the launch of the 2020 Gold Coast Women of the Year awards, present bid the Gold Coast Bulletin and host at the Star Gold Coast. Nominations will be open and represent a broad categories, including sport, education and entertainment. Last year the inaugural event included 359 nominations across eight categories at a sold-out luncheon. This shows the incredible support shown by the Gold Coast community to celebrate the achievements made by women who make a most valuable contribution to our city. The 2019 winner was the former Bleach* CEO and artistic director, Louise Bezzina, for her incredible work in the events sector, a key pillar on the Gold Coast.

Last week I spoke in parliament about the fantastic women in Gold Coast sport and the launch of the first women's national team, the Gold Coast Suns, in the AFLW. We live in a momentous time for women's sport across our country, with women's T20 cricket recently achieving pay parity and women's surfing achieving equal pay. It's important that we celebrate women's sport, particularly given some of the challenges they face, including access to facilities and funding, and social and cultural barriers.

We've heard before that you cannot be what you cannot see, and many Australians look to sports stars as leaders in our society. That's why their behaviour as role models is so important. To all those young girls out there: if you have yet watched our fabulous new sport stars, I encourage you to tune in to the AFL Women's and cheer on the Gold Coast Suns women's team.

The Gold Coast is the small business capital of the Australia. In my electorate alone there are over 32,000 of them. It's so important to support small business and celebrate their success, and I want to take the opportunity to highlight the achievements and immense contributions that women-led businesses make to both the Gold Coast and the Australian economy. Locally, in Surfers Paradise, I had the privilege of meeting with women leaders with the Minister for small and family business, Senator Michaelia Cash. I met with them on a second occasion when I hosted a roundtable discussion with the Minister for Women, Senator Marise Payne. It was the first time in history female leaders in business on the Gold Coast had the opportunity to meet with the Liberal Minister for Women.

These women have been successful across many industries, including manufacturing, health, law and the automotive sector. I would like to pay special mention to the Women in Business Awards of Australia and Queensland Women in Business CEO Karen Phillips, who has been instrumental in unearthing the depth and breadth of the growing cohort of female leaders in our city. Her work through these awards has encouraged ambition, empowered confidence and inspired women leaders now and into the future. These awards support and promote the exceptional work women are doing in the business community. Last year the winners from my electorate were Lucy Johnston, Renee Tocco, Andrea Lewis and Samantha Reynolds. I congratulate all of them on winning the 2019 prize.

The Morrison government backs Australian women, expands their choices and delivers more opportunities. Under our government we've created more than 1.5 million jobs through the hard work of Australians each and every day. The majority of these have actually been taken up by women. Women's workforce participation is at a record high of just over 61 per cent, and the gender pay gap is now at a record low of 14 per cent. We've achieved equality in the number of women and men in the Australian Senate for the first time in history, and there are very many more women in the class of 2019 than there were at the last election. I'm very pleased to say we've moved within cooee of equal representation on government boards. As of 30 June last year, women held 47.9 per cent of positions. That is an all-time high. It's, in fact, the highest percentage of women in government boards since public reporting began in 2009. Of course, we must keep fighting against domestic violence to change the attitudes of those who offend and work towards zero deaths.

To close, I would like to commend the Morrison government on the work it has done to prioritise secure, fair and equal status for women. Perhaps we can look forward to a day when 'women in business' awards and roundtable discussions on how we can support women are no longer required. I wish women across Moncrieff, across the Gold Coast and of course across our great country a very happy and celebratory International Women's Day.

Helen Haines (Indi, Independent) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I thank the member for Newcastle for her motion. For over a century, International Women's Day has recognised and celebrated the achievements of women, and we should celebrate. Women have come so far in spite of the cultural and institutional barriers holding us back. We get a step closer to equality each year.

But this year I'm not in the celebrating mood. The horrific murders of Hannah, and Aaliyah, Laianah and Trey by their husband and father respectively make platitudes about female empowerment ring a bit hollow for me. At the candlelight vigil held here in their honour last week, we sang 'Amazing Grace'. When words fail, sometimes there is only a song. There were no words that could properly condemn those terrible crimes. The deaths of Hannah and her children are just one example of this epidemic in our society. As a nurse and a midwife, I met countless women experiencing family violence. One in six Australian women has experienced physical or sexual violence by a current or previous partner. For some women, the very first time they experience this violence is during pregnancy.

Since I last spoke in this place about violence against women, exactly two months ago, 24 women have been killed according to Counting Dead Women Australia researchers. One woman is killed every nine days. Family violence is as regular as clockwork, and what makes the news is just the smallest tip of the iceberg. 'Why didn't she just leave?' people ask. For people experiencing family violence, leaving may not feel like much of an option. She might have nowhere to go. She might work part time or not at all, and her income isn't enough. Her family may not believe her, and he's gaslit her into sometimes not believing herself. He's threatened to post that video or kill that dog. Leaving can be a risk that involves weighing up the odds of your own life.

If she does leave, there can be a huge financial cost. It costs money to change the locks, break the lease, repair the property damage and pay off the joint credit cards. She may need to pay a lawyer or try her luck with an understaffed and underfunded free service. Maybe she'll go to the police. She might wait hours in court in a queue of women in the same boat for a scrap of paper meant to protect her. And this is just the beginning. Family violence can have long-term impacts on health, wellbeing, education, relationships and housing.

In my electorate of Indi, we have a fantastic network of services to support women escaping abuse. Their hallmark is their collaborative partnerships which provide a holistic, trauma-informed and client-centric safety net. The Hume Riverina Community Legal Service has embedded a family violence lawyer, Jodie Wells, within the Centre Against Violence in Wangaratta and Wodonga to help women and children with legal issues, including family violence, protection orders, family law, property, child support and victims of crime applications. Other services working hard to support women include Women's Health Goulburn North East, Ovens Murray Integrated Family Violence Network, Upper Murray Family Care, Gateway Health, Albury Wodonga Aboriginal Health Service, Intereach, YES Unlimited and its women's centre, as well as government agencies, the courts and police.

The demand on these services is immense. The family violence lawyer is funded for only two days per week and she'll see 20 clients per day. Legal Aid fees are so low that private lawyers lose money doing family violence cases. Without a Victorian Legal Aid office in my electorate, Hume Riverina Community Legal Service is the only provider of onsite free legal service. Each year they turn away hundreds of people due to capacity and conflict issues. The number of people accessing services due to family, domestic and sexual violence continues to rise. Properly funding these services that support women fleeing family violence is absolutely critical. No woman should be turned away, especially given what it takes for her to get there. If there is somewhere to go that can help when they need it, deciding to leave is made easier.

Yet, women have come so far. Only 28 years ago rape in marriage was still legal in South Australia, 15 years ago the defence of provocation still allowed a man to escape conviction for murdering his wife, and only three years ago the Me Too movement swept the world. But the most dangerous place for women is still the home. I call upon the government to properly fund these services to improve Australian women's safety and physical security and then give us something to truly celebrate.

Bridget Archer (Bass, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Thank you to all of those who have spoken today ahead of International Women's Day on Sunday. I stand here today as the first female Liberal member for Bass and only the fourth female in the history of the seat—not much balance there, I would say, but some progress. At the UN International Women's Day breakfast, the PM noted that for the first time in the parliament's history there are equal numbers of men and women in the Australian Senate, and I'm proud to stand among the growing number of women from all sides in this place. But I look forward to a day when we don't have to discuss it.

In 2020, we have a long, long way to go. As long as women and girls in this country continue to suffer physical, emotional and financial abuse in outrageous numbers, true gender equity remains out of reach. The shocking murder of Hannah Clarke and her children is a horrifying reminder of the work that we still need to do. We should be outraged. We should be outraged that what Hannah endured before her death is not the exception for so many in this country; it's the norm. The lifelong impact of being on the receiving end of such abuse, or a witness to it, cannot be underestimated. Trauma leads to lifelong economic, social and mental health challenges for those impacted.

In my first speech I made it clear that addressing the scourge of family and domestic violence was a priority for me. There is not a corner of this country that does not hold the shadow of this issue. I will not stand here today and pay lip-service. This issue is a deeply personal one. Even though I consider myself to be more than just a statistic, I am one of the one in five women who experience sexual violence before the age of 15. I was groomed and sexually assaulted for almost a decade from the age of eight and grew up in a household of abuse, fear and control. I survived, but it has impacted on my entire life since. It must change. We can't speak of gender equity and ending bias without addressing violence in all its forms against women and their children. It's only when we can directly hear the powerful stories of survivors that we can truly begin to understand the quantum of the problem.

In my home state, sexual assault survivors are gagged by Tasmanian state law from being able to share their experiences in the media. One incredible young Tasmanian woman, Grace Tame, is fighting to change this. Grace was just 15 years old when she was repeatedly raped by her teacher, Nicolaas Bester. Grace has had to fight for years to allow her story to be told, eventually winning a court order allowing her to speak. Standing with Grace has been the incredible Nina Funnell, creator of the Let Her Speak campaign. Together they are leading the fight to change the legislation which is currently under review. I urge the state government to make that change.

It's ironic then that while Grace had to fight to have her voice heard the man who preyed upon her was given an audience in a sympathetic interview with Bettina Arndt, in which she suggested that Grace was 'sexually provocative' towards Bester and has suggested that young women need to 'behave sensibly and not exploit their seductive power to ruin the lives of men'. I have no issue with advocacy and support for men, but Ms Arndt's actions are not that. They do a disservice to good men. They are apologies for predators and are barriers to change. We must do more. This requires commitment and collaboration from governments, the community and individuals.

Funding for vital support is part of the answer, but a commitment to changing the entrenched ideas of our society and eliminating violence should be the wider goal. We know that at the core of gender inequity and bias in all its forms is a basic lack of respect. This was powerfully highlighted by a video released last week. Be alady, narrated by actress Cynthia Nixon, unpacks the many layered and confusing messages that girls and women receive on a daily basis: dress modestly; don't be a temptress; don't be so provocative; you're asking for it. To my own three daughters and to the women and girls of Australia I say this: stand up, make your voice heard and keep fighting for change. And to everyone I say: if you want to see change, let her speak and listen to her voice.

Trent Zimmerman (North Sydney, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

The time allotted for this debate has expired. The debate is adjourned and the resumption of the debate will be made an order of the day for the next sitting.