Lisa Chesters (Bendigo, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Yesterday, the Prime Minister was asked this question: why has the Prime Minister left women behind in this budget? His answer was a shocker. It demonstrates just how out of touch this Prime Minister is and how gender biased he is. In his answer, he said that women run small businesses—which is true—in hair, beauty, hospitality, advertising, travel, retail and arts. All have been hit hard by the COVID-19 restrictions and the recession, yet there is very little in this budget to help them. Also, he said, women pay tax. This is true, but the tax cuts disproportionately favour men. Why? It is because men earn more than women. We still have a shocking gender pay gap in this country that is based on the industries in which women and men work. Women also go to university. This is true. In fact, more women graduate with a university degree than do men, yet women in this country are still paid less. That is due to the gender pay gap. Women also work in universities, yet this government has taken a sledgehammer to our universities, not extending JobKeeper to them and cutting billions of dollars of funding from universities. It is another sector hit hard by this recession.

This Prime Minister is out of touch. He doesn't understand what it means to support women or deliver a budget that supports them. Incredible women on this side— (Time expired)