Peter Khalil (Wills, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

The Treasurer delivered the federal budget this week, and the Albanese Labor government is a government that has 52 per cent women in our caucus. So we've also delivered a budget for women. Just last week, I met a woman in my electorate who, a few years ago, made the terrifying decision to report her husband for domestic violence. Her daughters—three and six years old—held onto her finger nervously, as she walked into the Brunswick police station. I'm sad to say she's far from the first woman to tell me a similar story.

That's why the Staying Home Leaving Violence program announced in our budget is so important. It will provide women escaping violence with up to $5,000 in financial support to help them leave when they need to. We're also investing a record $3.4 billion to help end family, domestic and sexual violence in our communities. This is a national crisis. It's my community's local crisis, and we're committing to end it.

There are also two important measures that relate to women's health. Firstly, we are making sure that those suffering from endometriosis, PCOS and other chronic reproductive conditions will be given the time of day to finally have their pain heard and treated, by making longer specialist gynaecology appointments more affordable. Secondly, we're paying super on paid parental leave because making the decision to have children shouldn't leave women without a secure retirement. The opposition will carry on about this, but a woman should never have to make this shameful trade-off. As long as the Labor government is in office, she will never have to.