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

My question is to the Minister representing the Minister for Women. How is the Albanese Labor government working to deliver a better future for Australian women, including working to improve the standards in our parliament?

Ms Catherine King (Ballarat, Australian Labor Party, Minister for Infrastructure, Transport, Regional Development and Local Government) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I thank the member for Newcastle for the question, but I also particularly want to mention her advocacy for women, which is in a large part responsible for many of the measures that this government is putting in place. She and the women on the Status of Women Committee on this side of the House have been extraordinary advocates for women for their entire careers, and I thank them for that.

This government is strongly committed to women's equality. It's a goal that every single one of us around the cabinet table have. It's not the responsibility of just one minister; it is the responsibility of every cabinet minister. This week, we have, of course, continued to make significant progress. Yesterday, as we've heard, the parliament passed laws criminalising the creation and distribution of non-consensual deepfake pornography. It is an issue that overwhelmingly affects women and girls and will now carry criminal penalties, including the possibility of jail for up to seven years. That is a very good thing.

Earlier this week, the Assistant Minister for the Prevention of Family Violence reaffirmed our commitment to ending gender based violence in her powerful statement in this place. The assistant minister and the Minister for Social Services are doing an incredible job leading the work on the National Plan to End Violence against Women and Children, as is the Minister for Social Services in introducing our legislation to provide greater support to Australian families, particularly women, by paying superannuation on government paid parental leave, benefiting over 180,000 people per year.

This is a government that is working hard to make women's lives better, fairer and more equal, particularly through shifting the gender pay gap. Data released from the ABS just last week shows that the national gender pay gap is at 11.5 per cent. This is a record low, and it compares to a gender pay gap of 14.1 per cent in May 2022, when we came to government. Under this government, women's average weekly earnings have increased by $173.80 since May 2022. That's a 10.8 per cent increase. And we've reached an all-time high for women's workforce participation, which is now at 63.2 per cent. We are taking action to close that pay gap.

As a parliament, we should be setting an example for the treatment of women in this workplace and communities across the country, which is why we're working to implement the recommendations of the Set the standard report. This week, the government introduced legislation to the House to establish the Independent Parliamentary Standards Commission. I thank members from across the chamber who have engaged in good faith on this bill, which will enforce behaviour codes for parliamentarians and staff in Commonwealth parliamentary workforces. This is another important reform that supports the safety and wellbeing of women in this place and demonstrates that the government is leading by example and is committed to women's safety.