Cassandra Fernando (Holt, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

My question is to the Minister representing the Minister for Women. What is the Albanese Labor government doing to support Australian women with the cost of living? What threats are there to this support?

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

Can I thank very much the member for Holt for the question. I want to wish her all the very best in the next adventure she's about to have. It was also a real privilege to stand alongside her and the member for Bruce in Clyde North to announce investments in her electorate into important road infrastructure and new housing estates. It was terrific to be there with the Victorians as well.

The Albanese Labor government, of course, is not just building physical infrastructure; we are also taking real action to support women and to drive gender equality. Since 2022, we've put gender equality at the centre of decision-making, and, across every single economic update, we have made responsible investments to help shift the dial towards a much fairer Australia. This work has been led by the first majority-women government in Australia's history, and it shows and makes a difference. It means that we've made significant and substantial investments that directly improve women's lives and support gender equality. We've increased wages in the female dominated industries of aged care and early childhood education. We have delivered cheaper child care. We have included more medicines like contraceptive pills and menopause hormone therapies on the PBS, and I am so proud of our Assistant Minister for Health and Aged Care for doing that. But also, for the first time I have heard a Prime Minister in public forums talk about menopause—it is extraordinary for women, really significant and makes a difference for us. We have invested over $4 billion in women's safety, and we've expanded paid parental leave. Our investments have seen real improvements for women, who are earning an average of $217 a week more than they were in May 2022. Women's economic participation has reached record highs, and the gender pay gap is at record lows.

But, of course, we know all of that is at risk because of the Leader of the Opposition and what his record has always been. This progress on real action for women is under threat, and who will pay for the cuts that we know are coming? Who is going to pay? Will it be the women who are working hard in aged care and early education, looking after our children and older Australians and finally receiving a fair wage? Will it be the families who are able to access better child care? Will it be the single mothers now accessing better support to raise their children through expanded access to parenting payment single? Will it be women finally receiving superannuation on their paid parental leave? We know this guy's got form when it comes to cuts. Every single time, the Leader of the Opposition makes cuts, and who will it be who pays? The women of Australia.