Eric Abetz (Tasmania, Liberal Party, Minister for Fisheries, Forestry and Conservation) Share this | Hansard source

In short, the answer is: absolutely not. The women of Australia, like all Australians, have benefited from Work Choices. Allow me to remind the honourable senator of some of the crucial facts and invite her not to swallow, hook, line and sinker, the silly and dishonest propaganda of the trade union movement. Since the government came to office, over one million jobs have been created for women—a bad result, no doubt, for the honourable senator! Since the commencement of Work Choices, employment for women has increased by 113,500. As a result of Work Choices, there are now an extra 113,500 women employed. I suppose that is a bad result for the honourable senator!

What about the participation rate of women? Under the coalition government, the female participation rate has averaged 55.2 per cent compared with 50 per cent under the Labor government. So the participation rate of women has increased under the Howard government—another statistic that those opposite do not want to know about. Since the commencement of Work Choices, the female participation rate has increased by 0.7 percentage points to 57.6 per cent. Since the government came to office, earnings for full-time, adult women have increased by 60 per cent in nominal terms and 22.6 per cent in real terms. Under the 13 years of Labor, real earnings for full-time, adult women increased by only about one-third of that rate: 8.8 per cent. So, when we look at these statistics and figures, there is no doubt that the working women of Australia are far better off as a result of the policies of the Howard government.

The Australian Bureau of Statistics data shows that the number of women on AWAs has more than doubled, from 47,700 in May 2000 to over 102,300 in May 2006. It begs the question: why are these women signing up, on a voluntary basis, to Australian workplace agreements? Because they are better for the working women of this country.