Larissa Waters (Queensland, Australian Greens) Share this | Hansard source

The Australian Greens support the empowerment of women and girls and we support the International Day of the Girl Child. We will not be opposing this motion, but I would like to place on record that we utterly reject the government's claim that they are committed to improving women's economic empowerment. This government's cruel budget cuts family tax benefits, kicks the vulnerable off welfare, cuts the parenting payment and seeks to impose a GP co-payment. These attacks on women's economic empowerment come after the cuts to the low income super contribution and the plans to water down reporting requirements designed to tackle the gender pay gap. Of course, cutting $7.6 billion out of the foreign aid—the biggest single cut in the federal budget—and claiming to care for the world's most vulnerable is not a new aid paradigm; it is a heartless joke. We will not be opposing this motion, but we have submitted our own motion which commends the International Day of the Girl Child without politicising the issue or falsifying the government's record.

Question agreed to.