Katy Gallagher (ACT, Australian Labor Party, Minister for the Public Service) Share this | Hansard source

I thank Senator Stewart for the question and for all of her advocacy around the needs of women and improving economic equality for women, particularly in the state of Victoria. Labor's tax cuts will put more money back in the pockets of Australian women. The cuts will provide cost-of-living relief and will mean that women can be and are able to pick up an extra shift or an extra day of work if they want to and then keep a larger proportion of what they earn. Labor's plan will see a tax cut for every single woman who pays tax in Australia, and our plan will see women taxpayers receive a tax cut of, on average, $1,649 from 1 July. Nine out of 10 of those women will receive an additional average tax cut of $707 compared to the former plan. That's 5.8 million women receiving more than they would have.

Under our tax cuts, childcare workers, disability carers, aged-care workers, nurses and teachers are amongst those who will benefit the most, with more than 95 per cent of those taxpayers to receive a bigger tax cut compared to the Morrison plan. These are also those highly feminised industries, as all of us know in this chamber, with workforces that are over 80 per cent women. Of course they are vital industries that contribute to our economy and our quality of life. Labor's tax cuts—and the Treasury analysis shows this—will have a positive impact on women's workforce participation. As outlined in the Treasury advice, the plan is projected to support a boost of 630,000 additional hours per week worked by women. When we looked at these tax cuts, when we changed our position, we did so mindful of the impact they would have on women, because women are at the centre of government decision-making in this government and of the policy decisions that we make.