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

I thank Senator Grogan for the excellent question focusing on women. I'm surprised I don't get any questions about women from those opposite. I don't think I've had any, which is unsurprising. The tax plan that passed this parliament unanimously in the Senate last night will mean that every woman paying tax in Australia will get a tax cut. That's different from the previous plan, where a number of women taxpayers would have missed out. Ninety per cent of those women taxpayers will receive an average tax cut of $707—that's additional. This is for around 5.8 million women. When we look at those areas where we have lots of women working in industries—in child care, in disability, in aged care—more than 95 per cent of those taxpayers in those industries will receive a bigger tax cut compared to the former government's plan.

We know that women work hard across our economy. We want to ensure that they keep more of what they earn and that they're able to meet those daily challenges and cost-of-living pressures they face. Our government has made no secret, since we came into government, of being focused on the needs of women. We want to drive economic equality and gender equality across the economy, which is good for the economy as a whole, and we are seeing improving results. The gender pay gap is at a record low—Senator Canavan should enjoy that statistic. ABS data last week showed full-time wages dropped to 12 per cent. We don't see that as useless data, I have to say. We do think that flexibility in the workplace is actually a good thing. We don't think you have to be a full-time worker in order to have a high-paying job. (Time expired)