Michaelia Cash (WA, Liberal Party, Assistant Minister for Immigration and Border Protection) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

In relation to general business notice of motion No. 621, I indicate that I will be adding the names of Senators Moore and Waters. I, and also on behalf of Senators Moore and Waters, move:

That the Senate—

(a) notes that:

(i) 8 March is International Women's Day (IWD) and that the theme for IWD 2015 is 'Empowering Women, Empowering Humanity: Picture it!', and

(ii) 2015 marks 20 years since the Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action (BPFA), the international plan for achieving gender equality which was agreed by 189 governments, including Australia, at the United Nations Fourth World Conference for Women, held in Beijing, China, in September 1995;

(b) acknowledges:

(i) the work that UN Women, the United Nations organisation dedicated to gender equality and the empowerment of women, undertakes to improve the conditions of women, both domestically and internationally,

(ii) the efforts made by successive Australian Governments in progressing the BPFA aims, specifically in removing obstacles for women's active participation in all areas of public and private life and establishing shared responsibility between women and men at home, in the workplace and in the community to build a sustainable, just and developed society, and

(iii) that, despite the many rights and privileges Australian women enjoy and the years of passage of the BPFA, there remain challenges that we must strive to overcome on a domestic and international basis; and

(c) recognises:

(i) that in Australia, violence against women is still far too common, with Australian Bureau of Statistics data continuing to show that one in 3 women have experienced physical violence since the age of 15,

(ii) the collective efforts from Commonwealth, state and territory governments to ensure a significant and sustained reduction in violence against women and their children, pursuant to the National Plan to Reduce Violence Against Women and their Children 2010 2022, and

(iii) that all Australians have an obligation to speak out and protect the human rights of women, both in Australia and overseas.

Question agreed to.