Louise Pratt (WA, Australian Labor Party, Shadow Assistant Minister for Manufacturing) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

My question is to the Minister for Women, Senator Payne. Minister Sukkar justified providing stimulus for jobs in the male-dominated housing industry while providing none for jobs in female-dominated industries by saying:

Yes, it is dominated by men and in many cases those people will be supporting families …

Does the minister endorse his comments?

Marise Payne (NSW, Liberal Party, Minister for Foreign Affairs) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I actually didn't hear all of Senator Pratt's question. The observation I would make in relation to the part I did hear—

Scott Ryan (President) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Order! Senator Wong, a point of order?

Penny Wong (SA, Australian Labor Party, Leader of the Opposition in the Senate) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Could I suggest we restart the clock and have the question again, because the minister should hear the question before answering it.

Scott Ryan (President) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

With the leave of the Senate, I'm happy to let the question be asked again.

Louise Pratt (WA, Australian Labor Party, Shadow Assistant Minister for Manufacturing) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

To Senator Payne: Minister Sukkar justified providing stimulus for jobs in the male-dominated housing industry while providing none for jobs in female-dominated industries by saying:

Yes, it is dominated by men and in many cases those people will be supporting families …

Does the minister endorse his comments?

Marise Payne (NSW, Liberal Party, Minister for Foreign Affairs) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I am glad that Senator Pratt put that question again. As I understand it, Minister Sukkar is the Minister for Housing. Therefore I would expect him to talk about the housing and construction industry as it relates to his portfolio. I didn't hear his direct comments, but if Minister Sukkar is speaking about his portfolio that is what I would obviously expect him to do.

I want to refer you to another speech, which will be remarkably inconvenient for those opposite but nevertheless. In his CEDA speech earlier this week, the Prime Minister was absolutely clear in saying:

We know there is a disproportionate impact on women.

He goes on to also speak about younger Australians, those with lower skills and a range of other people with challenges in the workforce:

… which identify key parts of the labour force, key parts of the Australian community we need to focus on as we prepare and plan our way out and make our way out.

Opposition Senators:

Opposition senators interjecting—

Scott Ryan (President) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Order!

Marise Payne (NSW, Liberal Party, Minister for Foreign Affairs) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

'We need to focus on'—those are the words of the Prime Minister of Australia in relation to these issues.

Scott Ryan (President) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Order, Senator Payne! Senator Cormann, on a point of order?

Mathias Cormann (WA, Liberal Party, Vice-President of the Executive Council) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Point of order: interjections are disorderly, and the most persistent interjector is always the Leader of the Opposition in the Senate. I would ask you to call her to order.

Scott Ryan (President) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I was calling the chamber to order. The minister is correct; interjections are always disorderly. Senator Payne to continue.

Marise Payne (NSW, Liberal Party, Minister for Foreign Affairs) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

The Prime Minister went on in his CEDA speech to make a number of other points, including the work that JobKeeper and jobseeker have done to put a floor under the fall in consumer confidence which we saw in March. We have now recovered that lost ground in consumer confidence, and the Westpac and ANZ indices both tell us that the high-frequency spending data shows that that's being increasingly translated into increased retail sales. Those opposite mention work areas which have a high proportion of women working in them. That includes hospitality and retail, and we know that the good news for those women and young people who work in both of those areas, for example, is that they will be early benefiters from the reopening process. (Time expired)

Scott Ryan (President) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Senator Pratt, a supplementary question?

Louise Pratt (WA, Australian Labor Party, Shadow Assistant Minister for Manufacturing) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Yesterday, the ABS released data showing that, since March, women lost payroll jobs at 1.3 times the rate of men. Modelling from the Bankwest Curtin Economics Centre found that the majority of the casuals excluded from JobKeeper are women, including more than 200,000 women in retail and fast food alone. Why did the government design a scheme that leaves women behind during Australia's first recession in 29 years?

Marise Payne (NSW, Liberal Party, Minister for Foreign Affairs) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I absolutely reject the premise of Senator Pratt's question, and in fact—

Senator Wong interjecting—

Scott Ryan (President) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Order, Senator Wong! Senator Cormann, a point of order?

Mathias Cormann (WA, Liberal Party, Vice-President of the Executive Council) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Senator Wong doesn't even try to comply with standing orders. Interjections are disorderly. Please call her to order.

Scott Ryan (President) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I was doing so at that point and I'm going to reinstate my request that senators who are called to order at least count to 10 before they commence breaching standing orders again. Senator Payne to continue.

Marise Payne (NSW, Liberal Party, Minister for Foreign Affairs) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

As I said, I absolutely reject the premise of Senator Pratt's question. What has been made clear by ministers, by the Treasurer, by the finance minister, by the Prime Minister and by me is that we absolutely recognise it is critical that, in the recovery process, we draw on the capabilities of the entire nation—men, women; women, men—to ensure the fastest possible economic and social recovery.

Scott Ryan (President) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Senator Pratt, a final supplementary question?

Louise Pratt (WA, Australian Labor Party, Shadow Assistant Minister for Manufacturing) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Yesterday, Minister Ley said in the other place:

Women have been the hardest hit through COVID-19.

So why in the last two weeks alone has the government left women further behind by snapping back to unaffordable child care, dudding aged-care workers, taking from childcare workers and refusing paid parental leave to people who were expecting to be eligible?

Marise Payne (NSW, Liberal Party, Minister for Foreign Affairs) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

It seems to me that those opposite would have preferred to have seen the childcare sector collapse upon itself. It seems to me that they would have preferred that the government didn't take advice from the sector about how best to sustain it in the middle of a pandemic, because, quite frankly, you don't have the basic skills—

Opposition Senators:

Opposition senators interjecting—

Scott Ryan (President) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Order! I will call the minister to continue when there's silence.

Opposition senators interjecting—

Order! Senator Payne.

Marise Payne (NSW, Liberal Party, Minister for Foreign Affairs) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Prior to COVID-19—

Senator Wong interjecting—

Scott Ryan (President) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Order! Senator Cormann, a point of order?

Mathias Cormann (WA, Liberal Party, Vice-President of the Executive Council) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Senator Wong continues to defy your order. Interjections are disorderly.

Scott Ryan (President) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Senator Wong, a point of order?

Penny Wong (SA, Australian Labor Party, Leader of the Opposition in the Senate) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

He's very sensitive today. I just said across the table that if he was going to play this game we would make the point that he was interjecting on his own minister. I'm not sure that that's an interjection; it's a private conversation with the leader of the government.

Scott Ryan (President) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I don't want to get to the point where what I might broadly describe as conversations across the centre table are deemed as interjections. However, there have been interjections, Senator Wong, and I have called you to order previously. Senator Payne to continue.

Marise Payne (NSW, Liberal Party, Minister for Foreign Affairs) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Prior to COVID-19, there were more women in the workforce in Australia than ever before. The gender pay gap had closed to its lowest level on record, at 13.9 per cent. When Labor was last in office, it was 17.4 per cent. Our ambition as a government is to return to those numbers and grow them and enhance them. That is the approach we will be taking. We absolutely know that we must draw upon every woman and every man in this country in the recovery process, to ensure the fastest possible economic and social recovery.