Rachel Siewert (WA, Australian Greens) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I, at the request of Senator Waters, move:

That the Senate—

(a) notes that:

  (i) this year, 28 August marked Equal Pay Day, reflecting that, on average, women need to work an additional 59 days to earn the same as male counterparts, and

  (ii) according to the Workplace Gender Equality Agency (WGEA):

(A) Australia's national gender pay gap is 14%,

(B) full-time average weekly earnings for women are $253.60 less than for men,

(C) gender pay gaps favour men across all industries and all levels of the workforce – highest in financial services, real estate and construction,

(D) median undergraduate starting salaries are 4.9% lower for women, and

(E) median superannuation balances at retirement are 21.6% lower for women; and

(b) calls on the Government to:

  (i) increase funding for WGEA and expand its coverage to the public sector,

  (ii) require all large employers to report their gender pay gap, and strengthen WGEA's powers to act against non-compliant employers,

  (iii) ban pay gag clauses in employment contracts,

  (iv) make gender pay equality an objective of awards and theFair Work Act 2009,

  (v) make early childhood education free,

  (vi) require superannuation contributions to continue during paid parental leave,

  (vii) facilitate gender-neutral parental leave and flexible work schemes, and

  (viii) close the gender retirement income gap.

Jonathon Duniam (Tasmania, Liberal Party, Assistant Minister for Forestry and Fisheries) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I seek leave to make a short statement.

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

Leave is granted for one minute.

Jonathon Duniam (Tasmania, Liberal Party, Assistant Minister for Forestry and Fisheries) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Under this government, an additional $8.6 million has been provided to the WGEA through the 2018 Women's Economic Security Statement to improve workplace gender reporting. WGEA's new reporting and data management system is due to be fully implemented by March 2021, next year. In setting employment terms and conditions, the Fair Work system, as introduced by the former Labor government, incorporates the principle of equal remuneration and provides mechanisms for the independent Fair Work Commission to adjust terms and conditions, including on work value grounds.

Katy Gallagher (ACT, Australian Labor Party, Shadow Minister for Finance) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I seek leave to make a short statement.

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

Leave is granted for one minute.

Katy Gallagher (ACT, Australian Labor Party, Shadow Minister for Finance) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Labor will be opposing this motion. We understand the intent of it and we support a large part of it; however, as I've said in comments in this chamber on a number of occasions, we don't think that our policy agenda should be determined by Greens' motions during formal business in the Senate. There are a number of clauses under section (b), including section (b)(i), (b)(v), (b)(vi) and to some degree (b)(vii) which would have large fiscal implications which need to be considered. We go through our own processes for that, but it is not to be determined by the Greens' party and it is not determined during a part of the program which is meant to be noncontroversial and a way of dealing with business quickly.

Senator Waters shakes her head but the fact is there is content in this motion which would benefit from debate, which is not allowed during this part of the program.

Question negatived.