Linda White (Victoria, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

My question is to the Minister for Women, Senator Gallagher. Can the minister outline how the budget delivers for women in Australia?

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

I thank Senator White for the question and for her career-long effort in supporting the rights of working women right around this country. Equality for women is at the heart of what we do as a Labor government. There's no other government in recent memory that has done as much for Australian women as we have tried to do in our first year in government. For too long Australians were treated as second-class citizens, and, after nine years of blokey budgets, this is finally a budget that delivers for women. It delivers for all women now and into the future but gives the most economically vulnerable immediate relief with—

Opposition sena tors interjecting—

Sue Lines (President) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Order!

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

our investments in parenting payment single, our increase in Commonwealth rent assistance—

Sue Lines (President) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Minister Gallagher, please resume your seat. I have called order. Senator Henderson and Senator Hume!

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

our increase to working-age payments. And I am pleased that we are abolishing the punitive ParentsNext program from 1 July 2024 and designing a new voluntary—

I'm sorry, but Senator Henderson keeps interjecting and I can't hear myself think, President.

Sue Lines (President) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Senator Henderson and Senator Hume!

Honourable senators interjecting—

Order! Minister, resume your seat. Order, particularly on my left! Senator Hume, I have called you twice now—three times!—to stop the interjections. Minister.

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

Thank you. We are supporting women's economic equality and helping to close the gender pay gap with investments to support highly feminised workforces, including fully funding a wage increase for aged-care workers; investing in the Australian Skills Guarantee, which includes national targets for women in apprenticeships; and investing in building and retaining the early childhood education workforce. An additional half a billion in further investment in the National Plan to End Violence against Women and Children will bring the total funding for investment in that national plan to a record of $2.3 billion. And there are a number of measures which address women's health priorities, including $26.4 million to support health and medical research focusing on women's health.

Sue Lines (President) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Senator White, a first supplementary?

Linda White (Victoria, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Thank you, Minister, for that comprehensive answer. It was a shame it was hard to hear, but I understand those who are used to developing blokey budgets won't listen. Can the minister outline how the budget builds on the significant investments in women already made by the Albanese government in just a year of government?

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

Thank you, Senator White. I hope you can hear this answer to your question. In our first budget, less than six months after the election, we initiated structural changes that will continue on, hopefully, for generations to improve the lives of all Australian women. Our approach is not a sugar hit for women. It is going to change the landscape for women in this country. It builds on the investments we made in October, which will shift the dial on gender equality. This means investing in women's experiences across the board—for example, our investments in cheaper child care and paid parental leave.

We've invested in making the workplace relations system work better for women, including by putting gender equality at the heart of the Fair Work Commission's decision-making and by implementing the Respect@Work recommendations so that women are safer at work. We are investing in women's safety, including by introducing paid domestic and family violence leave and through consent and respectful relationships education.

Sue Lines (President) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Senator White, a second supplementary?

Linda White (Victoria, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Can the minister outline how this budget demonstrates the government's commitment to ensuring that the experiences of women are at the heart of the budget process?

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

Thank you, Senator White, for the question. Before I start my answer, I welcome the Borroloola women who are in the back row up in the public gallery, who have come from seeing Senator McCarthy. I say a big hello from us. It is so great to have you in the Senate, particularly when we are talking about our investments in women across the country.

Our achievements, investment and actions have been made deliberately and specifically to benefit women and contribute to gender equality because women are not an afterthought or something you add on at the end of the budget process. These are efforts that are being led by the Prime Minister down and across the cabinet and reflect the values of not only the government, which is a majority-female government, but the Australian people. These priorities will be carried forward in the budget process through our gender responsive budgeting, our Women's Budget Statement and the measures which support those.