Jess Walsh (Victoria, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

It's almost 1 July, which means real cost-of-living relief for all Australians, especially Australian women. Our government is putting women at the centre of our economic plan—women like Lauren and her team at Neerim Health in Gippsland, who are part of the highly feminised nursing workforce who do an amazing job in Gippsland caring for their community. Our government is supporting women across all industries with cost-of-living relief starting on 1 July—relief that delivers a bigger tax cut to 90 per cent of Victorian women. There's relief for the 96 per cent of nurses who are getting a bigger tax cut under our government. A nurse earning $80,000 a year will receive a tax cut of $1,600 a year because we want women like Lauren and her team to earn more and keep more of what they earn.

That's why we're expanding paid parental leave too. From 1 July, new mums will get an additional two weeks of paid parental leave, on the way to 26 weeks in 2026, so women can have more time with their new children and stay connected to their work—work that pays more under our government, with three boosts to award wages on our watch, resulting in the smallest gender pay gap on record.

We want to create a better future for all Australians, and that means securing a better economic future for Australian women—with bigger tax cuts, more parental leave and higher wages—because we want Australians, including Australian women, to earn more and keep more of what they earn.