Jane Hume's recent appearances (OpenAustralia.org)
type: channel
language: en-gb
creator: OpenAustralia.org, mprss.php script
date: 2026-02-10T22:05:32+00:00
items: Victoria: Crime | Adjournment | Senate debates
items: Allen, Dr Katrina Jane (Katie) | Condolences | Senate debates
items: Economy | Questions without Notice | Senate debates
items: Economy | Statements by Senators | Senate debates
items: Privileges Committee; Report | Committees | Senate debates
items: Answers to Questions | Questions without Notice: Take Note of Answers | Senate debates
items: Housing | Adjournment | Senate debates
items: Minister for Climate Change and Energy | Matters of Public Importance | Senate debates
items: Cost of Living | Statements by Senators | Senate debates
items: Construction, Forestry and Maritime Employees Union | Matters of Urgency | Senate debates
items: Cost of Living | Questions without Notice | Senate debates
items: Labor Government | Statements by Senators | Senate debates
items: Superannuation Legislation Amendment (Tackling the Gender Super Gap) Bill 2025; Second Reading | Bills | Senate debates

Victoria: Crime | Adjournment | Senate debates
type: item
description: I rise to speak on a matter of grave importance to the people of my state, and that is Victoria's crime crisis. This is not the first time I've spoken about Victoria's crime crisis in this place,...
encoded: I rise to speak on a matter of grave importance to the people of my state, and that is Victoria's crime crisis. This is not the first time I've spoken about Victoria's crime crisis in this place, and unfortunately I don't think it will be the last. Under Premier Jacinta Allan's Labor government, the levels of violent crime in Victoria and the lawlessness in our communities have only gotten worse. Just this week, some shocking news emerged from the suburb of St Kilda in Melbourne, where a teenager was stabbed and then run down by his own car, in what has been described as the most brutal and senseless attack—a teenager! What a horrific and violent crime! Unfortunately, this is not the first time we've seen victims of crime being young Victorians. We all remember the tragic story of the two young boys, aged just 12 and 15, who were murdered in cold blood by a gang of young thugs. Such violence occurring in broad daylight and in built-up areas in Melbourne, in public places, is deeply distressing—for families, of course, and for friends, definitely, but also for businesses and for those who simply want to go about their lives without fear. The details of these incidents remind us that crime is not an abstract statistic. It's a lived reality for so many Victorians, and new data now proves that point. According to the Productivity Commission, Victoria has the highest rate of victims of armed robbery in the nation. Almost one in three Victorians do not feel safe walking alone in their neighbourhood at night. That's the highest rate of any state in the nation. They're damning statistics. It's bad enough that the Allan government have allowed crime to worsen, but they've actually cut funding from the police at the same time. In May 2025 Premier Jacinta Allan cut $50 million from the Victorian police budget. Since she became Premier, in September 2023, the number of full-time police in Victoria has fallen by 367. At the same time, criminal offences have increased by 25 per c…
date: 2026-02-04T19:40:00+00:00

Allen, Dr Katrina Jane (Katie) | Condolences | Senate debates
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description: I know: isn't that terrible? But she was deadly serious, and it was almost immediately that I understood why she wanted to do this. She believed that, if you had the capacity to contribute, you...
encoded: I know: isn't that terrible? But she was deadly serious, and it was almost immediately that I understood why she wanted to do this. She believed that, if you had the capacity to contribute, you also had a responsibility to contribute. That was what her life was all about. She was the real deal. She was determined to make the world a better place. Achieving excellence, for Katie, was never an excuse to stop; it was a reason to keep going. She was generous with her time. She was, as I said, interested in others. She was deeply grounded, and, despite everything she had already achieved, she wanted to achieve more. Over the years that followed, she did achieve more—more than I think anyone ever dreamed would be possible. She brought that intellect and that discipline and that moral clarity into public life as the member for Higgins, a position in which she served with distinction. When she lost that seat and it was redistributed away, she came back, and she was absolutely determined to finish the job that she had started, as a candidate for Chisholm in the 2025 election. I worked with her very closely there. She was an incredible campaigner. 'Indefatigable' was the right word, I think, Senator Sharma. She fought every day, even when she didn't feel quite right, even when she was in pain and even when—right up until election day, before she was diagnosed—she clearly knew that the cancer that she thought she had defeated had come back. A couple of days before the election, I was out on prepoll with her, and her whole family were there. I've got to admit that there was a bit of me that was quite jealous. I thought, 'God, I don't think all my family would come out like this.' But I think that they all knew that something was coming. It didn't become official until after the campaign was over, but they all knew. They're an incredible family. She approached politics in the same way she approached medicine—evidence based, thoughtful, calm under pressure, always focused on outc…
date: 2026-02-04T19:27:00+00:00

Allen, Dr Katrina Jane (Katie) | Condolences | Senate debates
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description: I rise to add my voice to the contributions that have been made today from around the chamber about the passing of Professor Katie Allen, not only as a former colleague but also as a dear friend....
encoded: I rise to add my voice to the contributions that have been made today from around the chamber about the passing of Professor Katie Allen, not only as a former colleague but also as a dear friend. Like many in this place, I too am still coming to terms with her loss and the absence of someone whose presence, whose generosity and whose courage meant a great deal to so many of us. I first met Katie when she was at the Royal Children's Hospital. I was serving on the board of the children's hospital at the time, and she was at the Murdoch Children's Research Institute. She was already a shining beacon there. She bounded up to me at a hospital function. I knew who she was: she was a paediatrician, she was a professor, she was a scientist, she was an allergist, she was beautiful, she was thin, she was blonde, and she had four children—and I thought, 'I'm going to hate this woman immediately,' on sight. But how could you hate her? She was charming, she was warm, she was friendly, she was enthusiastic, she was interested in other people, and she just cared; you could feel, from the moment you met her, how much she cared for others. And she was curious. I remember being genuinely surprised—quite flabbergasted—when she said, 'I'm interested in politics, and I think I want to run for the Liberal Party.' I thought: 'Why? Why would you do that? Look at you! You're amazing! Look at what you're doing!'
date: 2026-02-04T19:27:00+00:00

Economy | Questions without Notice | Senate debates
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description: Minister, Australians are poorer today than they were four years ago. Under Labor, we've experienced the largest decline in living standards in the developed world, and it's no coincidence that...
encoded: Minister, Australians are poorer today than they were four years ago. Under Labor, we've experienced the largest decline in living standards in the developed world, and it's no coincidence that it's your policy positions that have caused this. Minister, is the Prime Minister sorry or even aware that Australians are poorer under Labor?
date: 2026-02-04T14:59:00+00:00

Economy | Questions without Notice | Senate debates
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description: Minister, under Labor government spending is growing at its fastest rate, outside of a recession, in nearly 40 years. Every credible economist will tell you that government spending is adding to...
encoded: Minister, under Labor government spending is growing at its fastest rate, outside of a recession, in nearly 40 years. Every credible economist will tell you that government spending is adding to inflationary pressure, forcing the Reserve Bank to keep interest rates higher for longer. When this was pointed out the Treasurer, he said that those economists were making political comments. Minister, why won't the Prime Minister hold this Treasurer responsible for the fact that his spending is making the Reserve Bank's job harder? (Time expired)
date: 2026-02-04T14:58:00+00:00

Economy | Questions without Notice | Senate debates
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description: My question is to the Minister representing the Prime Minister, Minister Wong. On 29 January 2025, the Prime Minister enthusiastically endorsed his treasurer when he said: The worst of the...
encoded: My question is to the Minister representing the Prime Minister, Minister Wong. On 29 January 2025, the Prime Minister enthusiastically endorsed his treasurer when he said: The worst of the inflation challenge is now well and truly behind us. A year later inflation is now at 3.8 per cent, well outside the Reserve Bank's target band and higher than in every major advanced economy. Indeed the Prime Minister's finance minister, just 25 minutes ago, said that the job is not yet done. Australians were promised relief. Instead they're facing higher prices, higher interest rates and falling living standards. Minister, was the Prime Minister's treasurer wrong then, or is he wrong now?
date: 2026-02-04T14:55:00+00:00

Economy | Statements by Senators | Senate debates
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description: I rise to speak about an issue that impacts every single Australian, whether you're paying a mortgage, whether you're renting, whether you're running your own business or whether you're a family...
encoded: I rise to speak about an issue that impacts every single Australian, whether you're paying a mortgage, whether you're renting, whether you're running your own business or whether you're a family relying on food banks to put food on the table, and that is government spending. You might ask how government spending affects your everyday life. Let me tell you. I'll put it very simply. When the government spends too much, it adds to aggregate demand, and that's what the Reserve Bank responds to—aggregate demand. It puts pressure on inflation, and when inflation is high the Reserve Bank responds by raising interest rates. When rates go up, mortgages go up, rents go up and business loans get more expensive. That's what's happening right now. In fact, there have been 13 individual interest rate rises under this Labor government, and of course the most recent was just yesterday. The average mortgage holder is now paying $23,000 more every single year on their mortgage than they were when Labor came to government. Twenty-three thousand dollars is not the sort of money that you find down the back of the couch. At the same time, under this Albanese government, government spending has gone up. It's now at the fastest pace, outside of a recession, in 40 years. That is not a coincidence. Government spending has jumped from 23.4 per cent of GDP to 26.9 per cent of GDP this financial year. That is not responsible economic management. It's like the government has its foot on the accelerator while the Reserve Bank puts its foot on the break, and it's Australians that will always pay the price for Labor's mismanagement of the economy.
date: 2026-02-04T13:35:00+00:00

Privileges Committee; Report | Committees | Senate debates
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description: I present the 188th report of the Committee of Privileges, entitled Person referred to in the Senate: Ms Andrea Selvey, and I move: That the report be adopted. This report forms part of a series...
encoded: I present the 188th report of the Committee of Privileges, entitled Person referred to in the Senate: Ms Andrea Selvey, and I move: That the report be adopted. This report forms part of a series of reports recommending that a right of reply be afforded to persons who claim that they have been adversely affected by being referred to in the Senate either by name or in such a way as to be readily identified. On 8 December 2025 the President received a submission from Ms Andrea Selvey relating to a speech made in the Senate by Senator Whitten on 28 October 2025. The President referred the submission to the committee under privilege resolution (5). The committee has considered the submission and recommends that Ms Selvey's response be incorporated in Hansard. The committee reminds the Senate that, in matters of this nature, it does not judge the truth or otherwise of statements made by senators or the persons referred to; rather, it ensures that these persons' submissions—and, ultimately, the responses it recommends—accord with the criteria set out in privilege resolution (5). I commend the motion to the Senate.
date: 2026-02-03T18:20:00+00:00

Answers to Questions | Questions without Notice: Take Note of Answers | Senate debates
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description: I move: That the Senate take note of the answers given by ministers to all opposition questions without notice asked today. As I kick off, I'd like to first assist our mathematically challenged...
encoded: I move: That the Senate take note of the answers given by ministers to all opposition questions without notice asked today. As I kick off, I'd like to first assist our mathematically challenged Minister for Finance, who didn't know the answer to what a 25-basis-point rise and a cash rate of 3.85 per cent was going to cost an average mortgage holder. It will cost your average mortgage holder with a $600,000 mortgage an additional $100 a month. In case the maths is too hard for you, that's $1,200 a year, Minister. That's what I would like to take note of—the fact that this Labor government has ignored the increased cost because of this interest rate rise for all mortgage holders around Australia and anybody that has a debt, in fact, whether it be a car loan, a personal loan or a home loan. That's going to go up for them. That's the cost of living in action. This rate rise was no accident. We knew it was coming. We knew it was coming because inflation went back up again. Why did inflation go back up again? It's pretty simple. Inflation went back up again because there is too much demand in the economy caused by public spending. What causes public spending? Labor causes public spending. It's pretty clear. This economy is not serving Australians well. These guys will tell you all about what a great job they're doing, but you don't need to go too far to speak to the average Australian and find out that they are hurting right now. Households are going to have to make decisions. Because of this rate rise that's happened under Labor, they're going to have to make decisions about what to cut out of their family budgets. Electricity has already gone up 38 per cent, but its due to go up another 24 per cent just this year alone. Rents are up 22 per cent. Health has gone up. Food has gone up. Insurance has gone up by 39 per cent. Education has gone up by 17 per cent. It's no wonder that this cost-of-living crisis, which has dragged on and on under Labor, is hurting average Austra…
date: 2026-02-03T15:04:00+00:00

Answers to Questions | Questions without Notice: Take Note of Answers | Senate debates
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description: I move: That the Senate take note of the answers given by ministers to questions without notice asked by Opposition senators today. I move to take note particularly of those around the inflation...
encoded: I move: That the Senate take note of the answers given by ministers to questions without notice asked by Opposition senators today. I move to take note particularly of those around the inflation figures that were announced today. It is quite extraordinary how far inflation has ticked up considering that, just a few months ago, Jim Chalmers was telling us all that the inflation genie was back in the bottle, that he had tamed the dragon, that we didn't need to worry anymore, that we could expect decreases in the prices of houses, that we'd see interest rates come down, that everything was fine and that it was all due to his exceptional economic management. Well, how quickly the story has changed! You would recall, Deputy President, that at the beginning of this Labor government, when inflation was high, Jim Chalmers, the Treasurer, said that it was always somebody else's fault. First of all, he blamed the coalition. Then he said it was Vladimir Putin invading Ukraine and that was why they had to push up gas prices. Then he said that it was Hamas's fault and that the troubles that were going on in the Middle East were causing the rise in energy prices and pushing up inflation around the world. Then he said: 'Well, now that President Trump has been elected, that's geopolitical instability and that's causing some problems with inflation. That's just something we have to deal with.' And then he came back to the coalition and said it was our fault all over again. At no point in time has the Treasurer even once taken responsibility for the persistent inflation in this country, even though our inflation was higher and lasted longer than in so many other advanced economies, who managed to tame their inflation through fiscal responsibility. They saw the government spending wind back in response to high inflation around the world. They said: 'No, we'll do our bit. We'll do some of the heavy lifting. We won't turn it all over to monetary policy.' But that's not what this governm…
date: 2025-11-26T15:03:00+00:00

Housing | Adjournment | Senate debates
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description: When speaking to my children and their friends and to young Australians right around the country, I've noticed this growing and deeply troubling sentiment, and that's a feeling that no matter how...
encoded: When speaking to my children and their friends and to young Australians right around the country, I've noticed this growing and deeply troubling sentiment, and that's a feeling that no matter how hard they work they can't get ahead. It doesn't matter how much they save; they simply won't be able to do better than their parents. That's a broken social contract between this generation and the next. For decades, Australia has prided itself on being a place where each generation could climb that little bit higher, where owning your own home wasn't a privilege—it was reward for hard work and aspiration. But under Labor that dream of homeownership is getting further and further out of reach. Mortgage holders are now paying $1,800 a month more than when this government was elected. Rents are up by 21 per cent, and construction prices have shot up by over 20 per cent. Under the coalition, Australia was building around 200,000 homes each and every year. Under Labor, it's dropped back to 170,000, and only barely that. This is a recipe for a housing disaster, and we're witnessing the impact of this on first home prices, with more and more Australians being locked out of the market. Young Australians are telling me it's like the ladder has been pulled up behind them. It's a concern that's been raised by many Victorians that I have heard from during my community surveys. Nothing illustrates this more than the story of Julia, a 27-year-old lawyer, who wrote to me to share her story. Julia and her husband, an electrician, both work full time. They grew up believing that, if they got a job, worked hard, saved their money and lived sensibly and frugally, one day they would have a home of their own in which to raise their family, and that's exactly what they've tried to do. They don't want anything extravagant, just a modest three-bedroom home and maybe a second bathroom. The first home they bought was an apartment in 2021, and they did that through a government scheme. While they wa…
date: 2025-11-25T19:35:00+00:00

Minister for Climate Change and Energy | Matters of Public Importance | Senate debates
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description: Finally, we've got a more appropriate title for the member for McMahon, Mr Chris Bowen. He'd now officially known as the part-time energy minister. It happens to be a role he is very well...
encoded: Finally, we've got a more appropriate title for the member for McMahon, Mr Chris Bowen. He'd now officially known as the part-time energy minister. It happens to be a role he is very well prepared for, because he's already had a part-time approach, let's face it. He's delivered a part-time energy grid and full-time power price pain for Australian families and Australian businesses. Australians are paying an awfully high price for Labor's wrong priorities and their broken promises on energy. Let's remember those three promises that Labor took to the 2022 election: 82 per cent renewables in the grid by 2030, 43 per cent emissions reduction from 2005 levels and, of course, the infamous but never spoken of again $275 cut to electricity bills by the end of 2025. Goodness me, we're getting close, aren't we? Well, the government has failed on all three. Eighty-two per cent of renewables in the grid is well off track. Every credible expert forecasts that, even in the most optimistic scenario, we're now looking at around 65 per cent, and the rollout is only at half the pace that is needed. Industry is crying out for gas more than anything else. After emissions went up under this government, they are now only back at 28 per cent of 2005 levels. That is the same level as when the coalition left office 3½ years ago. Most offensively to Australians, power prices are up 40 per cent. Your bills have increased 40 per cent under this government, and an Australian household is paying on average around $1,300 more on their energy bills in a year than Labor promised. It really is a trifecta of failures under this minister—prices up, reliability down and emissions flat-lined. You would think with that record that the energy minister would take his job a bit more seriously—but no. Instead, what we've seen and what we learnt last week is that the Australian government has spent $7 million for the privilege of losing a bid to host COP31. That's $7 million gone, and not a single family is b…
date: 2025-11-25T18:25:00+00:00

Cost of Living | Statements by Senators | Senate debates
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description: Last week I sent a survey out to the electorate of Aston and asked them, amongst other things: 'What would be the one issue you would raise in federal parliament? If you had one issue, what would...
encoded: Last week I sent a survey out to the electorate of Aston and asked them, amongst other things: 'What would be the one issue you would raise in federal parliament? If you had one issue, what would it be?' Courtney told me: Cost of living has risen by so much since Labor came to power and it will only be worse now that they are back in. They promised cheaper prices and have failed miserably. Richard said that he wanted to talk about cheaper energy, as this 'supports industry to grow, providing more jobs'. And Odille wanted to raise what so many Australians are feeling, and I will quote her. She said, 'the lies the Albanese government told us about giving us $275 towards our electricity bills'. These voices are not alone. They're the voices of households right across Australia who are struggling with higher prices, higher power bills and a government that has made such big promises but has delivered so little. While families are tightening their belts, what is this Labor government doing? Last week, we learnt that Australia had spent $7 million for the privilege of losing a bid for COP31. They lost out to Turkiye at the end of the day. 'That's fine; don't worry about it; it's okay,' say Labor, because there's a consolation prize, and what a consolation prize it is. The Member for McMahon, Mr Chris Bowen, Labor's energy minister, now gets to swan around Turkiye as the lead negotiator for the international climate conference, a full-time job paid for by you, the taxpayer. Meanwhile, energy bills under this government have increased 40 per cent. This is the same guy that promised Australians $275 off your energy bills. Now he's taking on another job paid for by you. Only Labor would give us a part-time minister during a full-blown energy— (Time expired)
date: 2025-11-24T13:56:00+00:00

Construction, Forestry and Maritime Employees Union | Matters of Urgency | Senate debates
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description: I was having a cup of coffee with an old school friend the other day whose family runs a building business. I said to her, 'You surely have seen an improvement in behaviour on your worksites...
encoded: I was having a cup of coffee with an old school friend the other day whose family runs a building business. I said to her, 'You surely have seen an improvement in behaviour on your worksites since this administration of the CFMEU began?' She said no, in fact it's gotten worse. She said it has actually got to the stage now where the CFMEU are laughing because they have realised just how powerless the government is. In fact, the administrator they have put in place has allowed the CFMEU to become more permissive, not less permissive. The corruption, the bikie gangs, the underworld figures, the cartel kickbacks—all of this is running rife, and it's happening in my home state of Victoria. We know this because we understand that this is pushing up the cost of construction. It's pushing up the cost of construction in Victoria. No wonder we have seen so many cost blowouts on our infrastructure projects—the West Gate Tunnel, the North East Link. The list goes on. Wait until we get to the Suburban Rail Loop; heaven help us with what is going to happen there. The latest exposes, including on 60 Minutes, confirmed what all of us have known all along—that the CFMEU remains entangled with figures like John Setka, Mick Gatto and associates of its Victorian head, Zach Smith. I was very pleased to see that Zach Smith has finally stepped away from the executive of the Labor Party, because the idea that the Prime Minister could sit shoulder to shoulder with a man who associates with these figures that are intricately connected to criminal behaviour is unthinkable. But there are still cash flows, there are still kickbacks and there are still cartel levers, and, until they are cut off, this problem will only deepen. Corruption will remain rife, the bikie gangs will flourish, criminal behaviour will continue and our construction sites will remain unsafe and highly inefficient for taxpayers. The administrator, Mr Irving KC, was appointed specifically to clean up the CFMEU and restore int…
date: 2025-11-05T16:58:00+00:00

Cost of Living | Questions without Notice | Senate debates
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description: The headline on the front page of the Australian on 2 May 2022 said, 'Life will be "cheaper" under me'—says the Prime Minister. But Labor have been elected, and households are paying 15 per...
encoded: The headline on the front page of the Australian on 2 May 2022 said, 'Life will be "cheaper" under me'—says the Prime Minister. But Labor have been elected, and households are paying 15 per cent more for food, 15 per cent more for health, 19 per cent more for housing and nearly 40 per cent more for electricity. Minister, do you think Australians feel that life is cheaper since you came to power?
date: 2025-11-05T14:06:00+00:00

Cost of Living | Questions without Notice | Senate debates
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description: The point of order is relevance. The supplementary question was all about cheaper mortgages. We didn't get a single mention of mortgages.
encoded: The point of order is relevance. The supplementary question was all about cheaper mortgages. We didn't get a single mention of mortgages.
date: 2025-11-05T14:04:00+00:00

Cost of Living | Questions without Notice | Senate debates
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description: The Prime Minister also said: My government's been very disciplined about fulfilling the commitments that we made prior to the election. Well, prior to the 2022 election, the Prime Minister said...
encoded: The Prime Minister also said: My government's been very disciplined about fulfilling the commitments that we made prior to the election. Well, prior to the 2022 election, the Prime Minister said that he would deliver cheaper mortgages for Australians, but, since Labor came to power, mortgage holders have paid around $1,800 more per month. Minister, when will your government fulfil its commitment of cheaper mortgages?
date: 2025-11-05T14:04:00+00:00

Cost of Living | Questions without Notice | Senate debates
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description: My question is to the Minister representing the Prime Minister, Senator Wong. Minister, earlier this week, the Prime Minister said: Go back and have a look at some of the front pages that were...
encoded: My question is to the Minister representing the Prime Minister, Senator Wong. Minister, earlier this week, the Prime Minister said: Go back and have a look at some of the front pages that were run during the 2022 election campaign and see how they measure up … Well, on 2 May 2022, the Australian Financial Review front page had the headline, 'Labor's pitch: no one left behind'. According to Homelessness Australia, however, there has been a 33 per cent increase in Australians living rough in the past two years. Today, Foodbank has released its hunger report, which found that, in 2025, one in three Australian households have experienced food insecurity in the last 12 months. Minister, will you acknowledge that millions of Australians are being left behind under Labor?
date: 2025-11-05T14:00:00+00:00

Labor Government | Statements by Senators | Senate debates
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description: As a senator for Victoria, it's my job to represent the views and interests of those that are in my state, and that's exactly what I'm going to do today. Recently I surveyed some constituents in...
encoded: As a senator for Victoria, it's my job to represent the views and interests of those that are in my state, and that's exactly what I'm going to do today. Recently I surveyed some constituents in my patron or duty seats the electorates of Chisholm and Isaacs about issues that matter most to them—the things that most deeply impact their lives and the priorities they want their government to act upon. I'd like to thank everybody who took part in that survey—it only took a few minutes to fill it out—to tell me the things that mattered to them so that I can stand here today and share those messages with the parliament and particularly with those in the government who make the decisions that affect their lives. The message has been resoundingly clear. From the surge in crime and the surge in the cost of living, to access to healthcare and unaffordable energy prices, Australians are struggling, and they are asking their federal Labor government and state Labor government in Victoria to do so much better. Residents in the electorates of Chisholm and Isaacs are worried about their safety, their bills and their future. They want a government that listens and, more importantly, a government that acts. I say this to those constituents in Chisholm and Isaacs: if you do not feel that you are being heard, then I can be your voice. This is exactly what I am here to do—to speak to those who are not listening to you today. I hope that those opposite are listening, finally. I hope that they listen and pick up the phone to their mates that are in the Victorian Labor government, and that they respond and get on with action on these issues. Previously when I've done these surveys, and I have done many of them, the cost of living was absolutely the No. 1 issue. It was the No. 1 issue that came up with residents, and there's no denying that it is still a massive issue for Australians who have lived through three years of Labor's cost-of-living crisis. But there is a new No. 1 issue in my h…
date: 2025-11-05T13:13:00+00:00

Superannuation Legislation Amendment (Tackling the Gender Super Gap) Bill 2025; Second Reading | Bills | Senate debates
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description: I rise to speak on the Superannuation Legislation Amendment (Tackling the Gender Super Gap) Bill 2025, something I speak of with enormous pride because this bill goes to the heart of fairness,...
encoded: I rise to speak on the Superannuation Legislation Amendment (Tackling the Gender Super Gap) Bill 2025, something I speak of with enormous pride because this bill goes to the heart of fairness, equity and recognition of the sacrifices that are made within Australian families. It represents a genuine step forward to ensuring that every single Australian can look forward to a dignified and secure retirement, especially women. This bill amends the superannuation legislation to give spouses the opportunity to split their collective superannuation balances evenly between them. The partner with the higher superannuation balance will be able to roll over an amount from their fund to their spouse's superannuation fund to make the two funds more even. Financial security in retirement should reflect a lifetime of shared contributions, not just paid employment. This bill is a proactive measure designed specifically to tackle one of the most persistent and unfair challenges in our superannuation system, the gender super gap. While estimates vary, women retire with significantly lower superannuation balances than men, somewhere between 20 to 25 per cent lower. Why is this? It's rarely a result of personal choice; rather it stems from deep-seated structural realities in our society and in our superannuation system. According to the Workplace Gender Equality Agency, one-third of the gender super gap can be attributed to time spent caring for family and interruptions to full-time employment. Women are far more likely to take time out of the paid workforce to care for children or for elderly parents and to shoulder the responsibilities of unpaid work that keeps families and our economy running. When one partner, typically the mother, takes time away from work to raise children, her superannuation savings often halt for years, even decades, while her partner's continue to grow. This is the motherhood penalty in action, leaving women financially vulnerable in their later years. The Pri…
date: 2025-11-05T09:40:00+00:00