Anthony Albanese (Grayndler, Australian Labor Party, Prime Minister) Share this | Hansard source

I thank the member for Boothby for her question and for her advocacy. The member for Boothby, of course, stood up for the rights of women, particularly, in the roles that she played at St Vincent de Paul, and in other areas as well, looking after disadvantaged people in her electorate. This is a budget that puts equality for women at its centre. For cheaper child care and early childhood education, there is $4.6 billion over four years. This is good for families and good for children, but, importantly, it is economic reform that's good for the economy—reform that will boost productivity, boost women's workforce participation and boost their retirement incomes and, of course, act as an incentive to boost population as well. We have the biggest expansion to paid parental leave since it was introduced back in 2011—of course, by a Labor government—designed to encourage parents to share caring responsibilities more equally. We have record funding for women's safety—$1.7 billion over six years. This includes investing in an additional 500 frontline community workers and ensuring that the returns of the $10 billion Housing Australia Future Fund can help deliver 4,000 new homes, to put a roof over the heads of women and children fleeing violence and over the heads of older women who are at risk of homelessness. There is $100 million for crisis and transitional housing options for women and children fleeing violence. We are fully implementing the Respect@Work report, including implementing working women's centres in every single state and territory.

I note that today we have finally carried through both houses of parliament 10 days of family and domestic violence leave—an important thing so that women won't be faced with a choice of putting food on the table or staying in a violent situation. It is very important, and I thank the parliament for adopting this important measure.

Importantly as well, an overwhelming majority of the 2.7 million workers who the just-over-a-dollar-an-hour pay increase flowed through to were women—just as those women who work in the aged-care sector will benefit from our advocacy of an increase in pay. We're leading the national push to expose and close the gender pay gap. We have introduced the Respect@Work report legislation, as we have the other legislation around this.

All of this has been missing from the national stage for nearly a decade. In their first budget, of course, Tony Abbott was remarkably the Minister for the Status of Women. There was only one woman in their first cabinet. We have a majority of women in the Labor caucus—54 out of 103—a fact that we are proud of.

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