Mike Freelander (Macarthur, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Hansard source

I'd first like to thank my very good friend the member for Werriwa for raising this very important motion. I do know very sincerely how importantly the member for Werriwa takes this issue, particularly gender pay equity, as well as the importance of equal sharing of parenthood, and I totally agree. I am very proud to be part of a government that's actively working towards growing wages and improving the quality of life for all Australians, especially those in low-paid sectors that are largely female dominated. As the parent of three boys and three daughters, I can say that my wife and I didn't raise our children with any expectation that they would be treated differently in the workforce or that they would, if they were female, have to accept lower pay than their brothers. I certainly think the world has changed, and we must persevere in our efforts to make equity in pay and equity in work important for all of us across the entire political spectrum.

My own professional field of paediatrics has had gender equity and equity of pay for many, many years and I've been very proud to work with some incredible women in paediatrics: my friend Professor Elizabeth Elliott from the Children's Hospital at Westmead, Professor Kathryn North from the Royal Children's Hospital in Melbourne, Professor Ingrid Scheffer in Melbourne and, of course, the most famous paediatrician in Australia, Professor Fiona Stanley. They all worked in my field of paediatrics and all worked in a field that treated them equitably, and I hope this will continue in following generations.

An example of our government's view on this is our submission to the Fair Work Commission's annual wage review, which argued that workers who are the lowest paid in our country must have their wages increased. For too long these workers have seen their wages remain stagnant, harming their ability to keep up with ever-increasing costs of living; yet executive positions, which are mostly male dominated, have had astounding increases in their pay in the last couple of decades. This has impacted many, many families in both the electorate of Werriwa and, of course, my electorate of Macarthur, which are adjoining electorates, and I was very pleased when our government's argument won the day. Not only that; all Australians won as a result of the approval of a 15 per cent increase in wages for those in the lowest-paid categories. The commission agreed with our submission. As a result, 2.7 million Australian workers benefited, with a 5.2 per cent increase in the national minimum wage and a 4.6 per cent increase for all other award wages. We made another submission arguing for a pay increase for all aged-care workers to the Fair Work Commission. Aged-care workers that I know work incredibly hard. They do some of the hardest work in our communities. You only have to watch them work in an aged-care setting to realise how difficult their work is, both emotionally and physically. Of course, during the pandemic they were on the frontline fighting against the virus to protect our elderly citizens and our most vulnerable. This, again, resulted in a win for these workers, with a verdict delivering a 15 per cent pay rise to aged-care workers, with a possibility of a further increase. Minister Burke summed it up well when he said that this result was the first step in our fight for increased wages and gender pay equity, particularly in industries that are low paid and female dominated.

It has been widely reported recently that we're struggling to fill job vacancies in many industries. This is only going to get worse until we get gender pay equity and fair wages for fair work, and work conditions to attract and retain our workers. We have to fight for fair minimum standards for workers in this nation, particularly those working in the gig economy. Those entering employment by labour hire companies are particularly at risk, and some increases in pay for these workers are urgently needed. I appreciate the collaborative approach taken by the Prime Minister during the Jobs and Skills Summit and the wonderful results of that Jobs and Skills Summit. One of the finest achievements thus far is the expansion of paid parental leave, which will be of enormous benefit not only to my family but to many of the families in Macarthur. As a paediatrician and a parent, I applaud these changes as a sign of a new world coming in fair pay for Australian workers.

I thank Ms Stanley, the member for Werriwa, for this motion. I think it's very timely and I think the rest of the parliament will follow her lead in advocating for gender pay equity across the community. Thank you.

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