Madonna Jarrett (Brisbane, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Hansard source

I move:

That this House:

(1) acknowledges the Government's commitment to driving economic equality for Australian women, from closing the gender pay gap and lifting wages for women, to investing in women's health and expanding paid parental leave;

(2) notes that on 1 July 2025 women in Australia benefited from key changes delivered by the Government, including:

(a) expanding paid parental leave to 24 weeks and paying superannuation on it;

(b) lifting the minimum wage by 3.5 per cent; and

(c) commencing the Commonwealth Prac Payment scheme for teaching, nursing, midwifery and social work students; and

(3) welcomes the Government continuing to deliver a better future for Australian women.

As a young girl growing up next door to my grandparents, I saw my matriarchal grandmother use her organisational, diplomatic and empathy skills to be the bedrock of our family and our community. My mum wanted to become a teacher but didn't get the opportunity. However, every day she organised meals for at least 10 people, made hundreds of stage-ready costumes, decorated wedding cakes and organised and joined various social justice causes. Then there were our friends the Hahnes, who lived up the road. Mum babysat a few of the grandkids because both parents wanted to pursue a career—one a paramedic and the other a nurse educator. In addition, Mum did countless hours of babysitting for my kids and other grandkids.

This is not an unfamiliar story. I'm telling you this story because women throughout the ages have been held back from fully participating in our economy in the way they want to. Child care and family care have always been two of the biggest hurdles facing women entering the workforce and, importantly, keeping them there. Child care was just too costly on the family budget, and wages weren't high enough, especially in women dominated sectors, for it to be worthwhile for both parents to work. It wasn't just wages and career losses for the mums, who were the ones who predominantly lost out; it's a loss of long-term financial stability and economic empowerment, not to mention economic growth. In fact, it's estimated that the Australian economy would be $128 billion better off by purposely removing the persistent and pervasive barriers to women's full and equal participation in the economy.

When Labor introduced paid paternity leave almost 15 years ago, the dinner conversations changed. It gave families an option for both parents to work. This was a significant step to bring more women into the workforce and nibble away at the gender pay gap, but the data showed slow progress. At the time of the 2022 federal election, the gender pay gap was still 14.1 percent—exactly where it had been four years earlier. For over a decade, I have participated in discussions across organisations like the OECD, the World Economic Forum and the B20 on what is needed to close the gap, and the discussions always highlighted a few consistent challenges: the burden of family care falling predominantly on women; the undervaluing of the career choices of many women, which is reflected in comparatively very low wages—and unpaid prac placements, of course; and discrimination in hiring. Now, 51 per cent of the workforce are women, and we can't afford to leave them behind.

This is why I'm so pleased to speak to this motion today, which recognises what the Labor government is doing to support women with fairer wages and long-term financial stability. Since 1 July, the Albanese Labor government has kicked off billions of dollars worth of responsible support. The national minimum wage and award wages have increased by 3½ per cent. Paid parental leave has increased to 24 weeks. Super is now paid on all government paid parental leave. Commonwealth prac placements have started with nursing, midwifery, teaching and social work students—professions where women dominate the work. This comes on top of 10 days paid family and domestic violence leave, stronger rules for company reporting on their gender gaps and stronger laws to combat sexual harassment in the workforce.

The second point I wanted to touch upon was the comparatively huge cost of health care that women face—contraceptives, menopausal hormone therapies and endometriosis, just to name three. When I was doorknocking during the campaign, I spoke to a few ladies who told me a very similar story. They were scared and embarrassed to go out because of the physical and emotional symptoms that they experience because of menopause. This is why I stand here today to support Labor's actions on implementing a promise to deliver $790 million towards women's health. From 1 March, some of the most commonly used contraceptive pills were listed on the PBS. Contraceptive devices became cheaper. From 1 July, a new Medicare rebate for menopause health assessments was introduced. After more than 20 years, three new menopausal hormone therapies were listed on the PBS. From 1 July, two new Medicare Benefits Schedule items were introduced for gynaecological consultations of 45 minutes or longer, helping those facing complex conditions such as endometriosis and pelvic pain, and there will be more endometriosis and pelvic pain clinics treating more conditions thanks to the Albanese Labor government. Women will also benefit from the cheaper PBS prescriptions, our bulk-billing, our urgent care clinics et cetera.

I'm really proud of the steps this government has taken to enable more women to work, but a lot more remains to be done to close that gender gap. I look forward to working with the government to continue to do this and make it fairer for women across our country.

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