Amanda Rishworth (Kingston, Australian Labor Party, Minister for Employment and Workplace Relations) Share this | Hansard source

I'd like to thank the member for Werriwa for her question and her strong advocacy for working women in this country. Our government has placed gender equality at the heart of our workplace relations reforms. We put gender equality front and centre when our government funded well overdue pay increases for workers in aged care and early childhood education, many of whom are women—early educators like Leanne from Canberra, who said, 'We're finally being recognised for the professionals we are.' Our government also took action to reinvigorate enterprise bargaining, which is delivering higher wages for women. I'm pleased to report that the latest ABS weekly earnings data show that women on enterprise agreements are earning 12.4 per cent more. This is good news.

The Albanese Labor government has consistently advocated to the Fair Work Commission for a pay increase for minimum-wage and award-reliant workers, many of whom are women. Importantly, the government also stepped up to protect penalty rates in law when they were under threat, to ensure that these same workers' pay wouldn't go backwards. We banned pay secrecy clauses. This improves the ability for women to advocate for better pay, and we are starting to see the benefits of our reforms. When the former coalition left government, the gender pay gap was at 14.1 per cent. I'm pleased to report to the House that, under our government, the gender pay gap is now the lowest on record at 11.5 per cent. This progress hasn't happened by accident. It's the result of a government determined to prioritise gender equality.

I am asked about other approaches, and, yes, there was a very, very different approach to tackling the gender pay gap by those opposite when they were in government. While those opposite sat on the government benches, they failed to take any practical action when it came to closing the gender pay gap. Their attitude was exposed by the now very famous Senator Canavan, who said the gender pay gap report was 'useless data that breeds resentment and division'. They just don't get it when it comes to the gender pay gap. But, to be fair to Senator Canavan, he might be clueless about the gender pay gap, but one would say he's pretty good at breeding resentment and division when it comes to the coalition. While those opposite remain divided and focused solely on their own jobs. We're getting on with backing Australian women earning more.

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