Renee Coffey (Griffith, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Hansard source

As International Women's Day approaches, I recognise the women in this parliament, the women in our communities and the women who keep our country moving every single day. International Women's Day is about celebrating progress, but it's also about telling the truth—and one truth this parliament should be able to say plainly is that the women in the Liberal and National parties are the best asset they have on that side of the chamber. I'll say it again: the women in the Liberal and National parties are the best asset they have on that side of the chamber, by a country mile.

That's not just an observation from this side; their own election review makes this painfully clear. Their review says that their former, former leader was seen as lacking connection with women. It states in strikingly blunt terms that the female vote is clearly a problem for the Liberal Party. It goes further, acknowledging that capable female candidates were left trying to overcome leadership and policy settings that had already alienated women. That says a lot. It says the women in the Liberal and National parties were asked to carry the credibility of a political project that too often did not listen to women, did not speak to women and did not understand what women across Australia were asking for.

On this side, the Albanese Labor government is delivering for Australian women—cheaper child care; making paid parental leave bigger, fairer and more flexible; superannuation on paid parental leave; and 10 days of paid family and domestic violence leave. We've banned pay secrecy clauses. We've backed changes that put gender equality more firmly at the centre of our workplace laws. We've supported wage increases in female-dominated sectors, and we're investing in women's health with cheaper contraceptives, better support for menopause and endometriosis. I'm proud to be part of the continuation of the first majority-women government. This Labor government has achieved this not only because we listen to women; we are women.

I take this opportunity to acknowledge and thank Sussan Ley for her service. We will have our political differences, as we should in a healthy democracy, but service in this place demands resilience, discipline and sacrifice. It demands time away from family. It demands fortitude under constant scrutiny. That contribution deserves respect, especially as Sussan was the first female leader of the Liberal Party.

This International Women's Day, let us do more than offer warm words. Let us build politics where women are not expected to fix broken cultures on their own, where women's leadership is not conditional and where respect for women is measured not by slogans but by who is heard, who is backed and who gets to shape the decisions. That is the standard women in Australia deserve. This International Women's Day, I acknowledge all the women in this place on our side and, of course, on the other side as well.

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