Carina Garland (Chisholm, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Hansard source

I'm really pleased to be able to speak on the 2026-27 Women's Budget Statement, which is a statement that reflects not only a set of policies but also a vision for the kind of country we want Australia to be—that is, a country where women are safer, where women are healthier, where women are paid fairly, valued properly, and given every opportunity to participate fully in our economy and thrive in our society. We know that when women do well, Australia does well, and that is exactly why the Albanese Labor government has made gender equality a central issue to our government and a core economic priority.

As the Women's Budget Statement says, creating greater opportunity for women is central to building a stronger, more productive and more resilient nation. Labor has a proud history here. It was the Hawke Labor government that introduced the world's first Women's Budget Statement in the 1980s, and it was the Albanese Labor government that restored it in 2022, because we understand that budgets are not gender neutral. The decisions made in this chamber shape the lives of Australians differently, and good governments must recognise that reality.

We have a caucus made up of a majority of women, one that is reflective of Australia and our communities, and that's why our government introduced gender-responsive budgeting, ensuring that gender equality is considered in budget decisions and embedded at the centre of economic policy. The results are already being seen. Women's labour-force participation reached a record high in 2025. The gender pay gap has fallen to an historic low of 11.5 per cent. Women's full-time ordinary earnings have increased by more than $290 a week since May 2022. Australia's global ranking for gender equality has risen dramatically from 43rd in 2022 to 13th today.

Those outcomes did not happen by accident. Those outcomes came about through deliberate decisions, ones directly informed by women around the table in our government and in our communities. These deliberate decisions include those like cheaper child care, expanding paid parental leave, backing pay rises for aged-care workers and early childhood educators, and making gender equality an object of the Fair Work Act.

For too long women's work was undervalued. There is, of course, still a lot of work to do for real sustained equality, but it is a focus of this government, and we are determined to do what is necessary to achieve that real and sustained equality. For too long the sectors dominated by women—care, education, community services—were treated as secondary to the economy, when in reality they are foundational to it. Our government understands that care work is nation-building work. Through our government, we're finally seeing that reflected in policy and in outcomes for workers.

The Women's Budget Statement highlights the government's investments in early childhood education and care, including the continuation of cheaper childcare reforms, the Building Early Education Fund and the three-day guarantee that commenced earlier this year, saving households on average $1,490 each year. These are reforms that make an enormous difference for women balancing work and caring responsibilities and, of course, have impact on their families and their communities.

Too many women throughout history have faced impossible choices—and still do—between career progression and family responsibilities, between paid work and unpaid care and between financial security and flexibility. Our budget continues the work of breaking down those barriers and of making decisions less difficult for families. We recognise unpaid care as real work. This is work that sustains families, sustains communities and sustains the economy itself.

Housing security is also fundamental to women's equality and safety. Unfortunately, we know that it is women, particularly older women, who are one of the fastest growing groups of people experiencing housing insecurity and homelessness in Australia. Our government is addressing this issue by investing in social and affordable housing, supporting renters through increased Commonwealth rent assistance and helping first home buyers into the market. For women and children escaping violence, this budget continues critical investment in crisis and transitional accommodation. No woman should have to choose between violence and homelessness.

The Women's Budget Statement rightly and clearly places gender based violence at the centre of the national conversation. It states clearly that gender equality cannot be achieved while women continue to experience violence and abuse in their homes, workplaces, communities and online. This is a truth we must face honestly, no matter how confronting. Nobody should lose their life to violence, and every woman living in fear is a failure of the systems around her. This is a system failure. She has been failed. Unfortunately, there are no simple solutions here. But, despite that, there must be determined action.

Our government has now invested more than $4.4 billion under the National Plan to End Violence against Women and Children. This includes support through the Leaving Violence program, additional frontline workers, investment in prevention and early intervention and measures to address systems abuse and economic abuse. Importantly, this budget also supports the first standalone First Nations led national strategy to end family, domestic and sexual violence, recognising that lasting change must be community led and must be culturally informed.

The Women's Budget Statement also reflects something that many women have said for years: women's health issues have often been ignored, dismissed and certainly underfunded. We know that, for too long, women's pain has been minimised, women's conditions have been overlooked, and women's health outcomes have suffered as a result. Our government is changing that. Our landmark women's health investments continue in this budget, from cheaper contraceptives to expanded endometriosis and pelvic pain clinics, menopause support, bulk-billing investments and improved access to Medicare services. These reforms matter because health care should work for women at every age and every stage of life. It also reflects the principle that women deserve to be listened to.

We know that representation matters in this place. That's the system our democracy is built on. So it follows that, when women are in rooms representing our communities where decisions are made, outcomes improve. We are more representative. Policies become more responsive. Institutions become stronger. Democracies become fairer. I spoke earlier this year about the importance of different voices being heard in positions of leadership and decision-making. I said then that positive change happens when women's voices are included in the rooms where decisions are made. This parliament is now the most gender balanced in Australia's history, with women making up nearly half of all parliamentarians at the opening of the 48th Parliament. This progress really does matter because young women and girls should be able to look at this parliament, at all institutions, indeed, and at leadership across the country and see themselves reflected there.

Representation alone is not enough, though. We must continue the work of dismantling the structural barriers that hold women back economically, socially and politically. Around the world, we're seeing women's rights challenged and rolled back. We're seeing growing misogyny online. We're seeing new threats emerge through technology, exploitation and disinformation. This tells us that progress cannot be taken for granted.

Earlier this year, reflecting on International Women's Day, I spoke about the activism of Zelda D'Aprano and her belief that progress builds person by person, voice by voice, to build a strong movement. That spirit of collective progress is at the heart of the Women's Budget Statement. We understand that equality is not achieved in one budget, one parliament or one generation. It requires sustained effort, it requires persistence and it requires governments willing to make choices that will shape a fairer future. Our budget contributes to that effort. We are investing in women's safety through this budget, as well as women's economic security and women's health and care. I'm really proud to speak on this statement in the House today.

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