Jo Briskey (Maribyrnong, Australian Labor Party) | Hansard source

This Saturday night, the mighty Melbourne Vixens are back in another grand final, their fifth in seven years, and we're going back to back. Five of these women also put on the green and gold for the Australian Diamonds, arguably the most successful national team our country has produced. But here's what gets me. More women and girls play netball than any other team sport, and on the world stage we're very good at it, yet it doesn't have the same platform that men's footy and cricket have. Generations of netballers who have represented our country have done so for next to nothing. Why? Because for too long we haven't valued women's work the way we value men's.

And it's not just netball players; it's early childhood educators and it's the carers and the nurses in my community who have carried this same story for decades. But this government is changing it. We're funding pay rises for female dominated sectors like aged care and early childhood education, and the gender pay gap is the lowest it's ever been. This week, paid parental leave grew to 26 weeks, with super paid on top, so that raising a child no longer costs a woman her career or her retirement. And we're making the biggest investment into women's health that this country has ever seen.

This is what happens when you have a majority-women government and a gender-equal cabinet. We don't just see and value women's worth. We are delivering the real change that ensures we have a fairer future for them. And I'd like to give a shout-out my daughter Gwen, who's in the gallery today. We're doing it for you. All the best of luck and go, Vixens!

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