Kelly O'Dwyer (Higgins, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

This Saturday, 8 March, is International Women's Day. This year's theme is inspiring change. To mark this occasion, I had the great honour of representing the Prime Minister at the United Nations International Women's Day breakfast held in Melbourne this morning with 650 of our closest friends. I was joined by some of the most accomplished women in Australia, including Her Excellency the Hon. Quentin Bryce, Governor-General; board member of the Australian National Committee for UN Women, Beth Shaw; Regional Manager of Premier Banking of the Commonwealth Bank, Lisa Maher; Sex Discrimination Commissioner of the Australian Human Rights Commission, Elizabeth Broderick; Executive Director, Women in Business Development, Samoa, Adi Tafuna'i; and journalist, author and public speaker Catherine Fox.

While we know that women in Australia do face a number of challenges in terms of equal rights, workplace opportunities and pay, we know that millions of women around the world face a far more parlous situation. UN Women does great work, particularly in the South Pacific, in Papua New Guinea and the Solomon Islands, and Australia is one of the highest contributors to this cause—making sure that women get equal rights, that they can be safe from domestic violence and that they can be empowered economically through such things as microfinance schemes so that their financial futures are secure. We should recognise International Women's Day and support the good work that the UN is doing.