Pursuant to standing order 75, I propose that the following matter of public importance be submitted to the Senate for discussion:
The endless chaos when it comes to the Albanese Labor Government's management of Australia's borders, and the complete failure of the Government to protect the community from illegal boat arrivals and detainees released into the community.
Is the proposal supported?
More than the number of senators required by the standing orders having risen in their places—
With the concurrence of the Senate, the clerks will set the clock in line with the informal arrangements made by the whips.
]]>From 1 July, two additional weeks of leave will be added each year until 2026. By 2026, new parents will have a total of 26 weeks leave to use—six months of paid parental leave. That is an absolute game changer. One parent can access 22 of those weeks, a month more than under the current scheme. The other parent can access four weeks, double the amount they have now. Critically, parents will be able to take four weeks together instead of just two. For families this time is invaluable. It is more time to recover after childbirth and more time to spend with their child as a family together. It is the ability to give care together for longer.
We know this will improve wellbeing outcomes for families across Australia. We also know that investing in paid parental leave benefits our economy and drives gender equality. We are a majority-female government, the first in history, and gender equality is at the heart of everything we do. We want to encourage and facilitate shared caregiving to provide more choice and more support for women.
Expanding paid parental leave means women can better balance their caregiving and their work responsibilities, but it also means that fathers and partners are supported to take a greater caring role too. We want agency for families to figure out how to do that best. They should have the flexibility to structure their care arrangements. Men and partners should be valued as caregivers too, and parenting can be treated as an equal partnership. When these structures are in place, women are better supported to engage with the workforce, and equality is advanced.
Women's economic equality is top of mind for our government every day. In addition to this bill, we've driven a strong agenda for women. We delivered a historic and life-changing 15 per cent pay rise for Australia's aged-care workforce. We supported a life-changing pay rise for minimum wage workers two years in a row. We've seen a historic increase in the workforce participation rates of women. Women are seeing how working, caring and living can work for them. We've also seen the gender pay gap drop to 12 per cent, the lowest level on record. And, come 1 July, 100 per cent of working women will receive a tax cut, and 90 per cent of working women will receive a bigger tax cut under our plan. There is more work to do, but I'm so proud of what we've delivered so far, and this bill delivers more.
Paid parental leave is a strong Labor legacy that we first established back in 2011 under the leadership of the incredible minister Jenny Macklin, and the Albanese government have worked hard to introduce reforms to now modernise the scheme, to make it flexible and equitable and just to make it more helpful to the families that it aims to support. Just like Medicare, it took a Labor government to establish paid parental leave, and now it takes a Labor government to protect it and to expand it. And that's exactly what we're doing with this bill. I'm proud to support the Paid Parental Leave Amendment (More Support for Working Families) Bill today.
]]>The results we're seeing across the economy today speak for themselves. We see today that wage growth is back in this country, and it is rising at the fastest rate for over a decade, posting 4.2 per cent for the full year. We also see that, while we know there is an inflation challenge that is ongoing, inflation is moderating. That is what is happening across our economy today. It's at 3.4 per cent today—the lowest level in two years, according to just today's CPI data. These figures show what people in Australia know. These figures show what people in Dunkley know. They show meaningful change for Australians who've been feeling the squeeze for too long. Wages are ahead of inflation today, and inflation is moderating. That's because our economic plan is working, and it is delivering for Australians.
Of course, because of the unanimous decision made in this chamber last night, more relief is on the way. Last night this chamber passed our cost-of-living tax bill. It did that unanimously, and it did that for every single Australian taxpayer. We on this side of the chamber want Australians earning more, unlike those opposite. On this side, we want workers to be keeping more of what they earn too. That's why our tax cuts, unlike the old Morrison plan, are for every single Australian taxpayer—every single one of them. On 1 July, 100 per cent of Australians will get a tax cut. On 1 July, 84 per cent of Australians will get a bigger tax cut than what they would have got under Morrison's old plan. On 1 July, 100 per cent of working women will get a tax cut, and 90 per cent of them will be better off than they would have been under the plan of those opposite. This is a tax cut for every single working Australian, not just for some, like those opposite wanted. What we see today is growing wages. We see moderating inflation. We see a fairer tax system for all, including a tax cut for every single working Australian coming on 1 July.
Our changes are making a difference right across Australia and in the community of Dunkley, a community that will be well represented by Jodie Belyea. She is a fantastic woman, a fantastic Frankston local, a businesswoman, and a mum of a child at Frankston High School. She is a person of integrity. She is a person of character. She is a person who will represent Dunkley well. Right across the seat of Dunkley, people can see that wages are moving again in this country, strengthening the connection between fair reward and hard work. They can see that we are prioritising good and secure jobs in our labour market. We know the value of working people on this side of the chamber. What they also know, after last night, is that, come 1 July, 70,000 taxpayers in Dunkley will get a tax cut. Like the rest of Australia, nobody in Dunkley will be left behind under our plan. For the people of Dunkley today, wages are moving. We are focused on good, secure jobs for all, and every single taxpayer in Dunkley will get a tax cut under our government. (Time expired)
]]>The Senate passed our cost-of-living tax bills last night and from 1 July, every single Australian taxpayer will receive a tax cut, including 70,000 taxpayers in Dunkley. The teachers at Frankston High School will get a tax cut. The staff at Seaford Primary School will get a tax cut. The nurses at Frankston Hospital will get one too. The hospo workers on Young Street will get a tax cut. The retail workers at Bayside Shopping Centre will get one too. Every single worker will get a tax cut on 1 July. Importantly, this includes every single woman worker—100 per cent of taxpaying women across Australia, including 100 per cent of taxpaying women in Dunkley. We are delivering better outcomes for women, something that I know Jodie cares about so much. Her good friend Peta Murphy did too. Dunkley, I know that Jodie will be a fantastic local member and representative for you. She cares for her community and she's willing to fight for it. Jodie, we are so excited for you. I know that you're going to make us all proud.
]]>In this bill, we're standing up for those gig workers and ensuring that they're not exploited, by allowing the Fair Work Commission to set minimum standards for gig workers. It's pretty simple, and it's really not radical, because the Fair Work Commission have set standards for workers in this country for literally generations, and it's time that they had the power to bring unions and platforms together to set basic minimum standards for this new form of work, gig work.
We've heard time and time again over recent years just how bad gig work is for the people who are trying to survive on it and just how often they face below-minimum rates and unsafe conditions. There was an extremely thorough Senate inquiry into this bill, led by our colleague Senator Tony Sheldon. The Senate inquiry into the bill heard from delivery workers who were working 14-hour days just to try to survive and earning as little as $6 an hour. Tragically the inquiry also heard that there have been 15 deaths in food delivery and rideshare since 2017 as these workers hustle for a decent wage. Yesterday I met with delivery riders and I heard from Zhuoying, who is a delivery rider for HungryPanda. She told me her story. Her company dropped riders' base delivery rate to $4 for motorcycle riders and $5 for bicycle riders, and they introduced bonuses for dangerous delivery deadlines. That of course was without any form of consultation or any mechanism for objection on the part of the workers who were using the platform to make a wage and live. It was without any form of negotiation.
All we are doing is empowering unions, workers and the platforms to come together, deal with these issues and actually set minimum standards that make sense both for the workers in those sectors and for the platforms. I also met delivery rider Mugdha yesterday, who was hit by a car while she was at work making deliveries. She was left unconscious on the side of the road. She had no access to workers compensation and no access to support. She was forced to return to work without treatment, and today she lives in chronic pain as a result. It should not be this way in Australia today. These workers deserve safe jobs. These workers deserve the same rights as other people who are working in Australia today. I congratulate the Transport Workers Union for bringing the voices of these workers to the parliament and also to this legislation.
It's not just the food delivery platforms that we want to allow to go to Fair Work and set standards with their employees. Gig work and casualisation are growing in our care sector as well. Mary is a disability support gig worker. Sometimes she needs to take her clients out and about to go for a coffee, to go to the pool or to go see a movie or she needs to clean their house, where she has to supply her own PPE, her own cleaning equipment and her own cleaning products. These expenses are adding up for Mary because she's not paid for them and she can't claim them on tax. All of that is happening while her pay is up to 46 per cent below the award. We know that there was a push to exclude gig platforms operating in the care economy from these really important reforms. It's absolutely critical that platforms in the care economy have been included in this legislation. We can go back to the aged-care royal commission, which said that care should prioritise direct employment over gig work. At the very least we need to protect our essential care workers, our elders and others requiring care and support. We need to protect them all by allowing Fair Work to be able to set some basic, minimum standards for the pay that people get and for the safety that they can expect in their workplace. Again, this is not radical. This is Australia, where people who do this really important work that we all now rely on absolutely deserve a basic minimum wage and they absolutely deserve a safe workplace.
All of the workers that I spoke to and that I've spoken about tonight deserve better. They deserve a good job that they can count on. This bill is going to help deliver that. It will help close the door on exploitation and ensure that Australia doesn't become a nation where survival depends on tips. It will stop companies from jeopardising workers' safety. And the bottom line really is that it's going to bring Fair Work into the 21st century. It's going to bring Fair Work in line with the way that work is organised today. It is not a radical proposal, but Peter Dutton and the Liberal Party of course oppose every step, and we've heard that here in the chamber tonight. We know that they want to keep wages low. They tell us that every day. We know they want to hold workers back, but we on this side of the chamber won't stand for that.
I really want to thank the workers and their unions who have stood up for this reform over many years. This has taken literally hundreds and hundreds of workers speaking out and telling their stories, coming to the parliament and sharing their experiences, coming to Senate inquiry after inquiry and engaging with all of us here. This is really down to them, and this legislation is really for them.
This bill is just going to deliver some basic minimum standards for workers. That's what it's going to do. It's going to deliver some basic safety standards for these workers. Fair and safe workplaces are what Australians expect, and it's what all Australian workers, and all workers who we invite to our shores to work in the essential jobs that we rely on, deserve.
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