Marielle Smith (SA, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

My question is to the Minister for Women, Senator Gallagher. Earlier today the government's Workplace Gender Equality Amendment (Closing the Gender Pay Gap) Bill was passed with wide support across our parliament. Can the minister update the parliament on how the government is advancing women's economic equality?

Katy Gallagher (ACT, Australian Labor Party, Minister for the Public Service) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I thank Senator Smith for the question and, again, for all the work she does in relation to gender equality and women's policy in general. I really do appreciate it. It's so fantastic to work with such a great bunch of people and have such a great bunch of women across the Labor caucus.

I thank everybody in this chamber because this is a piece of legislation where the chamber came together as one and agreed that it should be a priority to get this bill passed. It has passed the House of Representatives now. It was work that was built upon by the former government—those opposite—who had started the review and agreed to the recommendations. So it is really good, at the end of a long and sometimes scratchy sitting fortnight, to be in a position where we can demonstrate to the women of Australia that the parliament has agreed that accelerating action on the gender pay gap is such a critical and important national reform.

The bill that passed the House this morning is going to change things. It is going to ensure that, at a business level, where a gender pay gap exists, that will be reported and people will be able to see that. It's important for transparency and accountability reasons but it's also about driving the reform that's needed to close the gender pay gap. There is absolutely no reason why men and women performing the jobs that they do in businesses should be paid differently for the same type of work. We know that this has a huge impact on gender equality and women's economic independence, or women's economic equality, as well.

Sue Lines (President) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Senator Smith, a first supplementary?

Marielle Smith (SA, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

While this bill was being debated both in the House and in the Senate, many of us observed that there was more work to do. Can the minister provide an update on the government's plans to continue to improve gender equality?

Katy Gallagher (ACT, Australian Labor Party, Minister for the Public Service) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I thank Senator Smith for the supplementary. There is more work to do and we are, as a government, committed to getting on with that. As a government, from our early days with the Jobs and Skills Summit and in the platform that we took to the election campaign, we made clear that women's economic equality and the issue of gender equality was going to be a priority for this government. We recognised it in October with the investments that we made in social programs like early education and care to ensure that women can work the hours that they want to work, and we're also recognising it through the work we're doing now in progressing the work on a National Strategy to Achieve Gender Equality. I would encourage everyone to get involved in that. We are wanting to hear from women from right across the country and all of the people we represent. Consultations are open. Have those conversations in your communities with your neighbours, families and friends about how we can make Australia a leader in relation to gender equality.

Sue Lines (President) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Senator Smith, second supplementary?

Marielle Smith (SA, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

SMITH () (): Can the minister outline how we can all contribute to improving gender equality?

Katy Gallagher (ACT, Australian Labor Party, Minister for the Public Service) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I thank Senator Smith for the supplementary. Senator Smith is right: we all have a role to play in this place, in our communities, at home and in businesses, unions, schools, universities, churches and sporting groups. Wherever you are, we can work together, and women's economic equality and gender equality will make us a better country. In this place, we can help drive that change by getting around the table and working together as we have done on the Workplace Gender Equality Amendment (Closing the Gender Pay Gap) Bill 2023, which passed the parliament today.

We know that there's a lot more work to do. We've been delivering some of those important investments to drive this change through cheaper child care, through 10 days paid family and domestic violence leave, through boosting paid parental leave and through our gender-responsive budgeting in the first budget in nearly a decade that cast a gender lens over the budget. We have the National Plan to End Violence Against Women and Children; a wage increase for aged-care workers, 96 per cent of whom are women; and the National Women's Health Advisory Council. I could go on. (Time expired)