Ms CLAYDON (Newcastle—Deputy Speaker) (12:53): I move:

That this House:

(1) notes that Australian Bureau of Statistics figures released in June 2023 show that since, May 2022:

(a) women's total employment is up by 249,000;

(b) 233,500 more women have joined the labour force;

(c) women's part-time work has increased by 20,500

(d) women's full-time jobs have boomed, increasing by 228,600; and

(e) women have accounted for 59.3 per cent of the growth in full-time jobs;

(2) further notes that this comes off the back of recent Treasury analysis showing that the first 12 months of the Government have had the strongest jobs growth of any new Australian government in history; and

(3) recognises the Government is laying strong foundations for a better future for women in the workforce by delivering on its key election commitments of:

(a) cheaper child care;

(b) expanding paid parental leave;

(c) action to boost wages of the low paid through submissions to the Fair Work Commission's annual wage review and aged care work value case;

(d) delivering the recommendations of the Respect@Work report; and

(e) delivering our Secure Jobs, Better Pay legislation which:

(i) has opened up bargaining to workers in low-paid industries which are most likely to be female dominated through the supported bargaining stream;

(ii) made gender equality an object of the Fair Work Act;

(iii) set up new expert panels in the Fair Work Commission focused on pay equity and the care and community sector, and introduced a statutory equal remuneration principle to address low wages and gender-based undervaluation of work;

(iv) made the right to request flexible working arrangements an enforceable right; and

(v) prohibited pay secrecy clauses.

I am very happy to rise to speak on this private member's motion in my name today—happy because we have good news to share on women's employment in this country. The Australian Bureau of Statistics released figures in June 2023 that showed that, since the Albanese Labor government came into power, women's total employment is up by 249,000, we have 233½ thousand more women who have joined the labour force and women's part-time work has increased by 20½ thousand. Women's full-time jobs have boomed, increasing by 228,600, and women have accounted for 59.3 per cent of the growth in full-time jobs. This is great news for Australian women.

Furthermore, the latest Global gender gap report from the World Economic Forum shows that, since the Albanese Labor government took office, Australia's world gender equality ranking has jumped up 17 places, from 43 to 26, the largest increase since that index began in 2006. At the election Labor promised to make Australia a world leader on gender equality, after a decade of stalled progress under the former coalition government, and these results show just how serious the Albanese government is about delivering on this promise and improving the lives of women right across this vast continent. The historic 17-place jump is a direct result of a conscious effort by Labor and of our commitment to equal representation in politics. It's as a result of this commitment that the government is now the first Australian Commonwealth government in history to be made up of a majority of women. Fifty-three per cent of this government are women, and 43 per cent of cabinet members are women—again, the largest number of women ever in an Australian federal cabinet.

We know that better gender representation delivers better outcomes. Women being 53 per cent of the Albanese Labor government ensures that gender equality is not some kind of add-on or afterthought for us. It sits very much front and centre of our policy thinking. We are embedding a gender lens in government on everything we do, from the NDIS and our social security system across to industrial relations and laws, and the budget more generally. I am proud to be part of a government that is delivering crucial gender equality reforms. Some, including me, would say they're long overdue, but let's get cracking.

Since coming to government, we've delivered cheaper child care, expanded and modernised the Paid Parental Leave scheme, expanded the single parenting payment and legislated Australia's first paid domestic violence leave. We're delivering on the recommendations of the Respect@Work report. We've made gender equality an object of the Fair Work Act. We've made the right to request flexible working arrangements an enforceable right, and increased transparency on gender pay gap reporting. Our secure jobs, better pay legislation has opened up bargaining to workers in low-paid industries, most of whom are generally women. We have set up new, expert panels for the Fair Work Commission, focused on pay equity in the care and community sector; and we've introduced a statutory equal new remuneration principle to address low wages and gender-based undervaluation of work. These reforms are laying some strong foundations now for a better future for women in the workforce. But we need to keep going. There's a lot more to do.

Australia's national gender pay gap is currently 13.3 per cent, and this means that, on average, a woman working full time earns $253.50 less per week than a man working full time. That is not okay by anybody's measure. We have had a persistent pay gap for some time. Australian women should not expect to be paid less than men in any job they do. It's that simple. After a decade of government inaction, of defunding services, of general disregard of and disrespect for women's calls for change, we in government are not wasting a single day.

I am so proud that we have managed to jump those 17 points on the global gender equality record. That's what happens when you insist on measuring and holding government to account. That's what we were doing each and every day.