LEADER OF THE AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY
MEMBER FOR GRAYNDLER
JULIE COLLINS MP
SHADOW MINISTER FOR AGEING AND SENIORS
SHADOW MINISTER FOR WOMEN
MEMBER FOR FRANKLIN
LINDA BURNEY MP
SHADOW MINISTER FOR FAMILIES AND SOCIAL SERVICES
SHADOW MINISTER FOR INDIGENOUS AUSTRALIANS
MEMBER FOR BARTON
INTERNATIONAL WOMEN’S DAY 2020
The tragic and violent events of the last month have been a shocking reminder of the progress Australia still has to make towards true equality.
On average, one woman a week is murdered by a current or former partner in our country.
Today we are renewing our call for a national summit on violence against women and children.
This needs to be called out for what it is – an epidemic of toxic male violence and a scourge on our society.
These events do not occur in a vacuum. We recognise that gender inequality contributes to the scourge of violence against women and children in Australia.
Sadly, the Prime Minister has so far rejected our calls for a national summit on this issue. We hope that today he can recognise this would be a valuable thing for our nation and take forward our proposal in a bipartisan manner.
The fact is that under the Morrison Government, Australia is going backwards on gender equality.
Australia is now ranked at 44 out of 153 countries when it comes to gaps between men and women in health, education, work and politics according to the World Economic Forum’s Global Gender Gap Report.
After almost seven years of Government it is clear the Liberals and ³Ô¹ÏÍøÕ¾s have not done enough to ensure Australian women are paid equally to men in the workplace.
The latest ABS data reveals the gap is 13.9 per cent, with women earning $242.90 a week less than men. This is a disgrace and it is far past time for this to come to an end.
Today we call again on the Morrison Government to help fix this gap by making companies with more than 1,000 employees publicly reveal how much they pay women compared to men. Only through taking this action will we see some real progress. Labor stands ready to support this important and urgent work.
Let’s use International Women’s Day to remind the Morrison Government that there are many benefits to forging a gender equal world.
