There’s been a lack of attention on the issues most affecting women during the Federal election campaign, particularly regarding male violence against women and the significant level of homelessness experienced by older women.
This morning, we gathered together party representatives to address what they are promising women this election. In a live, one-hour webinar session, each politician outlined their key policies on safety, housing, climate and more.
Joining debate leader Tarla Lambert for the conversation were Minister for Women Senator Katy Gallagher, Greens Spokesperson for Women Senator Larissa Waters and Independent MP Allegra Spender.
Disappointingly, no representative from the Coalition was willing to join the debate. Women’s Agenda reached out to Liberal Party MP Sussan Ley, Senator Jane Hume, and Senator Anne Ruston for participation, with Sussan Ley declining and no response from Hume and Ruston.
The debate touched on Family-friendly workplace reforms, domestic and family violence, women’s homelessness and housing security, support for women-led small businesses, gender-responsive climate action, and women’s financial security.
Below, we share a quick recap of some of the key issues discussed. To watch the entire debate and get real answers before heading to the polls, see the video below.
Minister for Women Senator Katy Gallagher
Has your government done enough in its three years in power, and what will you be able to deliver on family and domestic violence in the next term?
“We’ve done an enormous amount in this, in any violence against men and children. We’ve had a national cabinet. We put in almost $8 billion into frontline services- that’s between domestic violence specific services and then also the legal services that support a lot of women- and we’ve done a range of other work with the states and territories. But you know, there is more work to do.”
“Part of my clear plan for next term in this area, that the Commonwealth can contribute [towards], is not only investments and keeping that money rock flowing through, there’s also[a need] to look at the systems that perpetuate violence and create vulnerability for women that’s come up through the rapid review that national cabinet commissioned,” she said, adding that the other part is “really honing in more on perpetrator prevention”.
Will we see early childhood education and care become a truly universal system for Australian families if labor gets another three years in power?
“Because of the way the sector is structured, it’s going to take a bit of time to get there. We need childcare centers and we need workers, and so the next step has been our announcement about building more centers, particularly those in child care deserts, but also making sure that we are paying the workforce properly and encouraging people into early education and care.”
“The other commitment we’ve made is on the three day guarantee, or getting rid of the activity test, which was punitive and affected lower income households, much more than it affected others.”
“Peter Duttons announced yesterday that he would be reinstating the activity test and imposing that on those children.”
Greens Spokesperson for Women Senator Larissa Waters
The move against DEI initiatives in Australia is significant, particularly under the growing pressure from the USA to reduce or eliminate them altogether. How do you see these being safeguarded under a greens platform?
“We know that diversity in workforces often increases productivity, and often increases the profit for that workplace. We also know that decisions are made better when you’ve got actual lived experience and a diversity of voices contributing to that decision.
“It’s not even good economics to be anti-diversity, not to mention it’s totally lacking in humanity, and it just screams white privilege, or orange privilege, as the case may be.
“We need to have gender pay gap reporting, for example, and we want to make sure that those programs are protected and that they’re expanded, and that more companies are actually encouraged and even obligated to have diversity measures and to be closing the gender pay gap first and foremost.”
When it comes to gender responsive climate action, the Labor government hasn’t made a significant impact on climate change, and the Coalition is pursuing a flawed position on nuclear power. Why should voters turn to Teal or Green candidates, given the failure of the duopoly to address this crisis?
“It’s unfortunate that we have seen over 30 new coal and gas projects approved under this term of government, because people voted for climate action and they know we’ve got really good quality renewables that are job rich, that make energy cheaper for homes, that can keep the lights on.”
“We’ve said clearly, no new coal and gas, because we’ve got the clean renewable energy technology that we know can do the job. We don’t need the new coal and gas. And we’ve also said, let’s stop those coal and gas companies donating to political parties, because we think that’s why they’ve got so much political power.”
“We don’t take their money, and we think if you’ve got rid of those dirty donations, then there might be a better chance of science dictating people’s decisions. We’ve also said, let’s end native forest logging, because our forests are precious.They’re important for the climate, they’re important for wildlife, and we’ve got other plantation means of meeting our timber requirements.”
“We want to help homes get solar, particularly renters be able to get solar by incentivizing landlords to pop solar on the roof. And for homes that have already got solar, we’ve announced that there’d be a grant program for factories, because that’s really the next installment in keeping your bills down and making sure that you’re using as much clean renewable energy as you can.”
Independent MP Allegra Spender
Older women are the fastest growing cohort of people experiencing homelessness in Australia. It’s a national shame and there’s no other way to put it at the moment. What are the key solutions that will support women into housing?
“The biggest issues in relation to [this] have to be around building supply, which means making it easier and cheaper to build, getting the construction code right, to make it simpler to build, investing more in social housing.
“You want to commend the government for the Housing Australia Future Fund- that is a really important investment in social housing- I would like to see that doubled honestly, because I think that this is an area where we do need to build more social housing, particularly those for those who are in situations like those older women who can’t access housing and who are at risk of homelessness.”
“I’ve been a big driver and big supporter of looking at the tax system more broadly. I don’t think tax is the answer for housing. It doesn’t solve all problems, but getting our tax system right, in that it supports home ownership in a more effective way, is certainly one area that I think is super important.”
“And then lastly, talking about the job seeker payments that people get at different stages- this is where you do see older women feeling less welcome in the workforce and finding it harder to get jobs- and that is where things like increasing the job seeker payment over time is really important.”
Australia’s gender pay gap, superannuation gap and unpaid care work continue to undermine women’s long term financial security. What measures would you prioritise to ensure women retire with dignity and economic independence?
“The biggest issue is how do we change the culture so that we share the caring. What you see with men’s and women’s incomes, they’re often pretty similar and moving in the same trajectory until people hit around 30, when people start to have kids, and that’s when things really diverge. That divergence in Australia is quite profound and it’s more significant than other countries.”
“There’s been some move forward on this with the government this year to increase paid parental leave and [make it so that a] second parent, which is typically male, must use four weeks of paid parental leave or lose it. But I actually think we really need to increase [the number of weeks] so that we change the culture.”
“I’ve been pushing for six or eight weeks, and I’ll be honest, I was disappointed that they didn’t come out with at least six weeks so that men have confidence in looking after kids. There’s a lot of evidence to show this is good for men’s mental health.
“Then [we should also ask] why aren’t women choosing jobs that have a better pay, [part of which] is ensuring that the things that they do are actually remunerated for the value that they provide. I’m a big supporter of that increase in pay, for instance, in childcare, but I also then ask how do we increase STEM take up with women? It’s some work I used to do. My old job is how to help get young girls interested in those sorts of careers and recognise that their skills are relevant and that they can also help the world using STEM skills.”
Watch the full debate below.