Thanks so much, Misha, for that very generous welcome, I do appreciate it.
I’d like to begin by acknowledging that we are meeting on the lands of the Wurundjeri people.
I pay my respects to Elders past and present.
I come from the land of the Ngunnawal people, and the Albanese Government has a deep and ongoing respect for acknowledgement of country and for the contributions that the traditional custodians make to the beautiful country that we all live in.
To my friend and colleague Ged Kearney, it’s always a pleasure to run into Ged in Melbourne, or wherever we run into each other. And I’m so thrilled that we get the opportunity to work together in the portfolio of women’s policy and in Ged’s other responsibilities in social services and the prevention of family violence.
When Misha was very generous in her introductory remarks about me, I work as part of a big team in the Labor Government.
The Labor caucus is 57 per cent women and no surprises that as we built our capacity within the caucus that a lot of focus on shifting the dial on gender equality has happened at the same time.
So, I am one of many and I work with Ged and Tanya Plibersek and Bec White in this policy space and it’s a highlight of my career, really, to work with such incredible women.
And when I look around in this room and see all of those who have contributed to the discussions that we have around gender equality, I see many of you sitting here, with Debby, HESTA often leading the way, Women in Super absolutely.
Some of the changes that we brought in in the last term, I’d like to think they were all because we thought about it, but it was because we worked together with advocates from across women’s policy, across the super sector, to prioritise the changes that we’ve made around paying super on PPL.
And this report goes to some of the other things you would like to see, some of the other advancements that will inform our thinking.
To Brad Ruting, who we will hear from after me, thank you for actually writing the report and I know you had the help of researchers as well.
And to Beverly and Jamila on the panel – I think actually that’s what everyone’s waiting for, so I’ll keep my remarks pretty short. But I feel privileged to be asked to launch this report, Economic Security in Retirement: How life events affect older Australian women.
And for many of us who have followed women and women in super and engaged on that policy subject, this report really confirms what a lot of us already knew, but I think it’s true worth is found in pulling all of that together in data and in evidence, and also the ability to make us look forward to what needs to happen and what happens next.
The report details how life events – separation, illness, caregiving, violence – can impact and potentially derail financial security even after a lifetime of hard work.
It’s a story of women who retire earlier, earn less and carry the cost of care throughout their lives, often without recognition, and too often without enough super.
And we know also with the super system, as much as we love it and support it and will always defend it, wasn’t built with women’s working lives in mind.
That wouldn’t happen now. And, again, that’s a big change we’ve bought in as a government. All of these big policy decisions that we take are informed and are underpinned by gender analysis that helps us understand those structural barriers that might need to be addressed at the beginning, not part-way through.
The super system was really built around uninterrupted, full-time work, which just isn’t the reality for most women.
So, while we’re proud of that system, we also acknowledge that it needs to evolve and, in some areas, reform.
Driving women’s economic security and gender equality more broadly has been at the forefront of the Albanese Government’s policy agenda since we were elected in 2022.
And like a lot of other areas in women’s policy, unfortunately there isn’t one quick switch or one easy or simple way to address the gender gap in retirement incomes.
But we know that there are things that the government can be doing and should be doing that will help and will help lift women’s incomes across their working lives and, in turn, improve their superannuation entitlements.
So, backing pay rises in feminised industries is part of it.
Dealing with gender segregation across the labour market is part of it.
Expanding paid parental leave and paying super on top of that leave, as Misha mentioned, is part of it.
Making early education and care cheaper and more accessible is part of it.
Making sure we’re doing what we can to encourage dads to take on some of formal caring arrangements is part of it.
And publishing gender pay gaps to shine a light on inequality so employers can act – and employees can choose – is part of it.
And also importantly, making sure workplaces are safe for women and that employers, and not employees, bear the responsibility to ensure that that’s the case.
We know that safety at work is linked to decisions that women make around what jobs they want to do and where they go.
And, of course, the work that Ged spends a lot of her time on, dealing with the crisis of violence against women and children in this country that’s forcing too many women to choose between their safety and their financial security.
Which is why we are doing a big piece of work right now – an audit across government looking at the ways we can minimise harm through our own systems and provide better protection to women and children, whether that be through tax, through income support or through child support. So that’s an important piece of work that we’re doing right now and will inform some of the decisions we take this term.
So, this report shows that issues around pay, safety, who cares for kids, and respect in the workplace are deeply connected.
And if we’re serious about closing the retirement income gap for women, we have to tackle all of them together at the same time.
While we have made some good runs on the board, I think, for addressing some of those structural issues that lead to the retirement gap for women, there is more that we can do – in particular, and I acknowledge Ged’s advocacy in this areas as well, around older women and single women, advocacy for those demographic groups.
The Government is interested and will be using reports like this and our existing relationships with stakeholders to help guide some of our policy thinking over this term.
So, in conclusion, thank you for the report. These reports are read across the public service, they do help shape our thinking.
So, to the Super Members Council and all of the funds involved in that, thank you very much.
To Impact Economics, to Brad, for doing the work, I know Dr King and Dr Risse were involved as researchers, to HESTA for hosting us today and also for being a leading advocate for addressing the rights of women in the superannuation system – thank you very much.
It’s been a privilege to launch this report, and I know Ged and I look forward to working with all of you to make sure the gains that we have made over the last few years continue in this term of government.