MICHAEL ROWLAND, HOST: The RBA's Governor, Philip Lowe, is warning rates will continue to rise in coming months. We're joined now by the Finance Minister Katy Gallagher at Parliament House. Minister, good morning to you.

SENATOR THE HON KATY GALLAGHER, MINISTER FOR FINANCE: Good morning, Michael.

ROWLAND: Lots of Australians have been taken aback by the speed and, I guess, aggressiveness of the RBA's interest rate hikes. Do they have a cause here to be concerned?

PATRICIA KARVELAS, HOST: Katy Gallagher is the Finance Minister and Minister for Women and our guest this morning. Minister, welcome.

SENATOR THE HON KATY GALLAGHER, MINISTER FOR FINANCE: Morning PK.

KARVELAS: The Australian Industry Group says this agreement between the BCA and the ACTU isn't news for anyone participating in the summit. How significant is it from the government's perspective?

JOHANNA NICHOLSON, HOST: This week representatives from the business, union and community sectors will be descending on Parliament House for a major summit on jobs, wages, unemployment, worker shortages and migration levels will all be up for discussion. Equal pay and the participation of women in the workplace will also be front and centre. Let’s speak now to Finance Minister and the Minister for Women, Katy Gallagher. Thank you for your time this morning. Now, Labor campaigned hard during the election campaign on lifting wages.

PETER STEFANOVIC, HOST: Well, let's go back to Canberra now and joining us is the Finance Minister Katy Gallagher. Minister good morning, thanks for your time this morning. So a short time ago, we had Peter Dutton on the program, he wants pensioners to be able to earn more and then work for longer periods. Will Labor stand in the way of that or support it?

PATRICIA KARVELAS, HOST: The Finance Minister Katy Gallagher joins us now on RN Breakfast. Minister, welcome.

SENATOR THE HON. KATY GALLAGHER, MINISTER FOR FINANCE: Good morning, PK.

KARVELAS: David Pocock says the staffing cut was made at the whim of the Prime Minister for his own political advantage. Why is he doing this? Why has he put the crossbench offside before Parliament even sits?

The Albanese Government’s commitment to restore national leadership on gender equality has been endorsed at the Jobs and Skills Summit with agreement that improving women’s workforce participation is critical for Australia’s future economic prosperity and resilience. 

The role of women, the opportunities from unlocking the untapped talent of Australian women to participate fully in the workforce and the need to provide respectful and safe workplaces for all, was a key theme across all sessions of the two day Summit.

Minister for Women, Senator Katy Gallagher has announced that Ms Sam Mostyn AO has been appointed as Chair of the Government’s Women’s Economic Equality Taskforce, bringing with her decades of experience in the gender equality and advocacy space.

The Women’s Economic Equality Taskforce will provide independent advice to the Government on a broad range of issues facing women in Australia, including to inform the development of a National Strategy to Achieve Gender Equality.

Minister for Women, Senator the Hon Katy Gallagher will attend the G20 Ministerial Conference on Women’s Empowerment in Bali, Indonesia from 24–26 August 2022. 

The themes of this year’s conference — the care economy post-COVID-19, closing the digital gender gap, and women’s entrepreneurship — are closely aligned with the Government’s commitment to making women’s equal opportunity a social and economic priority. 

Mr GORMAN (Perth—Assistant Minister to the Prime Minister) (15:17): on indulgence—I'd like to pay tribute to the life of Sir David Smith. Every student of Australian history recognises Sir David. Those iconic images of the Dismissal are part of our national story. Today we recognise the contribution behind the scenes of, to quote the Canberra Times, one of the most respected public servants.