On 8 March, millions of people across the world will be marking International Women's Day. We will look back and reflect on how far we've come on gender equity. The sobering fact is that we will not see gender parity in our lifetime or our children's lifetime. On current tracking, it will take four to five generations to close the global gender gap. As a woman and as a feminist, that is unpalatable for me. We have fought very hard and we have won battles, many battles. But, when I think of what happens right here in my own workplace, reality hits me in the face.

The Prime Minister has asked his former chief of staff, now head of his own department, to investigate what Prime Minister’s office knew about an alleged rape of a government staffer, which The Greens say is just perpetuating the cover up.
 
“Every day, more damning information comes out about the involvement of the Prime Minister’s Office.  We need to get to the bottom of it." said Senator Larissa Waters, Greens Leader in the Senate and spokesperson for women.
 

Today the House echoed the Senate to call on the government to take action on coercive control, supporting a cross-party motion coordinated by the co-Chairs of Parliamentarians for Action to Reduce Violence Against Women and Children.

“Tomorrow, Friday 19 February marks 1 year since Hannah Clarke’s murder. Her ex-husband had never laid a hand on her until he killed her and her three children, but for years had been abusing her with coercive control,” said Senator Larissa Waters, Greens Leader in the Senate and spokesperson for women.

Response to PM’s letter
 
"The Greens welcome the apparent acknowledgement by the PM that the review of the complaints and support process should be conducted not by his Deputy Secretary but independently of government", said Senator Larissa Waters, Greens Leader in the Senate and Spokesperson for Women.
 
"Likewise, the Prime Minister should now make the culture review independent, not by a Liberal MP, and the Greens still assert that the Sex Discrimination Commissioner is best placed to do such a review.
 

The Greens have responded to new ABS data showing an alarming drop in women studying at university in 2020 as compared to 2019.

Senator Mehreen Faruqi, Greens spokesperson for Education, said:

“I’ve said from the very start that women have borne the brunt of the impacts of Covid-19.

Greens Senator Larissa Waters moved to bring on her Parliamentary Standards Bill this morning to address Parliament's appalling ineffectual complaints process for staff suffering workplace bullying and harassment.
 
The move follows the Morrison Government’s refusal to even acknowledge there is a problem, following Monday’s Four Corners investigation into sexual harassment within the Liberal Party.
 
Senator Waters, Greens Leader in the Senate and Spokesperson on Women, said:
 
"This is Parliament's Me Too moment.
 

The Greens condemn the Morrison Government for failing to include a gender lens in the Budget, instead leaving it to a non-profit women's organisation to do their homework for them. 

"Women are once again mopping up after the Morrison Government by applying a gender lens to the Budget, something which should have been done by government itself," said Greens Leader in the Senate and spokesperson on Women, Senator Larissa Waters.

This year’s Budget has failed women by failing to address the key drivers of women’s economic insecurity, tackle the domestic violence crisis, or combat gender inequality, Greens Co-Deputy Leader and spokesperson on Women, Senator Larissa Waters said.
 
“The 2020 Budget is bad for women. It has no new money for childcare, housing or frontline domestic violence services, the tax cuts are worth twice as much for men as women, and the women’s economic security statement is a mere $18 per Australian woman.
 

The long overdue announcement of the Safe Places Emergency Accommodation grants is welcome, but falls critically short of national demand and is no substitute for adequate funding in next week's Budget, Greens Senate Leader Larissa Waters said.  
 
“This funding is a fraction of the money needed to ensure women and children fleeing family violence have somewhere to go and get the support services they need,” Senator Waters, Greens spokesperson on Women, said.