Senator Barbara Pocock, Greens Spokesperson for employment and labour market expert will be speaking on a panel today as part of the Revenue Summit hosted by the Australia Institute. Barbara will be discussing the revenue benefits from having more women in work and the policy pathways to it such as increased paid parental leave and free childcare.

The Australian Greens remain deeply concerned at the recent crackdown on dissent in Iran, with official reports of at least 22 protesters killed and more than 1,000 Iranians detained.

Lines attributable to Greens leader in the senate and spokesperson on women Senator Larissa Waters

The Greens welcome the joint agreement of business groups and unions, and support the ACTU and Business Council of Australia in urging the government to expand paid parental leave to 26 weeks.

The Greens’ PPL plan called for 26 weeks with payments that match salaries up to $100k pa, super paid on leave, and ‘use it or lose it’ incentives built in to encourage shared parenting, and we’re glad to see these groups coming onboard.

The Greens welcome the introduction of laws making 10 days paid domestic and family violence leave available to all employees, but have called on Labor to address other significant barriers for women and children escaping abusive relationships.

“The Greens have been calling for paid domestic and family violence leave for many years, echoing calls from the women’s safety sector and unions. We are pleased to see progress on this important issue,” says Greens Leader in the Senate and spokesperson on women, Senator Larissa Waters.   

The Greens today today vowed to push the mining sector to undertake systemic reform to prevent violence against women on mining sites, as a landmark WA inquiry finds that the industry has failed to protect women.

The report finds that women in the industry “frequently have to deal with sexual harassment and sexual assault”, with many incidents “ignored or overlooked by employers”, and includes 24 recommendations.

Comments attributable to Senator Dorinda Cox, Australian Greens spokesperson for Resources:

The Greens have called on the PM to drop the veil of secrecy and release the review by Stephanie Foster into processes for responding to serious incidents at Parliament House.
 
Greens Deputy Leader and spokesperson on women Senator Larissa Waters said: 
 
“The Prime Minister’s description of what Ms Foster has recommended seems positive, but forgive me for not taking the PM’s word for it given his appalling track record on women’s equality and safety. 
 

The Greens say the government’s much-touted spending announcements for women have barely moved the needle on economic security and safety.
 
Greens Deputy Leader and spokesperson on women Senator Larissa Waters said: 
 
“The headlines promised us that this would be a women’s budget but what do we really have to show for it? A transparent attempt to buy off Australian women with some flashy announcements but not much substance.

The Australian Greens have welcomed today’s release of the positive evaluation of Our Watch’s primary school education program, Respectful Relationships Education to Prevent Gender-Based Violence, and called on the government to fund a national roll out.
 
Greens Deputy Leader and spokesperson for women, Senator Larissa Waters said: 
 
“Spoiler alert, evidence-based respectful relationships education works - not milkshake metaphors.
 

Australia has fallen six places to 50th in the World Economic Forum’s latest global rankings on gender equality, reflecting a growing divide between men and women in terms of economic participation, health outcomes, and political empowerment.

The Greens say the Prime Minister’s reshuffle is rearranging the deck chairs on the Titanic and won’t fix entrenched cultural and systemic issues in parliament or improve the lives of Australian women.

Greens leader in the Senate and spokesperson on women Larissa Waters said:

“A whole one additional woman in Cabinet will not change the rank and sexist culture in this government, the Liberal Party, or the parliament.