Gender equality makes communities fairer, safer, and healthier. I look at every piece of legislation and policy to identify inequities for women, for people with disabilities and people of diverse cultural and gendered experiences. I look for opportunities to improve women’s health, economic participation, and safety.
In this term in parliament, I’ve:
- Supported legislation increasing access to cheaper early childhood education and childcare.
- Successfully advocated for better access to single parenting payments
- Successfully pushed for superannuation payments on paid parental leave
- Repeatedly called for increased Jobseeker and other support payments.
- Advocated for increased Commonwealth Rental Assistance payments, and for a review to ensure that they meet the needs of low-income renters.
- Pushed for housing reforms to increase supply and affordability of public housing, for those most at risk of homelessness.
- Secured a Senate enquiry into the Respect at Work legislation which supported my amendment to better address legal cost issues for sexual violence survivors; the amended legislation passed in 2024.
- Successfully pushed for appointment of a national student ombudsman to ensure safety of women on university campuses.
- Repeatedly drawn the government’s attention to deficiencies in reproductive and menopause healthcare for women in Australia.
- Successfully advocated for more funding for family violence and women’s legal services.
- I’ve asked the Treasurer to consider a Productivity Commission review of the cost of poverty, on the basis of evidence that keeping the unemployed and underemployed in poverty is counterproductive and short-sighted.
My priorities are:
- Accessible and affordable universal early childhood education and care.
- A National Women’s Health Strategy for all aspects of reproductive and non-reproductive health.
- Better funding for family violence services
- Greater economic inclusion for women of all ages
Parliamentary speeches:
Fairer access to representation in workplace harassment claims
Constituent statement: domestic violence