Women's cabinet taskforce discusses 'practical' budget measures in first meeting
An “ambitious” package of measures aimed at delivering “practical” outcomes for women is being developed ahead of the budget, according to the minister for women, Marise Payne.
Payne, who co-chaired the newly established women’s cabinet taskforce in Canberra on Tuesday with the prime minister, Scott Morrison, said the government was in the process of developing a budget package that would address “gaps” in existing programs.
Morrison has sought to shift his focus to women’s issues in the wake of a series of damaging revelations about the treatment of women in politics, first triggered by a rape allegation made by former Coalition staffer Brittany Higgins.
With polling showing the government losing support among women, a cabinet reshuffle last week sought to bring a female “lens” to government decision making. Morrison promoted several female ministers and set up the new taskforce to focus on women’s issues.
The taskforce includes the seven female cabinet ministers – Payne, Michaelia Cash, Anne Ruston, Karen Andrews, Linda Reynolds, Sussan Ley and Melissa Price – along with the treasurer, Josh Frydenberg, the finance minister, Simon Birmingham, and the deputy prime minister, Michael McCormack.
Liberal assistant ministers Amanda Stoker and Jane Hume are also on the taskforce.
Payne said the taskforce meeting had included a “stocktake” of existing programs, including the National Plan to Reduce Violence against Women and their Children, and the priorities of the Women’s Economic Security State
ment, but the taskforce was also looking at where spending was still needed.
“This enables us to identify gaps. It also enables us to make decisions on how to fill those gaps through a targeted policy approach across government that has a real and genuine impact on the issues that we know present the greatest challenges to women and girls in Australia,” Payne said.
“Our purpose is to deliver practical, effective outcomes for Australian women in this process.”
She said while the taskforce would drive an ambitious budget program that would “accelerate and coordinate” government efforts to deliver for Australian women, the priority would be to respond to the recommendations of the Respect@Work report completed by the sex discrimination commissioner, Kate Jenkins last year.
A response to the report is expected this week after it is signed off by cabinet on Tuesday.
Payne and Ruston will also meet with state and territory leaders this week for the women’s safety taskforce meeting, which is preparing the next national plan on ending violence against women and their children.
Morrison said the taskforce would bring the “right experience, the right lens, the right focus and the right priorities” for government to address the critical issues facing women.
“When I announced the formation of this group, together with Minister Payne, I talked about the importance to focus on equality, on safety, on economic security, on health and wellbeing. And that is indeed our focus as we gather together in this way to look right across all aspects of how our government functions,” Morrison said.
He said the government had a focus on the values of family and respect, saying more money was needed to address violence against women.
“We know the incidence of violence against women, particularly from intimate partners. We know the dreadful statistics and they are heartbreaking,” Morrison said.
“This is not to say that over many years and for many governments, that progress hasn’t been made on these fronts – of course it has. Over a billion dollars has been invested by our own government in these successive plans and that is something that is making a real difference. But more difference has to be made.”
Last week, a long running parliamentary inquiry into family, domestic and sexual violence made almost 100 recommendations to address the problem, including more funding for legal services, a crackdown on anonymous online abuse and a tougher approach to perpetrators.
The Law Council of Australia has welcomed the call for more funding for legal services, and said there was also a need for greater funding for the courts to adequately address issues related to family violence.
“Although judges do their best, the family law courts and associated services are not adequately resourced to properly deal with violence and its effects,” the Law Council president, Jacoba Brasch, said.