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 Greens have welcomed the updated Economic Security for Women’s White Paper, and called on the government raise the minimum wage to address women’s financial inequality.

Greens Senate Leader and spokesperson on Women, Senator Larissa Waters, said:

“It’s 2020: women want fair pay, not granite bench tops.

“Raising the minimum wage will help those working some of the lowest paid professions, such as health care, childcare, and aged care.

The Greens have criticised the Morrison Government's plans for a stacked inquiry into domestic and family violence, saying more funding is needed for frontline services, not another inquiry which is designed to endorse the government's inadequate response to the national crisis. 

Greens Senate Leader and Spokesperson on Women, Senator Larissa Waters, said: 

Today's ABS Household data survey provides further confirmation that the impacts of COVID crisis are falling disproportionately to women. The Greens are calling on the National Cabinet to ensure that addressing these disparities is at the forefront of any recovery plans.

The ABS results reveal that women are almost three times as likely as men to have looked after their children full-time on their own during the crisis.

The Greens are calling for an urgent crisis response to the number of women killed by violence  
following the murder of Brisbane-based mother Jacqueline Sturgess.


Media reports state her estranged partner has been charged with the domestic violence murder.


“After the shocking murder of Hannah Clarke and her children, the Prime Minister said more needed to be done.  

The decision to fast-track COVID-related domestic and family violence matters and parenting disputes in the family court must be backed in with extra government funding to ensure the system works and can be continued beyond the current crisis, according to Greens Leader in the Senate and spokesperson on Women, Larissa Waters.

The Greens welcome the announcement of additional funding for domestic violence counselling and referral services during this crisis, but warn more targeted funding is essential to create extra capacity.

“The scale of government assistance for frontline services supporting survivors of family and domestic violence does not meet the demand fuelled by self-isolation during the Covid-19 crisis,” said Greens Senate Leader and spokesperson on Women, Senator Larissa Waters.