Labor focuses on female voters with policy promises to pursue pay equity

Australian women have been promised policies to help achieve pay equity as Labor makes a last-minute pitch to female voters.

Women have been promised new economic measures to help bridge the wage gap as Labor makes a last-minute pitch to female voters.

With less than a fortnight to go before the May 21 federal election, Anthony Albanese has flagged another round of policies aimed at women to pursue gender pay equity and improve their career options.

Coinciding with Mother’s Day, the Labor leader on Sunday also announced $11m worth of funding for free playgroups in rural and regional areas.

The investment would also go towards expanding intergenerational playgroups that mix the young and old such as those seen in the ABC television series ‘Old People’s Home for 4-year-olds’.

Mr Albanese told reporters the measure was based on research that showed 90 per cent of human brain development occurs in the first five years of life.

“So it is really important that we take every opportunity which is there,” he said.

“That’s why childcare is our largest budget commitment: $5.4bn during this campaign.”

Labor leader Anthony Albanese has promised economic measures to help women. Picture: Liam Kidston

The expansion of childcare subsidies is among several policies Labor has targeted towards women ahead of this year’s election.

Labor has promised to pass laws to impose a “positive duty” on employers to stop sex discrimination and sexual harassment and to make gender pay equity an objective of the Fair Work Act.

Women in Australia earn on average $255.30 or 13.8 per cent less each week than men, according to data from the Australian Bureau of Statistics crunched by the commonwealth’s workplace gender equality agency.

Mr Albanese was asked on Sunday about criticism of his campaign platform from former Liberal prime minister John Howard given he was campaigning in his old seat of Bennelong.

The conservative stalwart had told the Sunday News Corp tabloids he thought Labor’s policies lacked substance.

Tanya Plibersek said Labor would consider changes to superannuation and parental leave if it wins government. Picture: Lee Robinson

Mr Albanese said Mr Howard was worthy of respect, but he was “respectfully untroubled” by his comments.

The Coalition earlier made its own Mother’s Day pitch of $53m worth of healthcare for prospective parents and babies.

Mr Albanese said he would match the Coalition’s promise of $14.4m to cover the cost of storing eggs, sperm or embryos for people with cancer or those who are at risk of passing on genetic diseases or conditions.

Labor frontbencher Tanya Plibersek earlier on Sunday wouldn’t be drawn on why her party had dropped its 2019 pre-election promise to pay superannuation on top of the government-funded paid parental leave scheme.

“It is something that we would look at in government. It is something that we would love to do when we can afford to,” told the ABC.

Prime Minister Scott Morrison announced his own Mother’s Day-timed policy package on Sunday. Picture: Jason Edwards

Unions have called for superannuation to be added to parental leave to narrow what they call the gender retirement gap that sees women on average retire with far less superannuation than men.

“I’ll tell you what makes a difference to the superannuation pay gap … when we make childcare cheaper,” Ms Plibersek said.

“Women who have been locked out of work because it’s too expensive … they can earn more, have less time out of paid work, they can contribute to their own superannuation.”

Labor’s and the Coalition’s respective policies will be examined on Sunday night when Mr Albanese and Scott Morrison take part in their second leaders’ debate, which will be hosted by Channel 9 and aired live.

Originally published as Labor focuses on female voters with policy promises to pursue pay equity