ALP vow: true equity for women

Labor will support structural changes in workplaces and society to achieve ‘genuine equality for women’ and overhaul employment laws to provide more rights and entitlements for workers.

Anthony Albanese in question time on Monday. Picture: Getty Images

Labor will support structural changes in workplaces and society to achieve “genuine equality for women” and overhaul employment laws to provide more rights and entitlements for workers.

In the foreword of the ALP Nat­ional Platform final draft, Anthony Albanese also promotes his party’s push for renewables and reaching net-zero emissions by 2050, saying while Australia was a “great mining economy … we should aspire to be even more”.

The Opposition Leader said a Labor government would make “true workplace equity and safety from violence” national priorities.

“There remains much to be done to achieve genuine equality for women. We will support real structural change to address the power inequalities in our ­society that lead to unequal ­outcomes,” Mr Albanese said.

As the Coalition tries to pass its industrial relations reform package through the Senate this week, Mr Albanese said Labor’s central focus would be on creating secure jobs with “fair pay and fair conditions”.

“Labor believes in flexibility, but a good society cannot thrive when the balance between employer and employee becomes completely one-sided,” he said.

“That’s why Labor will fix Australia’s employment laws to protect job security and give workers the rights and entitlements they deserve.

“Annual leave, sick leave and superannuation were hard fought — and hard won — by the labour movement. Labor will fight to defend and extend Australians’ rights at work.”

Mr Albanese’s pitch to Labor’s 400 delegates, who will attend the two-day virtual ALP national conference on March 30-31, puts jobs, manufacturing, climate change, renewables, access to education, social reform, transparency and sound economic management at the heart of his election manifesto.

On climate change, Mr Albanese said Labor would work to “minimise its threat to jobs and our future”.

“Action on climate change means more jobs, lower power ­prices and less pollution. We have the potential to be a renewable energy superpower. We will join with the world by adopting a target of net-zero emissions by 2050.

“We will use our abundant natural resources to build the batteries and solar panels and wind turbines that will fuel a new manufacturing boom and create generations of jobs.”

Amid pressure from the AWU, CFMEU and some Labor MPs over the party’s approach to resources sector, Mr Albanese will say the ALP approach must seek a “better way forward” to build an economy that takes “advantage of the opportunities before us”.