FREEDOM FROM VIOLENCE, AND STRATEGIES ADDRESSING WORKPLACE INEQUALITY

And in more detail...

There is no current resource women can readily access to confirm that they are in a relationship with a known perpetrator of domestic violence. Yes, there is a National Domestic Violence Order Scheme that lists domestic violence orders (DVOs) issued across Australia, but access is not available to the general public. A domestic violence register of offenders should be established, enabling women in potentially life-threatening situations to quickly check if their abusive partner has a history of repeated violence.

A Perpetrator Register will help women make more informed decisions in relation to their personal safety and that of their families. Frankly, the Good Party can't see why such a register doesn't already exist. 

The criminal statutes applied to the perpetrators of domestic violence are administered by the states and territories, but domestic violence is an Australia-wide issue, and the federal government needs a holistic approach to the problem addressed in the National Cabinet.

Support for domestic violence shelters

Domestic and family violence is the scourge of Australian society today, and it knows no socio-economic bounds. The statistics are horrendous. Fully one in six Australian women experience sexual or physical violence perpetrated by a former or current partner[1]. One woman is killed every nine days by a current or former partner. This kind of violence is also the leading cause of homelessness, with 108,000 people, the vast majority of them women, seeking help from specialist homelessness services in 2021-22.

This is a crisis. At the Good Party, we don't think the federal government is doing enough to support the frontline services dealing with it. We would see an additional $1.5 billion allocated to bolster the current $1.7 billion National Plan to End Violence against Women and Children. This extra funding would be distributed as grants directly to the not-for-profit organisations, currently providing emergency shelters for women and children escaping domestic violence to expand the available accommodation.

At the Good Party, we don't think the federal government is doing enough to support the frontline services dealing with it. We would see an additional $1.5 billion allocated to bolster the current $1.7 billion National Plan to End Violence against Women and Children

Addressing the raw deal

Roughly half the population has been copping a raw deal in the workplace from the get-go. Women have been paid less than men — today, on average, it's 17.5 percent less than their male counterparts — along with being discriminated against when it comes to hiring and promotions. While it's impossible to legislate fairness, government practice can heavily influence corporate Australia to help turn around this entrenched inequality.

According to the Australian Government Department of Finance, in 2021-22, the federal government published over 92,000 contracts worth in excess of $80 billion dollars. That's quite some carrot that can be used to actively entice real workplace change.

The Federal Government currently uses compliance with the Workplace Gender Equality Act as the yardstick for measuring a business's eligibility for winning commonwealth tenders, but only for companies with more than 100 employees or, in some cases, tenders worth more than $400,000. For others, the threshold is $9 million. Another significant loophole for compliance avoidance is available to overseas companies. At the Good Party, we don’t see why the rules shouldn’t ally to all companies vying for government contracts.

According to the Australian Government Department of Finance, in 2021-22, the federal government published over 92,000 contracts worth in excess of $80 billion dollars. That's quite some carrot that can be used to actively entice real workplace change

Women's Health

Women are built differently from men. You'd think this is obvious, but not, apparently, to the people who designed Medicare. That mammograms and breast ultrasounds don't currently attract a full Medicare rebate is, frankly, absurd. (To find out more about this, see our policy on Healthcare)

Free women's hygiene products

In 2019, the GST was finally removed from women's hygiene products. The axing of the tampon tax was a long time coming. However, menstruating women still spend around $40 or more every month on these products. This is something they have to do. But what if it were men who had no choice but to buy similar products monthly? We venture to suggest that they would probably be free. And that, clearly stated, is the Good Party's ultimate goal — to free a sizeable portion of Australia's population from this unavoidable monthly expenditure.

However, as a step in the right direction toward our goal, the Good Party will advocate for boosting payments made to women between the ages of 16 and 50 who are engaging with Centrelink by $40 per month, covering the cost of these necessary items.

Return to work sooner if that helps you

The Good Party believes that children should begin kindergarten earlier, at age three. Highly successful education programs in Finland, Denmark, and Japan provide ample proof that children who socialise earlier in life develop keener imaginations. 

Obviously, adopting this change in schooling would also necessitate a change in before-and-after-school care. The funding for what amounts to two additional years of care would be underwritten by the federal government.

The benefit to women would be the opportunity to return to work earlier and free from two years of expensive child-minding. The advantage to the nation would be a larger pool of women returning to the labour market. Australia would also be rewarded with an ever-growing population of better-adjusted, more creatively flexible people equipped for the changing careers of the future. (See the Good Party's Education policy)