Women were the driving force behind the federal election outcome, which sent a reprimand to the major parties and is set to significantly increase the diversity of Parliament, including a higher number of women. What does the electorate want from the new government? In today’s analysis, five of the women’s peak organisations – the Equality Rights Alliance (@ERAAustralia), Women With Disabilities Australia (@WWDA_AU), the National Rural Women’s Coalition (@NRWNetwork), Harmony Alliance (@Aus_Harmony), and the National Women’s Safety Alliance (@NWSAAU) – come together to provide input on key priorities for Australian women. These are five of the six National Women’s Alliances, funded by the Commonwealth Government’s Office for Women.

An historic win

Five National Women’s Alliances have together congratulated the incoming ALP Government, newly elected and returned members of the 47th federal parliament, while stressing the urgency of tackling structural change to advance the lives of women and girls across the country regardless of their background, ability or income.

A moment of clarity for women as the new Parliament forms. Photo by Mick Haupt on Unsplash

The Equality Rights Alliance (ERA), Women With Disabilities Australia (WWDA), the National Rural Women’s Coalition (NRWC), Harmony Alliance and National Women’s Safety Alliance (NWSA) represent hundreds of organisations in providing policy advice to the government. Together, the five alliances have acknowledged the election as a historic moment to move on preventive and inclusive reforms for women neglected the past decade.

“Women have spoken. They are in the driver’s seat, demanding action on integrity, serious climate policy and structural reform to genuinely transform our communities for the better,” said Equality Rights Alliance convenor, Helen Dalley-Fisher.

Key issues for women have languished

“Poverty is gendered in Australia and yet we have neglected to use a gender lens the past decade to see how all policy is gendered. Social security is a human right. Women tend to have lower incomes than men and more unpaid responsibilities and retire with much less money. The wage gap remains stubbornly high. Poverty leads to precariousness. It makes living with a disability harder and makes the prospect of fleeing violence near impossible,” said Ms Dalley-Fisher.

“If we want to help women we must recognise and change systems that keep women from feeling safe, having access and opportunity and getting ahead,” said Frances Quan Farrant, Acting Director of Policy and Programs, Women With Disabilities Australia.

“That change must include reforming Parliament itself, with a shift away from the current combative and sexist culture,” added Ms Dalley-Fisher.

Working for change

The National Women’s Alliances will work collaboratively with government to ensure it achieves the promises made in the campaign:

NDIS reform
Cheaper childcare, more widely available
Reducing the gender pay gap, including improving wages in feminised sectors
Making women safer
Providing more accessible and affordable housing
Gender responsive budgeting

WWDA’s Frances Quan Farrant said, “We look forward to seeing the NDIS develop a gender strategy with us and to progress the national plan for women, including disabled women and the Australian disability strategy, so that both documents are aligned and cohesive.”

NSWA CEO Renee Hamilton said, “To end gender-based violence we want action on our top five priorities developed with those working on the frontline, those with lived experience of violence and experts. The actions include more housing, funding for frontline services, consent education programs, legal support for victim-survivors, and a national training target for people in the community to identify violence and respond compassionately.”

“Gender-based violence is preventable. We know what drives it – gender inequality. We must work together to end gender-based violence in one generation,” Dr Hamilton said.

Spokesperson and chair of the Harmony Alliance, Nyadol Nyuon, said, “We welcome the opportunity to work with the new government to ensure migrant and refugee women are meaningfully included across policy development to bring about positive change and improve their participation and outcomes.”

National Rural Women’s Coalition President Leonie Noble said her alliance looks forward to working to improve outcomes for women: “We look forward working with the new government to improve access to services for rural, regional and remote women, girls and their communities and to continue to provide a rural lens on policy, highlighting that issues impacting rural women.”The Equality Rights Alliance, auspiced by YWCA Australia, has separately called on the incoming Albanese government to urgently convene a housing summit as a priority to achieve good outcomes, especially for women, and in light of the threat of climate change.

“Single women over 55 are the fastest group experiencing homelessness. Key stakeholders must be brought together for an urgent housing summit that acknowledges and deals with the complexity of the housing crisis and climate events”, said ERA’s Ms Helen Dalley-Fisher.

“Innovative and universal design must be part of new social housing promised by Labor,” she added.

This post is part of the Women's Policy Action Tank initiative to analyse government policy using a gendered lens. View our other policy analysis pieces here.

The ballot box in our Federal Election series logo is courtesy of Flaticon.

Posted by @SusanMaury

Women have spoken: new government urged to prioritise structural reform