QUESTIONS WITHOUT NOTICE

Senator GALLAGHER (Australian Capital Territory—Minister for Finance, Minister for the Public Service, Minister for Women, Minister for Government Services and Manager of Government Business in the Senate) (14:28): There are challenges that remain, certainly challenges in the approach that happens with non-base remuneration—those performance bonuses or other arrangements outside of pay.

Base pay remains a challenge. We also know that flexible work is a key issue for women, and, where that is not addressed, when workplaces genuinely don't genuinely support flexibility, including access to flexible work—I should point out today is the one-year anniversary of the Liberals announcing their scrapping of working from home. It's been 12 months since that big policy announcement that went down like a lead balloon.

Why did it go down like a lead balloon? Because women, who are already juggling everything else, were told by the Liberal Party that they were a bludger—if you're not in the office, you're a bludger. That's what they heard.

That's what they don't get about women's policy—we need flexibility when it comes to work. (Time expired)