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) (14:54): I want to distance myself from the content and the language used in that question, for a start order. In relation to jobs in the non-market economy, Senator Roberts, if you need any kind of care in a hospital, aged care, disability or child care, those are legitimate jobs.

They are hard jobs. The people who work in those jobs put their body on the line. They are physical jobs.

They are emotional jobs. They are difficult jobs. I have worked in that sector.

I don't know whether you have, but I don't think you would be trivialising them if you had worked in those sectors. They are legitimate jobs, and more and more our community relies on them. We have an ageing population, and we have parents with children who have a disability, who expect their child to be cared for and provided support in the way that any other parent would.

We have working parents who need child care. These are legitimate, good jobs, and they should be valued. (Time expired)