We can reach the summit for women’s safety – but not while Morrison holds us back

This is the third in a five-part series where we recap the Morrison government’s decisions for working women and their alarming consequences.

So remember that Respect@Work report we talked about previously? The one where Morrison ignored all but six of the 55 recommendations?  

That was far from the only time he excluded women from discussing the actions required for their own safety.   

The supposed purpose of the Morrison Government’s National Summit on Women’s Safety last September was to: “progress a national conversation about what governments, organisations and individuals can do to prevent and address family and sexual violence”. 

Considering the Respect@Work report had put a spotlight on sexual violence in the workplace, you would think “a national conversation” would have to involve women workers, right? 

And yet the Summit did not have one representative of working women.  

This was despite the panel including representatives from business and law as well as an agenda that covered topics such as the workplace and financial security.   

I’m so sick of talking about
Toolkits
Playbooks
Starting a conversation
Journeys
Pathways
Guidelines
Best practice
Authenticity #EnoughIsEnough #WomensSafetySummit

— Michele O'Neil (@MicheleONeilAU) September 6, 2021

At the Summit itself, Victorian Minister for Women Gabrielle Williams accused the Government of only delivering “platitudes”. 

The Government retort was that they’d spent $1 billion on women in the most recent budget.  

But as we well know, this was a miniscule amount compared to what they were willing to spend on Big Business.  

History has shown us that equality and safety at work has not been delivered by business lobbyists but by generations of women union members demanding change.   

 Neglecting the representation of 6.5 million working women and the 40 percent of women who have experienced sexual harassment at work in this country is an insult to the legacy of those women union members.   

The exclusion of union voices showed yet again a government more interested in their own political gain than women’s rights at work.   

As union members, our actions are for the advancement of everyone. You. Your coworkers. Your family. Their coworkers.  

Union members are building fairer and safer workplaces for today – and tomorrow.