Inequality

The majority voted against introducing "a stand-alone Federal Equality Act", which was suggested by Greens Senator Penny Wright.

Wording of the motion

That the Senate—

(a) recognises that discrimination and inequality are alive and well in Australia, for example, in August 2010, women earned 16.9 per cent less than men on average per week, with the total earnings gap increasing to 34.8 per cent per week when taking into account part time and casual work; and

(b) calls on the Government to:

(i) seize the opportunity to introduce a stand-alone Federal Equality Act that adopts global best-practice standards and brings Australian law into line with our international human rights obligations, and

(ii) ensure that new equality legislation includes, among other things, a specific duty to promote equality and eliminate discrimination, prohibits discrimination in all areas of public life and removes arbitrary and blanket exemptions.