The gender pay gap is a multifaceted problem. It arises from a complex mix of cultural and economic factors, which range from gender segregation in the workplace through the availability of flexible working conditions to outright discrimination.

Early childhood educators perform some of the most valuable work in our society for less than half the average Australian wage. Anyone who has had a child attend child care knows the importance of a good teacher and how central they are to a child's life.

I fear this won't be the last time that I rise in the Senate to talk about the ways employers are working around the safeguards of the Fair Work Act and it won't be the last time that I rise to talk about the ways big companies are seeking to avoid their tax obligations—and, in doing so, seeking to deprive all Australians of the revenue that government needs to provide hospitals, schools, infrastructure and apprenticeships.

This Government is creating a myth—the deserving and non-deserving poor, where poverty and unemployment are recast as personal or moral failure rather than a result of complex people facing complex challenges.

Quite often, the Nobel Peace Prize is awarded to an individual—someone who has used their power or their platform to achieve a worthy end. However, ICAN is something very different. It didn't inherit any pre-existing platform; it willed it into existence through a gradual accretion of individuals and organisations to its cause.

The Government's attempts to fundamentally alter superannuation governance laws is not about improving outcomes for ordinary people who have their money invested in these funds. This is simply an ideological obsession with eliminating the role of trade unions from public life.

On 27th November 2017, I had the honour of speaking in favour of the Marriage Amendment (Definition and Religious Freedoms) Bill 2017 to make marriage equality a reality in Australia.

Australia faces a huge challenge to protect our unique wildlife. An unacceptable number of our animals such as the hairy nosed wombat and the iconic koala are vulnerable, endangered or face extinction.

Last week the Reserve Bank issued its 2017-18 corporate plan. No doubt this was marked in everyone’s calendar. It makes for interesting reading, however, because it sets out what the RBA thinks are the key risks for its monetary policy functions in the year ahead.

I’d like to start off by thanking the Diversity Council Australia for the opportunity to be here today.I’d like to acknowledge the importance of the work that you do in developing the ideas, information and strategies to increase workplace diversity & inclusion.