The Greens have today announced their plan for equality for women which includes $5.3billion over 10 years to more adequately address the epidemic of family and domestic violence.

“The comprehensive suite of initiatives, designed to ensure women are safe, valued and treated as equals in private and public life, show the scale of work that needs to be done level the playing field for Australian women and girls,” Greens spokesperson for women Senator Larissa Waters said.

Resopnding to the Morrison Government's announcement on DV and family violence today, Greens spokesperson for women, Senator Larissa Waters said:

"Six months into the job, the Prime Minister has finally mentioned domestic violence. However the paltry amount of funding announced shows he still doesn’t understand the seriousness of the issue and still hasn’t realised that the real terror threat and national security crisis is against women in their homes.

Australian Greens spokesperson for women, Senator Larissa Waters, on the Morrison Government legislating for 5 days’ unpaid domestic and family violence leave, which unanimously passed the Senate earlier today:

“The Government has missed an opportunity to actually protect women and children from the epidemic of violence against them in their homes.

“Women escaping DV need at least 10 days’ paid leave so they can keep themselves and their family safe without financial insecurity.

Violence against women is at epidemic levels in our country. Every year we count the numbers and every year they're distressingly high. Last year 53 women were killed, mostly by men known to them. So far this year, 63 women have been brutally murdered, almost six women every single month. Where is the outrage, where is the urgency and where is the change?

The Australian Greens have called on the Education Minister to not ditch a proposed university sexual assault taskforce . Fairfax Media has revealed that the taskforce was close to being announced by former Minister Birmingham, but has since been put on hold by Minister Tehan. 

Australian Greens Education Spokesperson said:

The Government’s attempt at winning back female support with its women’s economic statement today will fail for its lack of funding and lack of vision, Greens spokesperson for women, Senator Larissa Waters said.

“The women’s economic security statement by the Women’s Minister today contains only minor reforms and pittance of new funding - it equates to a mere four cents per week for adult Australian women. Four cents a week will not fix anything for Australian women. 

The latest scorecard from the Workplace Gender Equality Agency shows an alarming continuation of the gender pay gap that won’t be closed for decades, Greens spokesperson for women, Senator Larissa Waters said.

“We’ve still got a 16.2 per cent gap in what men and women get paid - it’s clearly still far better to be a bloke in this country when it comes to salary,” Senator Waters said. 

“There has been a small, welcome decline overall, but the fact men still earn $25000 more every year on average than women is outrageous.

“Today’s decision to remove the GST from sanitary products after 18 years is a win for people-powered campaigns,” said Australian Greens Senator, Janet Rice, who introduced a bill to axe the tampon tax that that passed the Senate in June.

“This is a huge win for all Australians who menstruate and shows the power of grassroots  movements when we work together.”

“I’m so pleased that finally, both major parties have listened to the huge groundswell of Australians who knew from the start how sexist and unfair this tax was.”

Scrap the tampon tax, increase funding for frontline domestic violence services and deliver 10 days’ paid DV leave, is Greens spokesperson for women, Senator Larissa Waters' wish list ahead of meetings tomorrow which could alter the future of Australian women, children and trans people.

Tomorrow: