Thank you all for being here.
I would also like to acknowledge the traditional owners of the lands we meet on today, the Kaurna people, and to thank Jakirah for welcoming us to country.
I pay my respects to Kaurna people and their spiritual relationship with their Country, and acknowledge that their cultural and heritage beliefs remain as important to the living Kaurna people today.
First Nations people were this continent's first diplomats. This continent's first traders. And their ongoing connection to the peoples of our region makes our nation stronger.
May I pay my respects to all First Nations people and elders here this morning.
And I would like to thank our wonderful guest speaker, Rachel Perkins.
Rachel is an Arrernte and Kalkadoon woman, with German and Irish heritage.
She is a director, a film maker, a truth teller and a storyteller - and I look forward to hearing her story this morning.
Welcome to our distinguished guests today -
The Premier who always attends, thank you very much Peter.
To all members of the South Australian and Federal Parliaments, including the Leader of the Opposition, Senator Ruston.
And my colleagues from the Albanese Government, Amanda Rishworth, Minister for Social Services and the NDIS.
To Louise Miller Frost, the Member for Boothby. Senator Marielle Smith. And special shoutout to wonderful Claire Clutterham who I hope will soon be representing Sturt.
Thank you to the Commissioner Grant Stevens.
Natasha Stott Despoja, not only for being here but for your ongoing contribution over so many years to women internationally and here in Australia.
Thanks to Adelaide and Flinders Universities who have always been such great supporters.
Stephanie Copus Campbell, Australia's Ambassador for Gender Equality, who has done such a wonderful job in the world.
Leisa Quinn, from UN Women Australia.
And a very special welcome to Ukraine's Ambassador to Australia, His Excellency Vasyl Myroshnychenko.
This is the 23rd International Women's Day breakfast I have hosted.
Once again we have record numbers joining us today, with more than 3,000 here in person, including students from 35 schools, congratulations all of you.
And thanks to all of you joining online, which is such a fantastic way to expand this event.
This is a pretty huge undertaking, and we do it all with volunteers and my office. So can I thank and recognise the excellent work of the organising committee.
Can I particularly thank the wonderful Meredith Boyle from my office, for this and everything she's done for me over so many years.
So as it is every year, today's breakfast is a celebration. But it is also a time for reflection, and I want to pay tribute to two extraordinary women we lost in this past year.
I became the host of this breakfast after Dr Rosemary Crowley retired from the Senate.
Rosemary had established this event a decade earlier, then called the UNIFEM breakfast - I had the privilege of being a committee member for her breakfast.
We lost Rosemary just one week ago.
Rosemary was the first South Australian Labor woman to be elected to Federal Parliament, serving as a Senator from 1983 to 2002.
She was the first woman to be a minister from South Australia, she served in the Keating Government both as the Minister Assisting the Prime Minister for the Status of Women, and then later the Minister for Family Services.
Rosemary Crowley was a feminist. Rosemary Crowley was a doctor and mother of three sons.
She had a sharp mind, was witty, sometimes very cheeky, and tough.
I think we can all imagine how much courage and determination she needed to do what she did.
I remember Rosemary taking me out to lunch when I was thinking about standing for preselection, offering me her support.
And it meant a great deal to me to have her backing; I have been so grateful for her encouragement over my political life.
The Labor Party was better for her participation and leadership and the whole nation is better for it too.
Vale Rosemary.
I am very lucky to count Rosemary among so many remarkable women mentors, but none so dear to me as my own mother, Jane Chapman, who I lost since we last gathered here together.
Mum never averted her gaze from what she believed to be true.
She was a girl from a farming family in the Adelaide Hills, who married a Malaysian-Chinese man before Australia had finally extinguished the White Australia Policy.
It was a gift to be raised by a woman of such relentless courage, such broad perspective, such deep compassion, and such an exceptional mind.
She was irreverent and cheeky. She had little time for self-importance or ostentatiousness - and her combination of wit, irreverence and disregard for authority could at times make for a wild ride.
She expressed her compassion in so many ways, and I remember her often reciting this poem to me:
Life is mostly froth and bubble,
Two things stand like stone,
Kindness in another's trouble,
Courage in your own.
Mum taught me the importance of justice, respect and progress.
Values that are of course elemental to the principle of gender equality, and of course International Women's Day.
On this International Women's Day there is much progress to commend.
I have said many times how good it is to be part of a government that for the first time in Australia's history is majority women. It's quite remarkable.
Gender equality has to be and is fundamental to everything we do - it's never an afterthought - because I believe, we believe, equality benefits everyone.
You might have heard me during the marriage equality debate saying, there is nothing to fear from equality.
Now we have seen the benefits of that commitment to equality, in outcomes that improve the lives and livelihoods of women around Australia.
Women's health is back on the agenda, with more contraceptive options and menopause options on the PBS, new and bigger Medicare rebates for women's health and endometriosis clinics across the country.
Paid Parental Leave has been extended to six months and more flexible - with superannuation paid on top of it.
Gender equity is now an objective of the Fair Work Act and domestic violence leave is part of the National Employment Standards.
Women's workforce participation is at an all-time high, with half-a-million more women employed now than in 2022.
And women working full time are earning, on average, $217 more a week than they were three years ago.
The gender pay gap has narrowed by more than 2 percentage points in three years.
But there is always more to do. Half of all employers in Australia still pay men over 12 per cent more than women.
I'm reminded of a poster I once saw 'prepare your daughter for adulthood, pay her less pocket money than your son.'
Nationally, women still earn an average of $28,425 a year annum less.
The Federal House of Representatives has already passed legislation which would require large businesses to set targets on issues such as gender pay gaps and workplace sexual harassment.
But it stalled in the Senate because a lack of bipartisan support. I urge all parties to commit to supporting the reforms.
And I would urge all parties to commit to supporting these reforms.
I would also urge all politicians to discontinue plans to erode flexible working provisions, like working from home, that have supported increased workforce participation for women.
I believe we have to hold on to arrangements that enable women to participate in paid work, but also to advance in their careers.
So we have more to do here in Australia. But the picture here is far better than in many parts of the world.
There are more than 380 million women and girls worldwide are living in extreme poverty.
2.4 billion women do not have equal economic opportunities.
In countries like Iran and Afghanistan, repressive authorities deny the rights of women and girls.
Across the world, women are facing more sexual and gender-based violence - one in three women globally, and a shocking two in three women in our region in the Pacific.
Access to sexual and reproductive health services is shrinking.
We have seen a surge in conflict and humanitarian crises internationally, with devastating effects on women and girls.
Last year alone, conflict-related sexual violence rose by 50 percent - almost a third of cases involved girls.
Now gender equality isn't just a decent thing to do, it is also a stronger predictor of peace than a nation's wealth or its political system.
And if women participated in the economy on equal terms with men, it could add up to US$28 trillion to the global economy.
So the whole world pays the price for the lack of gender equality.
We can't solve all of these problems, but we must do what we can to shape the world for the better.
Because gender equality benefits all.
Last month I released Australia's International Gender Equality Strategy, outlining how we bring this objective to our international engagement.
We are deepening partnerships in the Indo-Pacific, supporting women's health, rights, safety, economic participation, and women's leadership.
We are helping women impacted by humanitarian crises, climate change and sexual and gender-based violence.
And we are ensuring that these initiatives reflect the perspectives and priorities of women and girls from across our region.
We are delivering this International Gender Equality Strategy not simply for the sake of fairness or justice - though gender equality is of course both fair and just.
We do it because gender equality is central to our interests.
It is not a "special interest" issue. It's about accelerating progress for everyone.
And yet, we can see that the momentum for progress is not automatic, and that change can go in more than one direction.
We have to work not only for progress, but also to ensure that progress made is not unwound.
So as we celebrate International Women's Day, let us all recommit to marching forward.
In honour of the women who came before us: the reformers, the leaders, our mothers and mentors.
And to keep building a better future for all Australians. Worthy of our children, and worthy of ourselves.
