NSW finally sees the light on female workforce participation

It has taken too long but the NSW budget has finally acknowledged that one of the simplest ways to boost the economy is to give women the same chances as men in the workforce.

The spending plan that Treasurer Matt Kean handed down on Tuesday was a mixed bag. While Kean spoke a lot about fiscal responsibility,the budget will not return to surplus until 2024-25.

Kean only took the smallest of steps towards the economic reform ofreplacing stamp duty with land tax because he said the state could not afford the transition costs without federal financial support.

Kean also revealed huge cost blowouts on infrastructure projects such as theCity and Southwest Metro and scaled back others.

But in policies towards women the budget marked a significant step forward. For the first time,it included a separateWomens’ Opportunity Statement, bringing together all policies in one place.

Cynics will question whether this glossy brochure marks a real change of heart.

They can point out that the federal Coalition government started publishing a similar statement two years ago when it wanted to improve its image among women voters. But its actions showed that it was not committed to reform.

Yet,thestate Liberals say they are fair dinkum. In his budget speech Kean departed from the usual financial subject matter of budgets,and expressed his sympathy with women’s fear of walking down dimly lit streets and their anger at being paid less than men with less responsibility.

He praised the “courageous advocacy” of Grace Tame,who called out the culture of disrespect to women in the federal parliament.

He also made a strong economic case for boosting the rate of female participation in the workforce,which is currently 9 percentage points lower than men.

He said that if women could work as much as men,it would boost the economy by 6 per cent by 2060.

While the words are nice,actions count for more. The budget includes a number of programs to help women,including victims of domestic violence and sexual harassment at work and elsewhere.

The main focus of the strategy,however,is to lighten the burden on women of caring for children.

The budget includes $5 billion earmarked over the next 10 years to make child care more accessible and affordable,and $5.8 billion for the establishment of a universal pre-kindergarten year for all children.

The penny seems to have dropped. Almost two decades ago,John Howard said child care was the issue that started arguments that stopped barbecues. Now governments state and federal should stop talking and fix it.

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While theHerald welcomes the initiatives,there are some grounds for scepticism about whether the NSW government will maintain its commitment to these issues for the long term.

The Coalition has been in power for 11 years and has only now taken an interest,nine months before the election.

Critics have pointed out that the government has not explained adequately how it plans to find the skilled workers needed for this massive expansion of childcare and early childhood education.

The Liberal Party continues to perform worse than the ALP in recruiting women MPs,which raises questions about how deeply they understand the issues.

The focus on women in this budget is a step in the right direction,but the Liberals have to deliver on their promises.

Bevan Shields sends an exclusive newsletter to subscribers each week.Sign up to receive his Note from the Editor.