Australian Greens: Greens Slam Coalition as All Spin and No Substance on “Womens” Budget

Abigail Boyd, Greens spokesperson for Treasury, Women’s Equity, and Domestic Violence, and Jenny Leong, Greens spokesperson for Women’s Rights, have today called out the hollow commitment to women’s safety in the NSW Budget and criticised Treasurer Matt Kean for ignoring calls from the women’s sector for much-needed funding commitments in favour of meaningless announceables.

Quotes attributable to Abigail Boyd, Greens spokesperson for Treasury, Women’s Equity, and Prevention of Domestic Violence:

“Women have been telling the Coalition Government what they need for years, but what we’ve got is just another budget from a man telling women what they ought to want.

“Top of the list for most women’s safety stakeholders is not more streetlights – it’s funding to stop us being killed in our homes. A spend of $100 million over 4 years is insulting.

“We need fully funded services, not streetlights.

“Childcare is certainly important to women, but to paint it as a women’s issue further normalises the idea that looking after children is “women’s work” – what a way to take us back to the 1950s!”

“For all of the Treasurer’s work in the last few weeks to spin the narrative that this is a “Women’s Budget”, nothing can hide what is another massive disappointment for anyone who cares about women’s economic empowerment and safety.”

Quotes attributable to Jenny Leong, Greens spokesperson for Women’s Rights:

“It’s truly unbelievable that a budget so laden with spin about delivering for women provides so little of what women and the experts in the space have been calling for for years.

“The Liberal/National government knows that services providing assistance to women in NSW are drastically underfunded. They need adequate, ongoing funding – not small offerings here and there to keep them quiet.

“The Treasurer’s characterisation of women in NSW today as an ‘economic opportunity’ says it all. This Liberal/National Government is not interested in addressing centuries of inequality and providing real opportunities for women unless they stand to make a buck.”

Background:

• Full Stop Australia sought an additional $1 million to fund the Sexual Violence Helpline, which currently cannot answer 1 in 3 calls, in addition to the $1.5 million received last financial year. The 2022-2023 Budget does not announce any funding for the Sexual Violence Helpline.
• Women’s Health NSW sought an additional $6.55 million per annum ongoing to reflect unattributed CPI increases over 30 years and provide sustainable core funding to Women’s Health Centres delivering services in metropolitan, regional and rural areas across the state, in addition to the $9,397,170 total funding received last financial year. They have received $11 million in the 2022-23 Budget.
• NCOSS sought a 20% boost to recurrent baseline funding for the social services sector, which is largely staffed by women, to improve job security for women. NCOSS has stated that the sector has not received funding in line with indexation.