Interview with Peta Credlin, Credlin

27 February 2024

PETA CREDLIN: The gender pay gap back in the headlines. As you saw, I went through all that data out today, of course by the federal government's Workplace Gender Equality Agency, the Agency looks at the gap between what men and women earn and it's company by company. It's 19% they say overall, when you put bonuses, overtime and allowances into the mix. Some of the biggest companies in the country have been hit with claims of major disparities between men and women. CommBank, Qantas, lawyers of course, but as I explained the devil's in the detail when it comes to statistics. To discuss it more Shadow Finance Minister Jane Hume. Minister, thank you for your time. Labor went pretty hard on this issue in question time, but I think I've stepped people through it. We're not comparing apples with apples here. And these statistics are weak.

JANE HUME: That's right, Peta. The data is flawed, there is no doubt about that. It doesn't compare men and women doing the same job. And on top of that, it compares median salaries, not average salaries, I understand that is going to change in future data sets. But right now, this data does have its problems. Now that said, is it entirely useless? There is some things that we can learn from this data. One of the things that struck me was some of those companies and some of them that you named earlier on, make a big deal every year of International Women's Day, or they market their products to women, or they take active roles in social campaigns or political campaigns. And yet, they perhaps haven't looked in their own backyard to see whether they really are meeting their own very high standards for others. So next time, some of their employees accept a cupcake on International Women's Day or have to go to a breakfast of some sort, they might think twice about that. Some of the other things that I think were really interesting in his data was the fact that the Unions who have always put themselves out there, as champions of women and champions in the workforce, have some pretty damning statistics that that they own. But the one that really got me stuck in my craw was the fact that this data from WGEA, which has been pushed very hard, and it's being championed now and shouted out from the rooftops by the Minister for Women, who is also the Minister for the Public Service doesn't include public service data. They have missed out. They've been carved out of this data. Now 60% of the public service is made up of women. Yet, somehow they've been missed from this data set. Now I understand that that again, will change. But let's be realistic here. We can use this data. Certainly it shines a light, but it has its flaws.

PETA CREDLIN: I did make the point of it earlier on the media was there but the ABC was carved out also. So I hope they're putting the public servants there in the data. Next year, we're going to see the ABC in the data. I know you're a Senator for Victoria, I know you've been campaigning down in Dunkley. What are the issues at the top of mind for voters there ahead of Saturday?

JANE HUME: It's pretty easy actually, cost of living, cost of living, cost of living are number one, two and three, there is some white hot anger that is being directed at the Government because they feel that the Government has the wrong priorities. They've been focused on other things, particularly the voice campaign last year. The vote No was pretty profound, pretty significant in Dunkley and there's a lot of resentment towards that $450 million that were spent on the Voice campaign. But it's really the cost of living, that's coming that's biting home. You know, a lot of those people have seen their disposable incomes go backwards. They're now beginning to see unemployment tick up, that's causing some social problems down there. But whether it's groceries, whether it's paying mortgages or rents, whether it's paying their electricity bills or their gas bills, the people of Dunkley are really doing it tough. Now, there are some areas that are quite affluent and are doing quite well and they've been shielded largely from government decisions, but there's a huge mortgage built down there. And there's also some pretty significant disadvantage. I think that they think that Labor has come too little too late to this party, and they're going to take it out of them at the ballot box.

PETA CREDLIN: Alright, we'll watch it very closely on Saturday night.