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A backbencher wants the government to consult with the private sector over gender pay gap reporting.
Deputy Max Andrews has put forward a proposition calling on the Chief Minister “to conduct a consultation with non-public sector entities on the reporting of Gender Pay and Income Ratios, with a view to presenting the findings of the consultation to the Assembly no later than January 2026”.
It comes after the Government began regularly publishing income ratios across different departments.
“This demonstrates the government is willing to lead the way in the publication of gender pay and income ratio reporting,” said Deputy Andrews.
“I believe more work should be undertaken to report gender pay and the income ratio of non-public sector entities, and hence, the lodging of this proposition.”
The Corporate Services Scrutiny Panel heard last week that the government has no plans to introduce legislation to close the gender pay gap – but Chief Minister Lyndon Farnham agreed to a separate meeting with the panel to allow the subject to be explored in more detail with the responsible politician Deputy Carina Alves.
Panel chair Deputy Helen Miles described as "a nice try" the Chief Minister's suggestion that the matter might be dealt with at a meeting scheduled to discuss the budget.
The debate on Deputy Andrews' proposition is currently scheduled to take place on 22 October at the earliest.
EXPLAINED: Why are women continuing to earn on average less than men in the public service?
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