Senator BOB BROWN (Leader of the Australian Greens) (3:38 PM) —At the request of Senator Nettle, I move:

   That the Senate:

(a)   notes that:

(i)   8 March is International Women’s Day,

(ii)   International Women’s Day is now an official holiday in Armenia, Russian Federation, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Bulgaria, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Macedonia, Moldova, Mongolia, Tajikistan, Ukraine, Uzbekistan and Vietnam, and

(iii)   recent average weekly earnings data from the Australian Bureau of Statistics show that female earnings are 66 per cent of male earnings; and

(b)   calls on the Government to:

(i)   take immediate action to address wage discrepancies between Australian men and women,

(ii)   reinstate the Office for the Status of Women in the Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet, and

(iii)   repeal the WorkChoices legislation, which is disadvantaging female workers.

Question negatived.

Senator Bob Brown —Mr Deputy President, can I have it noted that my fellow Greens senators supported that motion.