I am honoured to have been appointed by the Prime Minister as the Minister for Employment, Minister for Women, and Minister Assisting the Prime Minister for the Public Service.
 

Over the past two years I have had the privilege of serving as the Assistant Minister for Immigration and Border Protection and the Minister Assisting the Prime Minister for Women.
 

There have been many achievements in both portfolios. I am proud to have played a role in stopping the flow of illegal boat arrivals and ending the tragic deaths at sea. Securing our borders has enabled the Government to respond responsibly and compassionately to the Syrian refugee crisis.
 

We have reinstated fairness and integrity to Australia's visa programmes and have streamlined and simplified processes. These will have long lasting benefits for skilled migration and international education in the future.
 

The Government is delivering positive outcomes for women, including implementation of the $100 million Second Action Plan of the National Plan to Reduce Violence against Women and their Children. We have also elevated the issue of domestic violence to COAG, and set in train significant improvements to child care.
 

Further work will focus on the many important priorities, including strengthening our response to domestic violence, increasing women’s workforce participation to unlock women’s enormous economic potential, and ongoing efforts to achieve equality for women of all backgrounds.
 

The Employment portfolio is a pivotal one, with its role being to build Australia’s workforce participation and productivity. Employment is central to national economic strength and social wellbeing.
 

The Coalition has delivered more than 330,000 new jobs in Australia since being elected to office in 2013. We remain committed to further growth and creation of more jobs for Australians.
 

Now is the time to seize the opportunities that lie before us. I look forward to working with my colleagues in the Cabinet and the Parliament to do just that.

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