Bruce Billson (Dunkley, Liberal Party, Shadow Minister for Small Business, Competition Policy and Consumer Affairs) Share this | Hansard source

The men and women of Australia’s small-business community work hard, they take risks and they create jobs right across our economy. They should not be burdened with the unnecessary cost and red tape compliance obligation of administering the government’s Paid Parental Leave scheme. The government has continually failed to come up with any compelling reason whatsoever for forcing employers to take on this pointless PPL pay clerk responsibility. Small businesses in particular know that this imposition by the government, for no good reason, backed by no factual evidence, will give them increased red tape and increased costs in revising their pay systems. They have to reconcile and receive the government’s instalments and then pass on the payments—all because, apparently, the government believes that on an electronic funds transfer statement it might say ‘maternity leave’ and the eligible recipients will immediately know that they are more closely connected to their employer. What a nonsense.

But I thank the ACTU for finally belling the cat. Yesterday in their press release they said:

Passing the coalition’s private member’s bill would make it more difficult for employers who would like to top up the 18-week payment.

I then turn to an internal ACTU circular where the justifications for the campaign are clear: ‘The bill will also restrict union capacity to improve and enforce paid parental leave in the workplace.’ The test of this House tomorrow is whether we look after the small businesses, or this government is compliant with an industrial relations campaign that— (Time expired)

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