Kevin Rudd (Griffith, Australian Labor Party, Prime Minister) Share this | Hansard source

I take it this is the policy which the member for North Sydney was consulted on prior to it being announced by the Leader of the Opposition over the last 24 hours—and the shadow minister for finance as well was consulted. We understand there has been a pretty active debate in the joint coalition party room this morning because they were not consulted on this policy or ‘sort of’ policy before it was dropped out.

Can I simply say to the Leader of the Opposition as he seeks to try and rake over some of the difficulties which have arisen in what could be described as the ‘policy development process’ underpinning their approach to paid parental leave, paid maternity leave, that it follows that we on this side of the House are proud of the fact that we are the first government to introduce paid parental leave. For 12 years those opposite sat there and occasionally pontificated on the subject, occasionally bleated solidarity about the issue, but did absolutely nothing. The Leader of the Opposition of course was a cabinet minister in that government. One would have thought that if he was committed to paid maternity leave or paid parental leave that just something, just something, might have happened in the period when he was around the cabinet table. But nothing—until yesterday.

There was fun and games in the joint party room today as people scratched their heads and said, ‘Where did this policy come from?’ What happened within, shall we say, the economic leadership of those opposite in deciding whether the approach they put forward was financially sustainable? It did not happen because, once again, this was policy making on the run, ill-considered and without any costings attached to it.

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