Jenny Macklin (Jagajaga, Australian Labor Party, Minister for Families, Housing, Community Services and Indigenous Affairs) Share this | Hansard source

I thank the member for Chisholm for her question, because she understands very well that couples who are planning to have children are making one of the biggest decisions of their lives. I am sure I do not have to remind members of the House, many of us parents ourselves, what it is like to take that step either to start a family or to have another child. For many families, when they are deciding when to start a family or when to have another child, there are many, many critical things that they have to take into account. They have to think about what they are going to do with their employment, with family matters, and with the various financial commitments that have to be considered. The job that we have, of course, is to support families as they make those decisions, not to make their lives more complicated.

In a little over nine months time, Australia’s first paid parental leave scheme is due to start, on 1 January. In case the Leader of the Opposition does not get the subtlety here, that is in just about nine months time. I am sure everybody here can do the maths.

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