House debates

Monday, 15 February 2021

Private Members' Business

Paid Parental Leave

6:36 pm

Photo of Julian SimmondsJulian Simmonds (Ryan, Liberal National Party) Share this | Hansard source

I'll take the Labor member's interjection. He says the PBS is bipartisan. But they couldn't do it. Labor members couldn't do it. They had to stop listing medicines on the PBS. Labor actually stopped listing life-saving medicines because of financial constraints. What an indictment on their government, that they couldn't achieve it. This government, the Morrison government, does achieve that for families. We have been able to put record amounts of funding into frontline mental health support services as well, such as Kids Helpline—things that are practical improvements in families' lives—and to give them the support they need, particularly at this difficult time.

The Morrison government is also making important strides in increasing flexibility in the workplace for families. Last year the Morrison government passed the Paid Parental Leave Act 2020, which delivered just that—greater flexibility when it comes to the parental leave system. Before this bill was passed, paid parental leave could only be taken in a continuous 18-week block within the first 12 months of the birth or adoption of a child. Now, these new measures allow families to split their parental leave entitlement into blocks of leave, with an initial period to be taken in the first 12 months and the remaining six weeks to be taken at a later time within two years.

These measures are designed to change what are traditionally viewed as social norms and encourage secondary carers to take parental leave. More importantly, they give families choice. That's what the Morrison government believes in and what I believe so passionately in—that families know what is best for them, that they know how to give opportunity to their kids. We're about enabling them to have that choice—not telling them how to raise their family or the manner in which they should do it but providing as much choice as we possibly can. We all know what a juggling act it is to be a parent. We see many private companies now responding to the changing needs of parents, particularly mums, providing more benefits above the minimum standards as well.

There is this time as well, with COVID. Any family's life is stressful with the added pressures of restrictions and lockdowns. Many workers have had their employment interrupted, which would have been an issue for the parental leave test period. So as not to place further financial stress on families, the Morrison government has amended this test for a limited time so that parents must have worked 10 out of 20 months, not the previous 13 months, so that they won't be disadvantaged when it comes to taking this important leave. Again, it shows how this government is about supporting parents, particularly in paid parental leave, and giving them the choices they need to best raise their families. I'm very proud of what the Morrison government has achieved to support Australian families and what it is continuing to do and will do, with the vaccine rollout and other measures, to support the 39,000 Ryan families. I will continue to be a loud voice for them in this place.

Comments

No comments