Libby Coker (Corangamite, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Hansard source

[by video link] Some of the financial impacts and inequities of the COVID-19 pandemic are not immediately obvious, yet they can have profound implications on people's lives, especially women's lives. The Paid Parental Amendment (COVID-19 Work Test) Bill 2021 goes some way to addressing one of those inequities, and that's why I rise to support the bill. However, the Morrison government has taken way too long to bring this bill forward. Even now the bill fails to provide an exception to the paid parental leave, or PPL, work test for victims of family violence. Labor's proposed amendment would address that oversight. It must be said that the Morrison government continue to be missing in action on women's issues on so many levels. They haven't even accepted without qualification the 55 recommendations of Sex Discrimination Commissioner Kate Jenkins's Respect@Work report. I'll return shortly to the Morrison government's failures when it comes to supporting women across the nation.

The passing of this bill is essential to ensure parents who cannot meet the PPL work test because lockdowns have prevented them from working can gain parental leave. Across the nation, people are being stood down or are having work hours significantly reduced due to COVID-19. People who under normal circumstances would qualify for the leave payments under the PPL scheme can't currently meet the working-hours eligibility requirements. Through no fault of their own, these parents are becoming silent victims of COVID. Many families are already battling financially and emotionally in this pandemic. It's devastating that currently they are now also potentially being denied parental leave. For many people who have lost work hours or their job due to COVID lockdowns, the current PPL work test requirements are simply impossible to meet, through no fault of their own.

We know paid parental leave is vital for so many families. Anyone with children understands the challenges of that initial period after a new baby comes into a family. We know there are around 300,000 births in Australia each year. About half of those parents would normally access PPL, so this amendment has the potential to assist many thousands of families in a really meaningful way. This bill allows a person receiving an Australian government COVID-19 payment or the COVID-19 disaster payment to count it towards the work test requirements for parental leave pay and dad and partner pay. These payments are made to those who live or work in a Commonwealth declared COVID-19 hotspot and have lost hours of work due to lockdown restrictions.

I've seen the hardship caused to people by lost work due to COVID across my electorate of Corangamite. Make no mistake, the hardship for people and families is real and harsh. That's why I'm concerned for parents, particularly women, who cannot meet the PPL test requirements for accessing paid parental leave. We know women have borne the brunt of this pandemic, and this is why Labor is proposing an amendment to this bill which introduces an exemption from the paid parental leave work test for victims of family violence. Currently there are exemptions from the paid parental leave work test for women in dangerous jobs or women who cannot work because of pregnancy related illness. However, women who would otherwise meet the work test but for the impacts of family violence are not currently included. Our Labor amendment would correct this oversight.

Labor calls on the government to support this amendment because, while it potentially impacts upon only a small number of people, it will be of enormous significance to those people and families. The passing of this Labor amendment would be especially poignant in light of the national summit on women's safety that is coming up next week. It would be a sign of support and good faith to the women of this nation who are not currently safe in their own homes. Women who are subjected to family violence should never be punished for being victims, least of all those being deprived of their rights to paid parental leave.

Sadly, good faith with the women of Australia is not something that the Morrison government has a strong track record on. It was only after concerted pressure from Labor that the Morrison government was embarrassed into waiving the fees for parents who have had to keep their children at home from child care due to the current COVID-19 restrictions. This commonsense move will not only ease financial pressures on families by allowing them to keep their children enrolled; it will also provide long-term benefit to childcare service providers.

Today is Equal Pay Day, but on this day the Morrison government is missing in action when it comes to the gender pay gap and closing that gap. Figures from the Australian government Workplace Gender Equality Agency show the national gender pay gap has risen by a further 0.8 percentage points over six months, to 14.2 per cent According to that agency, it will take 26 years to close the gender pay gap. Women on average are earning $261.50 less each week than men. This is appalling. This gender pay gap is reinforced by paid parental leave, which is means tested. Effectively, the scheme disadvantages a family where the woman earns more than $151,000 and her partner earns less than $151,000. The Australian Gender Equality Agency director, Mary Wooldridge, was quoted in the media this week as saying that the existing parental leave options are a 'big driver of inequality in the workplace'. She said:

There shouldn't be a distinction between primary and secondary carers, and men and women should be equally able to make those choices …

When asked if government and employer parental leave policies were appropriate, Ms Wooldridge reportedly said:

I think everyone can do more, and needs to do more.

Well, in the Labor Party we are doing more. In 2020 the Sex Discrimination Commissioner Kate Jenkins provided the Respect@Work report to the government. This report was a comprehensive examination of workplace sexual harassment. It made 55 recommendations to help eliminate sexual harassment, change legislation and create safe workplaces. The Labor Party has accepted and, in government, will implement all 55 recommendations. In sad contrast, the Morrison government has only accepted the recommendations wholly in part or in principle. This is not surprising, but it is a profound concern to the women in my electorate and across the nation. Labor supports the Paid Parental Leave Amendment (COVID-19 Work Test) Bill 2021, but we see it as just one part of many changes that need to be made to address the many issues of equality for women more broadly. It is the Labor Party that will stand with women, and it is the Labor party that will always fight for women when it comes to respect in the workplace, gender equity and representation, and opportunity for all.

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