Gordon Reid (Robertson, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Hansard source

Paid parental leave is an important and vital policy area for the new, Albanese Labor government and will remain a focus throughout our term of government. We understand the social and the economic benefits that paid parental leave provides to not only families in my electorate of Robertson but families right across the country. It was a Labor government in 2011 who introduced Australia's first, original government-funded Paid Parental Leave scheme, and it will be this Albanese Labor government that ensures that the scheme continues to put families at the centre of policymaking and that the scheme works for Australian families, moving into the future.

Coupled with this focus is the Albanese government's $5 billion investment in cheaper child care. Ensuring more families can access cheaper child care will mean parents, in particular women, can re-enter the workforce, increasing the nation's workforce participation and overall GDP. It is estimated that, if women's workforce participation matched that of men, we would increase GDP by 8.7 per cent, or $353 billion, by 2050.

An effective and strong paid parental leave scheme ensures Australian parents can nurture, care for and develop the incredibly important connections with their newborn babies in the early days of their lives. This is achieved by allowing mothers and fathers paid leave from their workplaces following the birth of a child. Up to 18 weeks leave is provided to the primary carer and up to two weeks for partners. During the 2021-22 period, around 121,000 people received the parental leave payment, and over 64,000 people received the dad and partner payment. These payments represent an investment in Australian families and an investment in the future of our workforce.

Paid parental leave also ensures that women are not disadvantaged in their employment if they choose to have a baby. The scheme helps maintain a committed and competitive workforce, supports the economic security of women, recognises women as essential and valued workers in the Australian skilled labour force, and promotes the health and welfare of mothers and newborn children. It ensures that both men and women can balance their work and parental responsibilities, and allows for couples to have children and not delay this decision due to economic reasons. And it allows our nation to address the declining national birth rate and safeguard our future economic base.

Disappointingly, those opposite in the former coalition government said that working mothers who claimed their full parental leave entitlements were double dipping and that this was some sort of rort. Those in the Albanese Labor government, including me, know that paid parental leave is not a rort and that Australian couples claiming their entitlements under the Paid Parental Leave scheme are not double dipping. The scheme was established to assist and help hardworking mothers and fathers with newborn children, and to ensure a fairer division of unpaid care and paid work, improving the family work-life balance.

I've spoken with parents in my electorate of Robertson who have told me that they would not have been able to have a child, secondary to financial barriers, if they had not been able to access the government's paid parental leave entitlements. As with any policy, any changes need to be considered within the context of the budget. In reality, we inherited a trillion dollars of Liberal Party debt from the former government, yet we will ensure paid parental leave continues to support families across Australia and complements the parental leave schemes many employers also provide.

The Albanese Labor government and I are committed to ensuring the nation's Paid Parental Leave scheme works for all Australians. I encourage those in opposition to see the Paid Parental Leave scheme as an investment in our nation and to work with the government in this policy area.

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