Zaneta Mascarenhas (Swan, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Hansard source

One of the biggest considerations I took before I put my hand up and decided to run for the seat of Swan was whether I could do the job to the highest standard whilst being there for my two young children. It's a hard decision to make, and one that many, particularly Western Australian candidates, consider during their nomination progress. It's something we all think about when we have children. We ask ourselves questions like: how can we balance our careers and our incomes and remain present in the lives of our children? This is why I rise today to speak in favour of this bill on behalf of parents and carers and future parents and carers in my electorate. I believe that parents shouldn't forgo their careers just to be present in their child's early years.

I took paid parental leave when I had my children. I took it at that time so I could be there for Lincoln for that important period. At four months old, Lincoln was still breastfeeding, and he certainly wasn't walking and talking. But the economic and career realities that working parents face meant that I would later return to work. This is something that hangs heavily on the minds of lead parents when they make the decision to return to work. The truth is that some parents don't return to work and instead stay at home, often at the expense of their careers.

Typically, it's often mothers and female carers who make the decision to leave their job, foregoing income, superannuation and career experience. This is one of the reasons why the pay gap exists. This issue is a cost that deprives our nation of talent. It means that women, on average, are retiring with less superannuation; it means that women, on average, are earning less than their male counterparts in the same career. It's also the reason why we see that some women miss out on promotions.

Parenting is not the sole responsibility of the mother. This bill recognises this fact. This bill gives families access to payment, gives parents more flexibility in how they'll take leave and encourages parents to share improved gender equality. My husband and I use the term 'lead parenting'. This is because you can change who is looking after the children, but it's not a thing that needs to be consistent. On some days, like today, Sam's in charge of parental responsibilities as I focus on my work; on other days, it's his. No-one should feel that they have to be defined as the primary or the secondary carrier in order to receive paid parental leave. In a child's eye, there isn't really a primary or a secondary carer; it's mum or dad, or maybe only mum or only dad, or maybe mum and mum or dad and dad.

It's useful to point out that the first version of this bill was rather heteronormative. Modern families look different, including the families of Swan, which reminds me of a fabulous gay couple in the electorate of Swan, Lana Snook and former Olympic gold medallist Toni Cronk. They're people who have shown the different models that exist, and that's something that this bill recognises.

I don't want to look at this bill only from the perspective of lead parents and women getting greater flexibility; I also want to look at it from the perspective of providing fathers and male carers greater choice to be in their children's lives and balance their careers. Kids love having their dads around. Last year, I met with the Fathering Project, which is doing great work empowering dads to be the best parents they can be. We spoke about how their work found that some of the children whose dads were male MPs felt like they were a second priority.

Absent and busy fathers are a significant social issue, and it inadvertently affects the lives of Australian children and young people. Whether it's people or blokes working FIFO, long hours in the office or sitting in this chamber, economic and gender based expectations of men sometimes prevents them from being as present as they would like to be in their children's lives. Giving fathers and male carers a chance to be there for the first moments of their child's life allows for that bond to be built. That's something that has a lasting effect and is important, particularly in the earlier years.

The early years are known as some of the most formative years in a child's life. It's often said that it's the first 900 days that's really critical for a child, and for both parents to be present is really important. When dads are involved in a child's early years, it sets them up to have a successful relationship for the rest of their childhood and teenage years. It's also something that helps them to be well-adjusted adults.

There's something particularly warming and historic about standing in this chamber and talking about parental leave in relation to making it more accessible for male parents. I want to point out that it was the Labor Party that introduced this in the first instance. It's also the Labor Party that's improving this policy. One of the reasons for that is that the Labor Party has a better representation of what Australian society looks like. The Labor Party is so diverse on this side of the chamber, and that relates not only to women but also to men who are very present in the lives of their children. I see that this bill is a structural change that will ensure dads will be more present. I'm very lucky, in my family, that my children's grandfather is very hands-on and very present. The thing I can see, because my husband, Sam, has had the opportunity to be at home during their earlier years, is that my children have a strong bond with their father, and that is something that they will have for the rest of their lives. This bill will ensure that more fathers will be there.

I also want to talk about the flexibility of this bill in the way that it's taken. I remember being in my electorate of Swan, at the pool, speaking to a mother there called Louise, who was pregnant and talking about her baby that was going to be born. She was very excited to hear about this bill. The thing that she particularly liked was the flexibility about which parent actually takes this leave. She said that for her first child's birth, they didn't have as much flexibility, and from a family circumstance perspective it was harder to make sure that they realised the full benefits, so this was something that she was very excited about. We also talked about our cheaper childcare bill and how that would be helpful when she returned to work.

The Labor Party is very supportive of women, and this bill does that. We want to make sure that dads are present, and that we have an understanding of what modern families look like—they're not always heterosexual couples. This is a wonderful time for children and their parents. The truth is that the Labor Party has always been at the forefront of this. In WA, Senator Pat Giles was a woman who had worked negotiating union agreements to make sure that people had access to maternity leave, which was, initially, one year of leave without pay, to make sure that women were guaranteed their jobs. They were legislative things that happened in the 1980s. That was almost 50 years ago. The truth is that we as a society are continuing to improve what we're doing. We are continuing to make sure that we think about the future and make sure that children, like the children we see up there in the gallery, have mums and dads and lead parents that are present in their lives.

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