Tanya Plibersek (Sydney, Australian Labor Party, Minister for Social Services) Share this | Hansard source

I want to thank the member for Moreton for her question and congratulate her on an absolute corker of a first speech and say how lovely it was to have little Margaret visiting mummy at work today. A number of terrific changes for Australian families were seen on 1 July, and one of the best is the expansion of paid parental leave. Before the Rudd and Gillard governments, Australia was one of very few developed nations that didn't have a paid parental leave scheme. Labor started paid parental leave, and Labor has expanded it.

Under this prime minister, and with the work of Minister Rishworth, Australians have been receiving about $12,000 more in paid parental leave since 2022, and that's because they're getting more time—an extra two weeks of entitlement this year and another two weeks extra next year. They're getting more money with higher payments—around $200 a week more—and, of course, they're getting superannuation for the first time on paid parental leave, meaning that they'll be about $4,500 better off in retirement because of that payment.

There's more flexibility, with parents able to take more time off together, and more people are eligible, with thresholds increasing—so more time, more money, more flexibility and more people eligible. Of course, when mums and dads go back to work, cheaper child care will leave families thousands of dollars a year better off, as well. The member for Banks introduced me and the Prime Minister to a lovely family in East Hills—Stefan, Julia and baby Artie—and they told us what a huge difference the extra support makes. They are just one of 180,000 families that benefit every year from these changes.

Of course, this was at risk during the election in May. The Liberals' costings show that they would have cut paid parental leave, and, of course, it was the member for Goldstein who said:

… the PPL to me is a very bad scheme and I make no ambiguity about it …

It gets better. He said:

… that is not my choice that women have children … It's genetic.

I say to the member for Goldstein: thank goodness women do have children, and thank goodness that families pour their love and their labour into their kids. Children are the best gift to any parents, and we want new families to be able to spend those precious first days together with less financial pressure. The Albanese government is getting on with the job, delivering our election commitments and taking pressure off Australian families.

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