Alice Jordan-Baird (Gorton, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Hansard source

I rise in support of paid parental leave. I'd like to thank the member for Canberra for raising this motion in the House earlier today, and I take this opportunity to congratulate her on her pregnancy. I represent an extremely fast-growing community in Melbourne's west. Our parks always have children playing in the playground, parents taking their babies in a pram for a walk and extended families having a barbeque to celebrate a birthday.

The suburbs of Rockbank, Aintree and Truganina have the second-highest birthrate in Greater Melbourne. In the City of Melton, 58 babies are born a week. That is 58 families who are navigating life with a newborn each week. Whether you're a first-time parent or it's your third child, like the member for Canberra, the first year of a baby's life can be both incredibly joyful and incredibly challenging. Specific challenges for women come alongside it, as mums are more likely to take significant breaks from the workforce, lowering their projected income as well as the household budget. We know that when families are given the time to adjust to life with a newborn, the entire household benefits.

That's precisely why we're giving all parents in the Gorton electorate and around Australia two additional weeks of paid parental leave. My sister Emily; my sister-in-law, Stephanie; and my cousin Hayley are all on paid parental leave at the moment. It's an incredible, busy time for my family. I'm really proud of the Albanese Labor government increasing paid parental leave to 24 weeks from the start of July this year. We're upping it again to 26 weeks in July next year. This change will make a significant difference to so many families in my electorate, including my wonderful cousin Hayley, who lives in Taylors Hill. Hayley and her fiance, Joshua, welcomed their beautiful baby, Reid, into the world late last year, and Hayley is currently on primary parental leave. Hayley and Joshua are a part of their local parents group, facilitated by the Melton City Council. It's such an important group, where they can meet other locals with babies of a similar age, compare milestones and stay connected. An additional two weeks of paid parental leave will make a tangible difference to Hayley and Joshua's household budget.

It's not easy adjusting to parenthood, whether it's baby No. 1 or No. 3. It's not easy to make those sacrifices in both our careers and our family life to navigate the fog of those very early days. Women know it best. On this side of the House, we believe that women shouldn't have to abandon their careers and income stream to give their kids the best start in life, but, too often, women do. The national gender pay gap is sitting at 11.5 per cent. Women historically earn less. Women are more likely to take significant breaks in their careers, putting them on the back foot when they re-enter the workforce. Women are less likely to be promoted into high-paying management roles, and women have less savings in their super when they retire. The gender super gap is about $50,000 for Australians nearing retirement. That's why it's so important that we've legislated paying super on paid parental leave. Paying super on Commonwealth parental leave pay will boost a mother-of-two's retirement savings by about $14,800. It will narrow the gender super gap by about a quarter.

This is what happens when we elect women. Women's issues become the forefront of the government's agenda, and I couldn't be prouder to be part of a Labor government made up of over 56 per cent women, because when we elect women, we legislate on women's issues. These reforms are for the betterment of the entire family unit, because when both parents have access to parental leave, everyone benefits.

By increasing the amount of leave parents can take at the same time from two to four weeks, we are making sure that both parents bond with baby and support each other through this very challenging period, and it is challenging. Research shows that since former prime minister Julia Gillard introduced the Paid Parental Leave scheme in 2011, the likelihood of a mother to experience postpartum depression has decreased. The research also found that this improvement was particularly significant for first-time mothers and mothers who did not have access to paid parental leave through their employer.

At the Caroline Chisholm Society in Caroline Springs, I spoke to caseworkers who have intimate knowledge of these challenges as they care for our local families. It's an incredible local service which aims to assist vulnerable families, empowering them to live their lives with dignity and independence, and allowing parents to feel equipped, supported and ready to handle challenges. These parental leave reforms mean that every family, no matter the income or marital situation, are supported through this formative period to bond, to grow and to heal. This is why, on this side of the House, we will defend and strengthen paid parental leave, because parents, like those in my electorate, are counting on us.

House adjourned at 20:00

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