Rob Mitchell (McEwen, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

My question is to the Prime Minister. Thirteen of the 15 National Party electorates have higher numbers of families receiving family tax benefit B than the national average. Every single one of these families will have their family payments cut while the Prime Minister rolls out his unaffordable paid parental leave scheme. How is this fair for regional Australia?

Tony Abbott (Warringah, Liberal Party, Prime Minister) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

The great thing about our paid parental leave scheme is that it extends the fundamental principle that people should be paid parental leave at their wage, from the Public Service here in Canberra to the country areas of Australia. That is what it does. It establishes the same rule for the whole country that, when you go on paid parental leave, you get paid at your wage. Not just as a public servant in Canberra and not just as a high-priced city lawyer or accountant but as a hardworking small-business employee in country Australia, at last you get paid your paid parental leave at your wage.

Under us, right around Australia, parental leave is a workplace entitlement, not a welfare entitlement. It is just, it is fair, it is modern, it will be delivered by this government and it establishes fairness between city and country Australia—at last.