Senate debates

Wednesday, 5 March 2014

Bills

Social Services and Other Legislation Amendment Bill 2013; In Committee

12:09 pm

Photo of Mitch FifieldMitch Fifield (Victoria, Liberal Party, Assistant Minister for Social Services) Share this | Hansard source

On the previous amendments I resisted the temptation to get to my feet because I think it is pretty self-evident that the amendments related to savings measures that the previous government introduced but no longer supports. Political opportunism is the clear reason why that is the case. We will leave that as read.

I want to briefly rise on the issue of who services the paymaster for the current PPL scheme. I indicate that it was a clear position that the government, when in opposition, took to the last election. The reasons are straightforward: to ease administrative burdens on business; we are seeking to remove the mandatory employer role from the PPL scheme; and employers will still be able to opt in to provide parental leave pay to their employees if both the employer and the employee agree to this arrangement. This measure, we believe, contributes to the government's commitment to reduce red tape for business and responds to feedback from employer groups that the mandatory paymaster role was an unnecessary impost, particularly for small business. This is something that the government feels very strongly about.

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