Gerard Rennick (Queensland, Liberal Party) Share this | Hansard source

I rise today in support of the Paid Parental Leave Amendment (Flexibility Measures) Bill 2020. Before I start on the bill itself, I'd just like to correct something that Senator Bilyk said. She said we lowered penalty rates. We did not lower penalty rates. Retail workers are actually getting a rise in penalty rates from 130 per cent to 150 per cent from Monday to Friday between 6 o'clock and 9 o'clock. On Saturdays they're getting a rise in penalty rates from 140 per cent to 150 per cent. It's very important when Labor tells lies that we call it out. I get a little bit sick and tired of this myth that we have lowered penalty rates. We haven't. Sunday rates came down, because they were at 225 per cent. Small business couldn't compete against Coles and McDonald's, because Bill Shorten threw those guys under the bus. Small business were going great. I don't want to get my coffee from McDonald's on a Sunday morning. I want to go and help an Australian business who wants to stay open, so they can afford to employ someone. More than ever these guys are doing it tough.

In 2018 this government announced the Women's Economic Security Statement to improve the economic standing of women. The goal of the statement is to help reduce the barriers to women's economic participation, the most notable of which is parenting. Women are much more likely than men to take time out of work to raise families, putting them at an economic disadvantage. However, I should take note of Senator Griff's point that there are a lot of stay-at-home dads. I had a stint myself and I thoroughly recommend it, because who wants to drink the Kool Aid all your life? It's good to take time out and spend a bit of time with your kids.

The Australian Bureau of Statistics show there is the greatest gap between men and women in the workforce during women's peak childbearing years of 30 to 34, proving that women are more likely to be the ones taking time out of work to raise young children. Women are also far more likely to work part-time than men with 46 per cent of women in the workforce working part-time compared to only 18 per cent of men. This all contributes to limited workforce participation for women, meaning they are less likely to be promoted to higher paying jobs. This situation invariably leads to a pronounced imbalance where women have less economic security than men, proven by the fact that women retire with 42 per cent less money in their superannuation than men do, which is why we need a good pension.

Having children is an important part of life for most women and it is also important for the economy, so the government should be doing what it can to make it easier for women to have both families and a career. To help achieve this the security statement proposes three main areas for improvement in women's working lives: workforce participation, earning potential and economic independence. This bill focuses on workforce participation by making paid parental leave more flexible to better suit the needs of a more realistic cross-section of women, parents and families, and in the process levels the playing field and ensures greater equality of opportunity for women.

The importance of making leave available for parents after the arrival of a child is well known, contributing to the health and wellbeing of mothers, babies and the stability of families. A 2016 Ernst & Young study of more than 1,500 employees showed that over 80 per cent— (Time expired)