Barbara Pocock (SA, Australian Greens) Share this | Hansard source

I rise in support of the Fair Work Amendment (Baby Priya's) Bill 2025. I want to start by acknowledging—like many others in this chamber have—the heartbreaking circumstances behind this bill. This bill was named after Baby Priya, who died tragically just 42 days after birth. I extend my sympathy to Priya's parents on their terrible loss.

Only a few days after her loss, Priya's mum informed the company that she worked for—and she'd worked for them for over 10 years—that her baby daughter was gone. What happened next only compounded her grief and distress. They unilaterally cancelled her maternity leave, informing her via text message soon after, and gave her just one month of personal leave. This was cruel beyond belief, but it was also legal. The Fair Work Commission told her there was nothing they could do about the cancellation of her maternity leave. Legally, employers can cancel paid maternity leave, even though they cannot cancel unpaid leave in the event of an infant death or stillbirth.

Priya's parents knew the law had to change. When Priya's dad got three months of paid paternity leave under the New South Wales industrial system while Priya's mum had to go back to work, she mum realised that our federal industrial relations system needed to catch up. The cancellation of her maternity leave forced her back to work, despite her immeasurable grief. Priya's mum deserved that maternity leave, just as any other mother of a living baby would. I commend Priya's parents for their advocacy. No parent should have to go through what they did. This bill amends the Fair Work Act to make entitlements to parental leave in case of stillbirth or the death of a child more consistent, whether the leave is paid or unpaid parental leave. It will prevent employers from unilaterally cancelling periods of paid parental leave in cases of stillbirth or infant death—in cases like Priya's.

While the previous Liberal government made amendments to previous periods of unpaid parental leave to stop them from being unilaterally cancelled by employers in these cases, no such rules apply to periods of paid parental leave. This is a serious problem, and the Greens support this bill's amendments to the Fair Work Act to fix this. As someone whose academic and professional life has been committed to understanding the relationship between work, life, care responsibilities and the birth of new children, along with fairness in employment, I know the current system is far from adequate. It can fail parents in the moments they most need it to support them. I thank Baby Priya's parents and the Australian Services Union for their strong campaign to change these laws.

This bill also aligns squarely with the Greens' longstanding commitment to make work fairer and more caring. The bill is a welcome step forward, but, let's be honest, it's still nowhere near enough. Australia's Paid Parental Leave scheme remains one of the weakest within the OECD. The average across developed countries is around 52 weeks paid leave. Yet, here, even after this bill, families will have less than half that. The Greens believe every family should have access to 52 weeks of paid parental leave by 2030, and it should be paid at replacement wages—because caring for a new child shouldn't mean falling behind financially. It shouldn't mean widening the gender pay gap and super gap that already disadvantage so many women, and it shouldn't mean perpetual exhaustion for having to go back to work way too early after the birth of a baby.

As chair of the Senate Select Committee on Work and Care, I heard much about the importance of paid parental leave and its many benefits for carers and families. We know that longer, better paid parental leave improves child health, strengthens attachment, boosts maternal wellbeing and supports parents to stay connected to work. Yet too often our system pushes mothers out and locks fathers out. Parents shouldn't have to choose between spending the precious first year with their baby or paying their rent or mortgage.

Expanding paid parental leave is not just about supporting families; it's about building gender equality into the foundations of our economy. As I've said before in this place many times, around a third of the gender pay gap comes from time spent caring for family and stepping out of full-time work. Today, the Australian Centre for Gender Equality and Inclusion @ Work are launching their Gender equality @ work index report. The report finds that inequality persists in the total hours that men and women work due to women carrying the brunt of unpaid care and the paid parental leave load. It also found that the low uptake of parental leave by men continues to be a major cause of gender inequality at home and in the workplace. When we underpay or undervalue care, we entrench inequality that lasts a lifetime in wages, superannuation and retirement security. A full year of paid leave with super paid on every dollar would begin to change that story. It would recognise care as real, essential work—work that makes all other work possible, work that underpins productivity in our economy.

Currently, our national scheme falls short of global best practice by a long way. The Greens recognise that giving families a full year of security on the arrival of a child will strengthen maternal health, promote greater workforce participation and reduce the gender pay and superannuation gaps that follow years of unpaid care. Recommendation 16 of the work and care report agreed to by Labor, the Liberals and the Greens recommended that the government should consider ways to reach the international best practice of 52 weeks of paid parental leave. Labor has the numbers in this place to be bold and to build a world-class system that values care as real, vital work—a system that values women and fathers in the care of their kids and family. Labor, don't just tinker at the edges. Use your majority to bring Australia into line with the OECD average and finally deliver the fair, flexible, year-long leave that families need.

The Greens support this bill as it's a step towards a more caring, equitable industrial relations system—a system that protects workers in crisis and affirms the essential link between work, care and community. We will continue to push for broader reform, including for 52 weeks of paid parental leave, stronger protection for carers for their jobs, and fairer rights for all workers balancing paid work and unpaid care. This is a legacy that will touch countless lives. I'll conclude with some words directly from Priya's mum:

To every grieving parent, I want to acknowledge you with the deepest respect. You've endured the greatest pain imaginable, yet you continue to take one step at a time, day by day … For the working parents of stillborn babies and infant deaths … my hope—

Priya's mother's hope—

is that this law will grant you the time, support and financial assistance that are rightfully yours so that you can have that time … to take care of yourselves.

It's rare to see tri-partisan agreement in this chamber, but this is such an important bill to so many in our community, and I commend this bill to the Senate.