Jenny Macklin (Jagajaga, Australian Labor Party, Minister for Families, Housing, Community Services and Indigenous Affairs) Share this | Hansard source

I thank the member for Hasluck for her question. She is one of those members who have been campaigning for paid parental leave for a very, very long time, because she understands that giving mums and dads extra support so that they can spend more time with their babies means that babies will get a better start in life.

That, of course, is the fundamental reason why the Rudd Labor government is introducing the first national paid parental leave scheme in our country’s history. It is a reform that Australian parents have long been waiting for. They know that for 12 years the current opposition, when they were in government, did nothing to deliver paid parental leave. Even more so, this opposition leader campaigned for years against paid parental leave. For years he campaigned against paid parental leave, and of course parents now know that it was this Leader of the Opposition who said that over his dead body would he introduce paid parental leave.

By contrast with the Leader of the Opposition, we are actually delivering paid parental leave. We asked the Productivity Commission to develop a scheme that was in Australia’s best interests. We asked them to consult employers, unions and, most importantly, families. We also asked them for recommendations that would underpin strong economic growth as well as provide support for families, and that is exactly what we are delivering. Our scheme is based on the expert recommendations of the Productivity Commission, it is economically responsible, it is fair to families and fair to business and it is fully costed and fully funded. Unlike the opposition’s scheme, which you would have to say is just on the never-never, our scheme is going to start on 1 January 2011, and Australia will finally get its first national paid parental leave scheme.

Over the last few days we have seen the opposition trying to catch up, but if there is one thing that Australian families know it is that they cannot trust this Leader of the Opposition on paid parental leave. They know that this is just another policy con job from the Leader of the Opposition. Here are some of the responses to his latest thought bubble from members of very important industry groups and members of the media. Peter Anderson of ACCI—not someone who normally knocks the Leader of the Opposition—said that this is ‘a mistake’, that it is ‘wrong’ and that it is ‘unfair’. Heather Ridout from the Australian Industry Group—

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