Laura Smyth (La Trobe, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Hansard source

I rise to oppose the proposed bill, the Paid Parental Leave (Reduction of Compliance Burden for Employers) Amendment Bill 2010. It has taken workers, campaigners and parents more than 30 years to achieve a paid parental leave scheme in this country. It took the hard work of so many people, together with this federal government, to implement the scheme, which will operate from 1 January next year. This matter certainly was not a priority of the Howard government during its many years in office.

After all of that effort by so many people, what we see from the opposition is a disingenuous attempt to undermine the scheme. The opposition is, yet again, playing politics with one of the most important social reforms that this country has seen. The Leader of the Opposition is very well documented as having said there would be paid parental leave ‘over my dead body’. Then he changed his mind in the lead-up to this year’s federal election. Now we see the opposition reverting to its true values, its true position. The shadow minister is now using his very best endeavours to interfere with the smooth implementation of the government’s scheme and to create confusion. I hope, and I am sure, that both parents and businesses will see this for the stunt that it is.

The bill is merely an attempt to disrupt and confuse the introduction of the government’s Paid Parental Leave scheme on 1 January next year. The bill is creating significant uncertainty for Australian families, which have been waiting decades for paid parental leave. It is extraordinary that the opposition is seeking to laud its business credentials in relation to this matter because, not particularly long ago, one of the various iterations of its paid parental leave scheme policy was announced on International Women’s Day 2010. At that stage, various people remarked on the operation of the proposed scheme. In fact, we had Peter Anderson, from the Australian Chamber of Commerce and Industry, saying at that stage that the proposal was unfair. We heard Katie Lahey, from the Business Council of Australia, saying that at that stage they were also firmly opposed to the scheme. And in a statement Heather Ridout, from the Australian Industry Group, described the scheme as ‘flawed, unrealistic and a deterrent to investment in Australia’. So it is somewhat curious that the opposition now seeks to remark so vehemently on its business concerns and credentials.

The scheme that the Australian government is proposing is fully funded, and we know that legislation approving it has passed through parliament. But, unfortunately, about six weeks out from the beginning of the scheme, once again we see the opposition taking the tack of wreckers. It is a fairly consistent and uniform theme. They were wreckers of the stimulus package that protected jobs and saved our economy. They were wreckers of the badly needed healthcare reform in this country. When it came to plans for improving our schools and our education system they were wreckers. Australian families and businesses are counting on the Paid Parental Leave scheme starting on 1 January. As has been said, more than 2,000 applications for paid parental leave have already been received from parents expecting a baby in the new year. Anecdotally, from my campaigning in the recent federal election, I note that many parents were particularly pleased to know that from 1 January they would be entitled to access a paid parental leave scheme. They specifically raised that matter with me during the campaign.

We know that at least 550 employers are already signed up to provide government funded paid parental leave. Around two-thirds of these employers are ready to start before 1 July. Under our Paid Parental Leave scheme, leave payments will be made by businesses for their long-term employees. These arrangements will be phased in over the first six months of 2011. Because the government believe that paid parental leave is a workplace entitlement, we believe that that leave should be paid through employers, just as annual leave, sick leave and other leave are. We consider our scheme is fair to business, based on the expert recommendations of a major, independent inquiry undertaken by the Productivity Commission. The Productivity Commission recommended this model because it will assist employers to retain their skilled staff and boost workforce participation.

Earlier, my colleague the member for Moreton mentioned the significant steps undertaken by the government to consult very widely with business and to implement a range of measures in the scheme to ensure that their role is made easy. Once again, this legislation is simply an example of the opposition moving to wreck policy that is currently being relied on by so many families around Australia which are expecting children in the new year.

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