Joe Hockey (North Sydney, Liberal Party, Treasurer) Share this | Hansard source

We stepped up to the plate and said, 'We have to find the savings to pay for the gross mismanagement of the Labor Party and the malevolence of the Labor Party towards preschool children and the kindergartens they are at.' So I said, 'Well, I'm sorry. We've got to find the savings.' One way of finding the savings is to do what is appropriate in relation to the Paid Parental Leave scheme set up by the Labor Party, and that is to ensure that $11½ thousand is available to mums when they have a child. But, if they are being paid the same or more by their employer, then they cannot access the government's scheme. In particular, public servants who do access a taxpayer funded scheme should not be able to also access a separate scheme through Centrelink.

I wish there were a magic pudding. I wish there were this money tree that the Leader of the Opposition seems to assume exists, but there is no money tree. Ultimately, the government is in a position where it has to borrow money every day just to pay the bills. When we do have new expenditure to respond to the needs and wants of mums and dads, if we are going to have that new expenditure, then we have to have the savings to pay for it. This is one of those responsible measures and it does just that.

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