Zaneta Mascarenhas (Swan, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Hansard source

When I found out about the Paid Parental Leave Amendment (More Support for Working Families) Bill 2023 I was very excited to put my hand up and say: 'Yes. This is something I wholeheartedly agree with and support.' This is an example of the way that governments can tangibly help families. I think it's really, really wonderful. This particular bill is a great example of a triple whammy effect: being great for children, great for parents and also fantastic for the economy.

Labor has a strong legacy on parental leave. One of the people I'd like to pay tribute to is Senator Pat Giles, who was one of the architects of the original parental leave, where we got to see parents leave and then return to their workplaces. We want to see parents return to the workplace, as opposed to what we've seen in the past, where people have left workplaces. This is something that's truly wonderful.

I have lived experience of this, and I would not be the only person. I'm sure that there are people here in this place, as well as people in the gallery, who have seen how wonderful it is that we have access to this. The Albanese Labor government is looking at the way that we can tangibly fix this and continue to improve it. We want to make sure that we continue to improve the lives of all Australians. As a working parent I recognise that there's this tricky balance of work and care, and it's a constant juggle. This is something that tangibly helps parents. The juggle is real. This is something that we're trying to help families with.

When people find out that they're becoming a parent, it's a pretty exciting time, but sometimes it can be quite overwhelming. The thought of taking time off work and what that means for household finances can be quite challenging. This will tangibly help families. I know that sometimes it can be a challenging time, where you think about financial, emotional and physical implications. These are choices that parents have to think about: whether to work or whether to care, and whether there is actually a choice to do one or the other. Sometimes it is about choices that are based purely on finances as opposed to their hearts and what they really want to do. So I think this is something that will help families be more flexible about what they really want to do and what they want to choose, and I think it's wonderful that this government is providing more tools to help households decide on what to do, particularly for the birth of their first child.

See this speech in context