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

In the House there are unicorn moments, and so sometimes members in this place have to do speeches over two separate days and sometimes two separate weeks, but I have the privileged opportunity to do a speech over two separate years! The thing that I would say about Labor's paid parental leave policy is that this is not a unicorn moment. It is deliberately designed to benefit families and it is absolutely intentional. It is a part of Labor's platform. One of the things that I would point out is that because of the number of women that we have within the federal Labor Party, we are intentional in the way that we think about policies and the way that they interact with working women. With the number of women that we have in the party, we recognise that there are working families that are trying to deal with the juggle. We make sure that we keep women in jobs longer, and paid parental leave absolutely helps with this.

I echo the comments of the Minister for Social Services, the member for Kingston, who, in her second reading speech said:

This bill is good for parents, good for children, good for employers and good for the economy.

The nation will benefit from these changes. In my electorate of Swan, nearly 2,000 people received paid parental leave last year. That's 2,000 families and children in Swan that will benefit from greater choice, greater flexibility and greater security, which is helpful when balancing work and care. This is an example of real, tangible benefits helping families, and that is what you expect from an Albanese Labor government.

I'm a working parent and therefore I know, like many other people in this place, what it's like to balance work and care. It's difficult and it's a constant juggle, and there are many parents in this place that understand that. What I would say is that the juggle is real. However, on a serious note, for many years it has been very difficult. It has been so overwhelming that for some people having to make a decision as to whether to care or work has become untenable. It can be financially, emotionally and physically draining. It's a choice that many parents have to face sometimes: whether to work or whether to care, whether to take time off or whether to not take time off. They are really struggling, and what our government is trying to do is unlock the potential and make it easier for working families.

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