Graham Perrett (Moreton, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Hansard source

I rise in support of the Paid Parental Leave Amendment (Adding Superannuation for a More Secure Retirement) Bill 2024. I'm proud to support these important reforms, which are essential to the economy, essential for families and essential for gender equality. You can always trust a Labor government to make the large-scale reforms that change Australian lives for the better, and this amendment to paid parental leave follows in that tradition. It builds on the Gillard government's introduction of paid parental leave way back in 2011. Who can imagine being in the parliament way back then, in 2011! I spoke in this place at the time about how proud I was of the introduction of 18 weeks of government funded pay and how valuable it was to everyday Australians. For many parents, it was the first time they could access any paid parental leave.

The 2009 Productivity Commission inquiry had laid the groundwork for paid parental leave initiatives and highlighted its numerous benefits. One of the key benefits was the improved wellbeing of families. In particular, there was a focus on the benefits for both child and maternal health that were associated with an extended period of absence from work around the birth of the baby and, crucially, secure financial support during this period. Other benefits include women maintaining their participation in the workforce and the expression of community values. This included the belief that having a child and taking time out for family reasons are part of the usual course of work and life for many people in the paid workforce, including fathers.

These points may all seem very obvious in 2024, but 13 years ago this was momentous legislation. As the Minister for Social Services said, paid parental leave is a proud Labor legacy, and we will always work to strengthen it. Consequently, it has been one of the priorities of the Albanese Labor government to modernise the Paid Parental Leave scheme. That's why, from 1 July last year, we enabled more families to access the payment due to a more generous family income test. It's also why we have made it easier for parents to share care and increased the flexibility of the scheme to help with parents' transition back to work. That is some low-hanging fruit when it comes to productivity gains.

Most recently, the Labor government extended the length of the Paid Parental Leave scheme. From 1 July this year, we increased it by two weeks, expanding the scheme from 20 weeks to 22, and the scheme will increase by two weeks each year until it reaches 26 weeks of paid parental leave in 2026. This bill is a continuation of these significant reforms. It has acknowledged that women undertake the majority of unpaid care in Australia, whether that's looking after children, aging parents or other family members for various reasons. I certainly would like to commend my wife for doing that while I've been running around in Canberra. She had two young children, also got a law degree and changed careers at the same time—an amazing woman.

Time spent away from the workforce during this crucial work unfairly affects women financially, and that is understating the effect. The Women's Budget Statement from May described:

Spending more time on unpaid care than their male counterparts impacts women's lifelong economic security by limiting their labour force participation, career progression, and leadership opportunities.

The Albanese Labor government not only recognises the long-term economic consequences of the disproportionate share of unpaid care work that women primarily do; with this bill, we are doing something positive about it. The Women's Budget Statement drew on Working for women: a strategy for gender equality, when it stated:

To achieve an Australia where people are safe, treated with respect, have choices and have access to resources and equal outcomes no matter their gender, women and gender equality must be at the centre of Australia's economic plan.

That is what this bill does.

The Albanese Labor government is investing $1.1 billion over the forward estimates to pay superannuation on government paid parental leave from 25 July. This will directly address the current inequitable situation where women with children experience an average 55 per cent drop in income in their first five years of parenthood. This compounds over time with more children to the point that women retire with around 25 per cent less in their superannuation than men—yes, 25 per cent. This bill means that all eligible parents will receive an additional 12 per cent of their paid parental leave directly into their super fund from 1 July next year, and it will continue to match the superannuation guarantee rate. The ATO will make the contribution annually after the end of each financial year. The payment will include an additional interest component to address any issues resulting from the payment not being made more frequently. We anticipate that around 180,000 families will benefit from these changes, and, once the Paid Parental Leave scheme reaches its full 26 weeks in 2026, a family will receive a superannuation contribution of around $3,000.

Beyond the financial benefits, I think it's important to note that paying super on paid parental leave will go a long way to normalising paid parental leave. This means making it a standard in every workplace, like annual leave or personal leave. It also signifies that care work is highly valued, a much-needed cultural shift, and enables it to be shared between parents. Businesses, unions, experts and economists acknowledge that a key factor in boosting productivity and participation is to provide more support and choice for families, which results in more opportunities for women. The benefits for business include the retention of trained and valued staff, the reduction of recruitment costs and the enhancement of staff morale and productivity. This bill also contains some technical amendments. It ensures that the paid parental leave framework in the Fair Work Act is in sync with the Paid Parental Leave scheme.

This reform is in the tradition of the life-changing economic and social initiatives of former Labor governments. I'm talking about the governments who gave the nation Medicare, the Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme and the National Disability Insurance Scheme—all devoted to helping the collective. Reforms in both unpaid and paid care are a key focus of Working for women: a strategy for gender equality. The Women's Economic Equality Taskforce stated:

Despite women's work, both paid and unpaid, acting as the backbone of our economy during the COVID-19 pandemic, today women's work is still undervalued.

Superannuation on paid parental leave is an important way of addressing this issue and narrowing the gap in the use of and access to paid parental leave. It is a key outcome. Paid parental leave supports parents when they're caring for newborn children and helps families balance their caring responsibilities with work, and now it will support them when they retire.

The Albanese Labor government's tranche of reforms is the largest expansion to paid parental leave since it was established by the Gillard government. I commend the bill to the House.

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