Eric Abetz (Tasmania, Liberal Party, Minister for Fisheries, Forestry and Conservation) Share this | Hansard source

The government does not support the amendments moved by the Greens on this occasion. For income support purposes, the government will continue to recognise only one parent as the principal carer of a child at any point in time. There are in fact two reasons for that and they depend on how you look at it. This is to help ensure that there are not two part-time earners or households caring for a child, as this would lead to reduced financial circumstances for the child if they were both deemed to be the part-time earners or households caring for the child. The other approach is to consider them both as principal carers, and of course that would provide an advantage to separating couples that would not necessarily be available to other parents who have not separated.

I am also advised that, of all the single recipients of the parenting payment, only 1.5 per cent share care of their children where the gap in the level of care between the two parents is between 45 and 55 per cent. So we are talking about a relatively small cohort of the population. Having said that—and I hasten to add this—just because they are a small cohort of the population does not mean that they should be dismissed or that their concerns should not be taken into account. The concerns of this small cohort of 1.5 per cent are in fact taken into account.

I am advised that the guide to social security law dictates that, in circumstances where parents have between 46 and 54 per cent of the care of a child, Centrelink determines which parent should get principal carer status. I am not fully cognisant of the discussion that Senator Wong had at Senate estimates about what might be called ‘the race to riches’ or ‘first in, best dressed’ in relation to the principal carer status, but I am advised that the factors that are taken into account in those circumstances are factors such as income from other sources and future employment prospects or assets. These are used by Centrelink to determine which parent is deemed to be the principal carer parent of a child. As I understand the situation, other factors are in fact taken into account other than the person who first presents themselves to the counter.