Louise Pratt (WA, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Hansard source

I sincerely hope today that we are not witness to the spectacle of the Greens combining with conservative parties in this country to sabotage the implementation of this much needed, important and progressive policy. Having hooked up with those opposite to defeat the CPRS, I hope they are not, on this issue, seeking to combine with a man who believes climate change is ‘absolute crap’ or to defeat a scheme like they did when they lined up and defeated a scheme that would have, for the first time, put a price on carbon. I hope today they are not lining up with the opposition to sabotage a scheme that will, for the first time, give all working women on low-to-middle incomes access to paid parental leave.

I know the Greens do not think the scheme goes far enough but I hope they are not gearing up to stop the parliament from introducing a paid parental leave scheme from 1 January next year. Just because they believe this scheme does not go far enough, I hope they are not preparing to sabotage it. Playing politics on this scheme could leave Australian women with no ability to plan for pregnancy secure in the knowledge that they will be eligible for leave next year.

I remind senators in this chamber, the Greens and those opposite, that the government’s scheme is based extensively on research and analysis conducted by the Productivity Commission. It has widespread support in the community, amongst business, unions and women’s advocates. Some of these groups would like our scheme to go further and I certainly hope that, in the future, it can. But none of them—unlike the Greens—are stupid enough to believe that nothing is better than something. None of them are reckless enough to sabotage the government’s ready-to-be-implemented scheme for the sake of some flight of fancy concocted by the likes of Abbott—a man who said paid parental leave would be introduced over his dead body.