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

There has been a recent adjustment of policy on the run? I stand corrected. Thank you.

The government’s scheme, unlike the opposition’s scheme, will provide paid parental leave at a minimum wage for all those eligible mothers and deliver the greatest gains to women on low incomes. Again, it is no wonder that unions, women’s advocates and the business community have concluded that Mr Abbott’s scheme is more concerned with buying votes, whatever the price tag, than with actually getting down to implementing a workable paid parental leave scheme.

Mr Abbott’s thought bubble has no specific starting date, unlike the government’s scheme. The allegedly forthright Mr Abbott cannot seem to get his spin straight when it comes to the start date for his scheme. He cannot make up his mind about whether it will be within a few months, within a couple of years or sometime in his first term. If it is the latter, working women could be waiting more than three years for paid parental leave. Everyone knows that Mr Abbott will not be able to get a scheme up and running in months, not when so many details are unclear. Contrast that with the way the government has put its scheme together, with the great deal of consultation that has taken place. There is no way that Mr Abbott’s thought bubble is going to give working mothers paid parental leave on 1 January. Senators in this chamber all know in their heart of hearts that only the government’s scheme can do that, and I hope this chamber will not stand in the way.