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

Thank you, Mr Deputy President, I do believe I said Mr Abbott. This is a man who was a cabinet minister in a government that did nothing about paid parental leave for 12 years. The seasoned campaigners for paid parental leave in our community are not crazy enough to believe that Mr Abbott is going to deliver on this issue. Apparently today that honour is reserved for the Greens, the party that on this issue does not seem to be able to tell left from right and cannot distinguish a practical, progressive policy from an archconservative’s thought bubble. We cannot lose our way on this debate for the sake of big statements such as those embodied in this spurious motion. The government scheme is fully costed and budgeted and has a starting date of 1 January next year.

I urge the Greens not to be led astray again—not on this matter. Let us not miss a historic opportunity to make a real difference. Right now, by far the most important thing about paid parental leave is that we should not let this chamber stand in the way of working mothers in this country receiving paid parental leave as of 1 January next year. Sharan Burrow knows this, Elizabeth Broderick knows this, Heather Ridout knows this, the press gallery knows this, working mothers know it and the Rudd government certainly knows it. This chamber, and indeed the Greens, will be held to account if, spurred on by Tony Abbott’s latest thought bubble, it sabotages the government’s—