Eric Abetz (Tasmania, Liberal Party, Deputy Leader of the Opposition in the Senate) Share this | Hansard source

Paid parental leave is an issue that we need to address as a nation. As is becoming the hallmark of the leadership of the Hon. Tony Abbott MP, he has developed a direct, practical, workable action plan to deal with this issue—an action plan that deals simultaneously with the social and economic imperatives facing our nation. Sixty-two per cent of women about to give birth are in the paid workforce. Therefore, two-thirds of women having children forgo income. Sure, this is a decision of choice, but the evidence is suggesting that many women defer or have fewer or no children because of the financial impact of making such a choice or decision. I pose the question: is it good social policy to limit the number of Australian born children because of financial considerations? Of course not. I also ask: given the Intergenerational report and the need for more young Australians to be engaged in the workforce, does it make good sense to show society’s support with a relatively modest paid parental leave scheme to ease the financial burden on families having children? Of course it does. Finally, given the need for greater participation rates in the workforce, does it make good sense to encourage women to combine paid work with child rearing? The answer again is a resounding: of course it does.

So the coalition’s policy, bold and dynamic as it is, ticks all the boxes for social equity, planning for our nation’s future and economic wellbeing. It is recognised that many Australians make the choice to be full-time homemakers—one of the greatest, most challenging and most rewarding career moves that can be made. I, for one, salute them. I was the beneficiary of such a home. It was a great privilege, and I will always be indebted to my parents for that. We as a coalition will shortly be announcing a specific policy for them. They will not be forgotten. They are often the parents who help build community by helping on school trips, in the tuckshop, in school and community sports clubs or with the elderly in the local community. These homemakers and community builders will not be forgotten under coalition policy.

Some people ask the question: ‘Why does the coalition plan provide six months worth of income to a threshold of $75,000? Does that make some babies worth more than others?’ The answer, of course, is a resounding no. The paid parental leave proposal would reflect the income actually forgone by the parent and bulk up to the minimum wage the incomes of those who work part time. Above the threshold of $75,000, it is less likely that family decisions on having a child or the number of children to have would be so heavily based on forgone income. As I said, this direct, practical action plan is about genuine action dealing with the genuine needs of our fellow Australians. On top of the income support there would be the superannuation support to protect retirement savings.

The simple fact is that a paid parental leave scheme would be an economic stimulus and help future proof the needs of the Australian workforce in terms of both participation and numbers available. It is affordable, but we have seen Labor from Mr Rudd to Ms Gillard squander not millions but billions of dollars on disastrous pink batt schemes employing backpackers installing formaldehyde-ridden pink batts from overseas.

Remember the cash splash, when tens of millions of dollars went overseas? How quickly we forget. We now think of that $78 million having been splashed overseas as just petty cash, but Labor, flushed with the success of that debacle, turned their minds to doing even better. Instead of wasting just $78 million here and there, they lifted the high bar to solar panels, with hundreds of millions of dollars wasted to now billions of dollars wasted on the so-called Building the Education Revolution, pink batts and the interest payable on all the moneys that have been borrowed—and all this from such self-described ‘economic conservatives’ as Mr Rudd. The waste and the reckless spending are reminiscent of that of Messrs Whitlam and Cairns about a generation ago, albeit without all the fun that was attached to the then Whitlam government. However, the waste, the recklessness and the incompetence are all there, as is the party in power—Labor. Without this waste, a paid parental leave scheme, as proposed by the coalition, would be easily affordable and a great investment in our families, workplaces and economic wellbeing.