Eric Abetz (Tasmania, Liberal Party, Minister for Employment) Share this | Hansard source

Senator Wong and her colleagues tried to canvass all this through the Senate estimates. If I might say, Senator Cormann, in particular, was able to explain in exasperating detail to Senator Wong all the circumstances surrounding the development of the policy. Senator Wong, as a former finance minister, actually knows about the contingency reserve. She actually knows that you develop a policy and, once it is developed, that is when you put a figure on it—not like Labor, that says, 'Let's throw money at something' and thinks, 'How do we spend all this?' We actually go through things step by step in a methodical, purposeful manner. Overall we believe that a paid parental leave scheme will be good for our nation's productivity, for female participation and for population. That is why we support it.