Anthony Chisholm (Queensland, Australian Labor Party, Assistant Minister for Education) Share this | Hansard source

The Paid Parental Leave Amendment (More Support for Working Families) Bill is important legislation that I know so many of my colleagues have been very happy to talk about here today. It's something that I know I myself would have benefited from in my time of being a father. I reflect on what Senator Sheldon talked about as well, in terms of it being a different era from when this was something that had first been brought in.

Obviously the work that the government has been doing to expand the Paid Parental Leave scheme is something that has been a work in progress, but it's also something that I think is recognised now across society as being such an important part of establishing a family. I think that the businesses, the unions and the economists all agree that it's also one of the best ways that we can boost productivity and participation and provide more support to families. If you look at the challenges that we're confronting across the nation, one in particular at the moment is workforce. I spend a lot of my time on duty in regional and rural Australia, and there's not a place you go that isn't having impacts from labour shortages. We know there's a well-publicised teacher shortage. We know there's a constant challenge that has been identified in terms of our health professionals and care professionals. If we can increase the Paid Parental Leave scheme and make it more attractive, we also know that's going to be important for the workforce, and important for productivity as well, so I think it is important from that point of view.

This is the largest investment in the paid parental leave scheme since Labor established it in 2011. It will benefit over 180,000 families each year; that is something this government is really proud of. We understand that it is absolutely vital that this support goes to families, but we also know that, in those early stages of a young person's life, having their family and parents involved in their care is only going to benefit those children as well. I think that is well recognised, but it's important that government, in the policies it puts in place, creates those opportunities to ensures parents have that opportunity across the country.

The bill expands the paid parental leave scheme by increasing the length of payments from 20 to 26 weeks. That's going to make a significant difference to many families across the country. As I mentioned before, 180,000 families will benefit from that each year. When you think about that extra six-week support that will be provided across those 180,000 people, that's going to make a significant difference for them. It is something that will be welcomed by those families, and I encourage people in this chamber to support this important legislation.

We also know that, in the work of the government, in terms of what we're doing in confronting that labour shortage across the country, we need to look at this in the context of the other work we're doing across government—for instance, the work that was released on Sunday by Minister Clare and the work of Professor O'Kane in the Universities Accord process; I'm going to focus on regional areas in this regard. The regional university study hubs are going to be significant. The evidence I've seen, when I have been out in communities that have the existing study hubs in place, is that often in these communities it is the partner of someone who has moved to those towns for work who is raising children and has the opportunity to go and study. When you think about, in those regional towns, the support that can be provided for the next nurse or the next teacher, it's much better if we're already training those people in those local communities. In relation to the evidence, I think about 70 per cent of people who study in a regional town are much more likely to stay there and work there. When you think about those challenges we're facing in health and education, if we are to provide that incentive for those people to study locally they will much more likely enter the workforce in those local communities. That aim we've been building in education, and what we've been focused on through the Universities Accord process, has been to create those opportunities.

I've been to a number of study hubs now where they have a lot of returning mothers who are trying to get back into the workforce after raising children. You can only imagine the impact the increase to the paid parental leave scheme will have for those people. When you look at this in the context of everything the government is trying to achieve, it will add to opportunity for people across the country. Putting my Assistant Minister for Regional Development hat on, it will be particularly welcomed across regional Australia. It is important this legislation is passed, and it is important we work through this in the chamber, hopefully over the next 24 hours, to get it done.

I also think the evidence we've seen in regard to the paid parental leave scheme and its importance for families is that it is providing that real boost for parents to spend time with their babies once they are born. So many of us who have been fortunate to have children have really valued that time. With the current cost-of-living challenges, many people would be feeling the pressure to get back to work and continue to earn money, and I think this is a recognition of that challenge that many people are facing. I think it's something that would be welcomed by so many people in the community.

When you look at what the government is trying to achieve, whether it be on the cost of living, or ensuring that we've got a better system in place for the Paid Parental Leave Scheme, the evidence is the government are listening to people and we are doing our best to implement it—

Debate interrupted.