Paid Parental Leave – creating second class parents

You know, it’s an unfortunate state of affairs in this country that the value of our wages has effectively halved in the last generation or so. When my wife and I bought our first home we were able, sometimes only just, to get by on one income. Try doing that now.


While we might lament the current high house prices that need both parents in the workforce to pay their bills and the fact that so many of our young children are cared for more and more away from their hard working mums and dads, this is the world that we find ourselves in. In that context, it’s not unreasonable that our government should look to ease something of the extra burden that families face with the birth of a child and loss of one income for an extended period.

You might think that this would mean that the DLP would give a nod to Labor’s recent introduction of a paid 18 weeks of leave at the level of the basic wage. Sure, it’s a step in the right direction (and far better than Abbott’s proposal – more on that later), but just like the Coalition’s position, it creates second class parents and effectively puts a different value on babies of working mothers and those that don’t work.

Abbott’s proposal is far worse. The coalition’s policy ensures that those in high-paid jobs get more financial support than those in lower paid jobs. On top of that, they expect business to pay for it! Again, stay-at-home mums miss out.

It’s not an ideal situation, but there is a clear consensus that something should be done. We support the extension of the Rudd policy of 18 weeks paid at the basic wage to all new mothers and their families. The principle here is about supporting all parents and their new child – that’s got to be a better way.