Rudd government "cowards" on paid maternity leave - Mirabella

17-April-2009

The Rudd Government has spent 7 weeks hiding the Productivity Commission’s final report on Paid Parental leave to avoid public debate, Shadow Minister for Early Childhood Education, Childcare, Women and Youth Sophie Mirabella said today.

“This is a disgrace. The Government received the Report in February, but continues to stall on publicly releasing details. At the same time as they splash around tens of billions of dollars, all we get is a constant chorus of Rudd Government Ministers mumbling about ‘budget constraints’. They are cowards and they ought to come clean with Australian families.”

“This is a highly-anticipated Report which the Government promised Australian families before the 2007 election. More than 285,000 families received the baby bonus last year and a similar number will be waiting to see what the Government will do on paid maternity leave so they can plan for the future.”

“Whether the Government is going to respond in the May Budget or not, they should at least put the Report on the table and encourage community debate and discussion on the Productivity Commission’s findings. That would be the upfront and honest thing to do.”

“The week we had the Australia Institute releasing their own paper on the economics of paid parental leave and suggesting their model would create jobs and pay for itself. This is the debate we need to be having.”

“Instead the Government is hiding behind Parliamentary requirements that give them up to 25 sitting days to release the Report – that will take us beyond the Budget to the 24th June. The question is, why is the Government hiding on this issue?”

Mrs Mirabella said that the Government had raised community expectations that a scheme would be introduced with the Prime Minister’s comment that it was “time to bite the bullet” on Paid Maternity Leave.

“Kevin Rudd has not made a tough decision since coming to office and is quick to blame others when it comes to meeting his election promises. It now looks increasingly likely that the Rudd Government will walk away from their commitment to supporting families, and blame the “Global Recession” and the “Global Financial Crisis” – anyone but themselves,” Mrs Mirabella said.

“The fact is, Paid Maternity Leave has been on the agenda for years. In fact, the Government had the first draft of the Productivity Commissions findings back in November last year – well before December’s $10 billion cash splash, and February’s $42 billion stimulus package, and long before this months $43 billion broadband blow-out.”

“Paid Parental leave is expected the cost around half a billion. Given the amount of money they’ve been splashing about in the past 6 months, there’s really no excuse for not delivering on their promises,” Mrs Mirabella said.

“The Coalition supports a Paid Parental leave Scheme in principle and looks forward to seeing the Productivity Commission’s final Report and engaging in analysis for a final model that will assist Australian families.”