Appropriation Bill (No. 1) 2025-2026

Ms MILLER-FROST (Boothby) (11:04): I vaguely remember, a little over 26 years ago, when I discovered I was pregnant. It was a really joyous time. These were much-wanted babies, even though I thought I'd have one at a time, not three at once!

But I also remember the stress involved in taking unpaid parental leave from my workplace. As a multiple pregnancy, I had to take leave at 18 weeks for health reasons. We went from being a two-income family to being a one-income family, and then, a couple of months later, we had the additional cost of three newborns to care for.

I returned to work on a part-time basis when they were about four months old. While there were other reasons I wanted to keep my hand in in the workplace, the income was definitely a factor. Paid parental leave would have been very helpful and would have taken considerable stress off our new family.

Labor created paid parental leave and Labor is expanding it. Investing in a more generous and flexible Paid Parental Leave scheme is a no-brainer. It's good for mums and dads, it's good for bubs and it's good for the economy.

Our changes are the most significant expansion since Labor established paid parental leave under the Gillard government. Since July 2023, the Australian government has been delivering on the biggest expansion to paid parental leave since it was introduced in 2011, progressively increasing the scheme to 26 weeks by 1 July 2026. Thanks to Labor, parents will have more time, more money, more flexibility, and more people will be eligible.

To be specific, on more time, from 1 July, parents have been entitled to 24 weeks and, from 1 July next year, they will be entitled to 26 weeks; on more money, superannuation will be paid on paid parental leave for the first time ever, and the weekly payment rate will increase to almost $950 a week; on more flexibility, the time parents can take off together will increase from two to four weeks—and I really love this—enabling new families to spend time together as they get to know their precious new baby; and, on making more people eligible, the eligibility thresholds will increase with indexation.

In total, parents will be almost $12,000 better off than when we came to government. Our changes to paid parental leave will benefit around 180,000 Australian families every year. Adding superannuation to paid parental leave signals that time out of the workforce to care for a new child is a normal and valued part of life.

It recognises the vital work of caregiving and reinforces paid parental leave as a fundamental workplace entitlement, like annual leave and sick leave. The 12 per cent contribution will be paid as a contribution to their nominated superannuation fund. Crucially, this change also represents a significant step towards gender equality.

Women make up much of the paid parental leave recipients and, as such, due to breaks in the workforce, retire with far less superannuation than men. Furthermore, this change, in addition to the reforms to the scheme, may also encourage more fathers and non-birthing parents to take paid parental leave, helping rebalance caring responsibilities and normalise shared care.

Numerous groups have called for superannuation to be added to the government's Paid Parental Leave scheme, including the Women's Economic Equality Taskforce, the ACTU, the Business Council of Australia and the Diversity Council of Australia. The measure is also part of the government's gender equality strategy, Working for Women: A Strategy for Gender Equality.

When I ran homelessness services in Adelaide, the women who came to us often had gaps in their income and gaps in their superannuation contributions from when they were having children. This left them financially disadvantaged, and this disadvantage was lifelong. Decades later, they were retiring into poverty and turning up in the homelessness system.

The introduction of paid parental leave in 2011 was too late for me, but it's been a game changer for many other women and families. The changes that this government has introduced and the payment of superannuation on paid parental leave is another step towards gender equality, supporting women and supporting families. Paid parental leave is not welfare, as the shadow finance minister would have it.

Women should not have to pay a financial penalty for the rest of their lives, retire with less superannuation and retire into poverty for being the ones who get pregnant—for genetics—as the shadow industrial relations minister would have it. After all, we want Australian families to have children. A Labor government introduced paid parental leave.

A Labor government has expanded it. Only Labor will protect it.