STATEMENTS BY MEMBERS

Ms MASCARENHAS (Swan) (13:39): What women want—in 2022, we saw a record number of women elected to the federal parliament. What people wanted to see were governments that respond to our whole population, including women. So, in 2025, we got to see 50 per cent women in the cabinet.

And what have we delivered? We didn't just deliver a record to our federal parliament; we're changing our community. We are changing our society.

We have cheaper child care. We have introduced the three-day childcare guarantee. We are closing the pay gap.

And, of course, we have been increasing paid parental leave—26 weeks is coming soon, and we're going to pay superannuation on that. What did we hear in the last week, including on Sunrise today? Senator Hanson, from One Nation, wants to get rid of paid parental leave.

It's absolutely outrageous. This is not what women want. You can't stop migration and then stop families from having children.

I suspect that this is going to be a policy that she does a backflip on. We saw that when the coalition wanted to stop public servants working from home. Like that, this is a really bad idea.

Paid parental leave is a way that we can help support families. The cost of living is real. Having a family costs time.

And—you know what?—we want families to spend time with their babies. They are delightful.