CONSTITUENCY STATEMENTS

Ms THWAITES (Jagajaga) (10:45): This Wednesday will be a big day for Australian families. It's the day they will have access to six months of government funded paid parental leave. This is a proud Labor reform, and it is one that will make a real difference to families in communities like mine.

For young families in Rosanna, parents juggling work and child care in Macleod, those raising their kids in Heidelberg Heights or new parents in Greensborough or Montmorency, I know that this will make a significant difference to their lives. Across Jagajaga, I meet parents doing their very best to build a good life for themselves and for their children. These are people balancing mortgages, child care and work while trying to make the most of those first few months with their baby and the investment in their childhood.

This time really matters for families. It matters for children, it matters for mums and it matters for dads. This is when parents bond with their children, establish routines, recover from birth and build the foundations that help children to thrive for years to come.

It's a really difficult time as well. No parent, in this time, should feel that they have to choose between being there for their newborn and paying the bills. That's why expanding Paid Parental Leave to six months is so important.

It's something I have long advocated for in this parliament and, in fact, before I came to this parliament. Labor believes that nurturing our children and caring for our children isn't just good for individual families; it's something that makes our whole community stronger. When parents are supported, children get the best possible start in life.

This is what good government looks like. It invests in people and it recognises that raising the next generation is something that benefits every Australian. Since coming to government, Labor have steadily expanded Paid Parental Leave from 20 weeks to 26 weeks, and we are now also ensuring that parents receive superannuation while they're on paid parental leave, which will really deliver for Australian women.

Those women will no longer be asked to sacrifice their retirement savings simply because they've made the decision to raise a family. I wish I could say that others in this parliament share our commitment to working families, but, unfortunately, while Labor is expanding support, we've seen Senator Hanson once again trying to drag the debate—and the clock—backwards.

Senator Hanson has repeatedly opposed paid parental leave for almost a decade, dismissing a reform that's become essential support for working families and parents. She claimed that small businesses would fold under the cost of Paid Parental Leave. She suggested the scheme is behind Australia's gender pay gap.

These are claims that are just irresponsible and wrong. She said: If women take time off and they are not paid their wages because they're not working, fair enough. She's referred to paying paid parental leave as a 'welfare handout mentality'.

It's clear One Nation doesn't support working families, but Labor is firmly behind families in my community and right around the country.