PRIVATE MEMBERS' BUSINESS
Mr VENNING (Grey) (12:01): Yet again, we have a motion from this Labor government congratulating itself. At this rate, the only thing Labor hands out more generously than taxpayer money is participation trophies for their ministers, because, unlike those across the chamber and what they would like you to think, the coalition absolutely supports paid parental leave.
The Leader of the Opposition has made it abundantly clear that we have no plans to change the current scheme. Anything that supports working women and ensures they are never put into vulnerable positions is an absolute good thing. So the debate before us today is not about whether families should receive this vital support.
That is settled. The debate is about whether families should have greater flexibility and choice in how that leave is allocated. The coalition's approach is simple: trust families.
Every single family is different, and it is parents—not politicians, not ideologues in this Canberra bubble—who know exactly what is best for their children. We believe paid parental leave must provide families with genuine support, flexibility and choice. Families have vastly different work arrangements, financial circumstances and caring responsibilities.
What works perfectly for a family in the inner city might be completely unworkable for a farming family in rural South Australia. We believe parents should have the absolute flexibility to decide how leave is shared within their household. Government should support family choices—not dictate family arrangements.
The best people to decide how care is organised in the very first year of the life of a child are the parents themselves? This is not about declaring whether one significant arrangement is better than the other. It is about ensuring families have the freedom to choose the arrangements that work best for them.
We say support families and trust families. This brings me to the unique challenges faced by mothers in regional areas. Flexibility is not a buzzword for us; it is an absolute vital necessity.
In regional Australia, parents do not always have the luxury of standard working hours or easily accessible support networks. Crucially, regional families desperately need better childcare options. We cannot talk about supporting mothers in the workforce without addressing the child care deserts that plague our regional communities.
We need ongoing, targeted support for mothers in regional areas to ensure they have the same opportunities as those in the cities. As I say time and time again, the electorate of Grey has the lowest access to child care in the entire country. A rigid approach to parental leave compounds the difficulties faced by regional families struggling for childcare options, yet, instead of offering flexibility, Labor repeatedly claims that families will receive six months of paid parental leave.
What Labor conveniently fails to tell families is that, in a two-parent household, four weeks are completely reserved on a 'use it or lose it' basis. This means the primary carer can generally access a maximum of only 22 weeks, not the full 26 weeks that were promised. The remaining four weeks are locked away, reserved exclusively for the other parent.
If those four weeks are not taken, the family outright loses access to that entitlement. Furthermore, access to this reserved leave is inextricably linked to the broader eligibility of the family for paid parental leave. In practice, there are countless hardworking families who hear this government promising 26 weeks of paid parental leave but who will be completely unable to access the full entitlement because of the rigid, inflexible way this scheme is structured.
Labor continues to present this policy as a full six months of leave, but the reality is that many families will simply not have the flexibility to access 26 weeks in the way that best suits their unique circumstances. The coalition will present a comprehensive paid parental leave and family policy as we approach the next election. Our focus will remain squarely on providing regional and urban families alike with the flexible choices that they deserve.
We will always trust parents completely. The DEPUTY SPEAKER ( Ms Fernando ): The time allotted for this debate has expired. The debate is adjourned and the resumption of the debate will be made an order of the day for the next sitting.