Senate Chamber
Tuesday, 17 September 2002 Senator CHAPMAN (South Australia) (3.19 p.m.) - We have just heard from Senator Crossin, on behalf of the Labor Party, that Australia is one of only two countries in the world that have not introduced paid maternity leave. We heard earlier from Senator Bolkus that our population is getting older and older. The suggestion, of course, is that if you introduce paid maternity leave it is going to increase the birth rate or the fertility rate in this country. But it is merely a suggestion; where is the evidence? There is absolutely no evidence at all that paid maternity leave will increase the fertility or birth rate in this country. Indeed, what the evidence does show is that birth rates and fertility rates are a product of affluence. The more affluent countries have lower birth rates; less affluent countries have higher birth rates. That is the key factor with regard to birth rates, not whether or not you have paid maternity leave. That is very clear in the fact that, when you look at those affluent countries that provide paid maternity leave, their birth rate is no better than that of Australia or the United States, who do not have paid maternity leave. So let us put to rest this nonsense suggested by the opposition that paid maternity leave is going to do something about our birth rate or something about the fertility rate and reverse the ageing of our population, because it is certainly not. That is not the issue in relation to paid maternity leave, as Senator Bolkus indicated when he said that it is a basic work entitlement. That is what this issue is all about in terms of what the Labor Party and the union movement are about. They are about expanding work entitlements. They are using the issues of the ageing of our population and our declining birth rate as a blind, a cover and a disguise to bring in what they see as yet another entitlement for employees. It is, of course, an entitlement that will be a cost, either to employers directly or to the whole community through our tax system. That is what the Labor Party are about in seeking to promote this concept of paid maternity leave. But the most important issue in regard to this matter is not workers entitlements: it is the issue of choice. That is what Senator Tierney emphasised a few moments ago. As the work of his committee has found, there are three groups with regard to mothers. There are those who want to stay at home once they have children and not return to the work force and who wish to be full-time carers for their children. There are others who want to return to the work force at the earliest opportunity, and there is a third group-those who perhaps want to move between the work force and home care, depending on their circumstances. Senator Ferris - It is about choice. Senator CHAPMAN -As Senator Ferris has so helpfully interjected, choice is the key issue on this matter, not workers entitlements. Choice is the priority of this government. From a government perspective, it is important that support is given to all families with children and that it is recognised that families who have children have higher costs to bear than families who do not have children. That is where the key distinction needs to be drawn, not between whether people want to remain in the work force or stay out of work force, but, indeed, that they have the capacity to make that choice and that families with children are given some benefit and some advantage. It could well be argued that the most disadvantaged families with children are not those where parents choose to stay out of the work force for a short period and then return, thereby losing a modicum of income, but those who choose to stay out of the work force permanently to care for their children and are therefore dependent on a single income-a one-breadwinner family. It is on that basis that the government must base its policies. That is why this government has initiated the baby bonus as part of the $10 billion that the government currently spends on family payments overall. The baby bonus recognises that, when the first child is born, it is a difficult financial period for families, whether they are families where both parents have previously been working and one is temporarily leaving the work force or one wants to stay permanently out of the work force. This is where the emphasis is on choice: the payment of the baby bonus provides a tax break of up to two and a half thousand dollars per year for a maximum of five years, irrespective of what choice parents make with regard to their working situation and their lifestyle. It applies to mothers who have had a child on or after 1 July last year. It is a very important initiative. (Time expired) |
