Paid Maternity Leave

The Hon. PENNY SHARPE (Parliamentary Secretary) [4.55 p.m.]: I speak in support of the motion. It is a disgrace after 10 long years of a Howard Federal Government that Australia does not provide paid maternity leave. Along with the United States of America, Australia is in the company of Lesotho, Swaziland and Papua New Guinea as the only five countries in the International Labour Organisation with no paid maternity leave. As if it is not bad enough that we have no paid maternity leave, working women in New South Wales face other problems. Pay equity remains a significant issue for women, and the gap between the wages of men and women is increasing. Latest figures released by the Australian Bureau of Statistics show that in New South Wales in the year since the Howard Government's WorkChoices became law, the gap between the total weekly earnings of men and women has increased, with women now earning less than 66.9 per cent of what men earn.

To put that in real figures, the average New South Wales woman now earns $361.60 per week less than that earned by the average New South Wales man. The gap has widened by 2.7 per cent under the Federal Government's WorkChoice laws-laws that members opposite defended vigorously before the last election. It was indeed bizarre and somewhat disingenuous yesterday when the Leader of the Opposition and the Hon. Marie Ficarra tried to turn the tables on Government members by defending the words of Pru Goward. They were the very same people who were part of a plot to stop her from being preselected in the seat of Epping. I am sure that one of the reasons for her lack of support from with the Liberal Party-

The Hon. Don Harwin: Point of order: The Hon. Penny Sharpe made some remarks about the Leader of the Opposition that were untrue and reflected on him in a way that is contrary to the standing orders, and she should be called to order.

The DEPUTY-PRESIDENT (The Hon. Amanda Fazio): Order! The first point raised by the Hon. Don Harwin is irrelevant. On the second point, I caution the Hon. Penny Sharpe that any comments she makes about other members must not contravene the standing orders.

The Hon. PENNY SHARPE: One of the reasons that the present member for Goulburn had difficulties preselecting for the electorate of Epping was that she had spoken out against WorkChoices-the important point being that her comments were comprehensively ignored by the Howard Government. Until WorkChoices was finally dismantled, the news was terrible for working women in New South Wales and their families. I have mentioned the impact that WorkChoices has had on the gender pay gap. WorkChoices has worsened the situation. Until the pay gap is wound back there will be real consequences for women and their families. WorkChoices removes the choice that families can make about how they balance paid work and family responsibilities.

With women earning less than their male partners, it is an economically rational choice for only women to take time out of the paid workforce to care for children or other family members. Aside from these harsh economic realities, there are compelling reasons why women choose to take time away from work after the birth of a child. These include physical recovery from pregnancy and childbirth, establishing breastfeeding, sleep and other routines and, of course, the opportunity to bond with their babies. These basic human needs are compromised when a woman and her family are struggling financially or feeling insecure about the stability of their jobs. That is why the Federal Government should fund paid maternity leave for all mothers.

Paid maternity leave is a very simple way that governments can ease the burden on families with new babies. A recent study of parental leave in Australia asked families what they most wanted access to when having a baby. Two-thirds of working families nominated some or more paid maternity leave. Less than one-third of Australian mothers currently get paid maternity leave and, even when they do, that is only for an average of seven weeks. Even worse, of the two-thirds of working mothers who are not eligible for any paid maternity leave around half were not even eligible for the standard entitlement of 12 months unpaid leave. This means that these women are either returning to work far too soon after birth or are leaving work altogether. The skills of such women are lost to the workplace, and that is a major problem in a growing economy with an ageing workforce and a skills shortage.

The New South Wales Government believes that paid maternity leave is important. It is important for women, for families, for our community, and for our economic productivity. We have been prepared to put our money where our mouth is. All New South Wales permanent employees with 12 months service are entitled to 14 weeks paid maternity leave. This is part of our broader support for our parent employees, who also have the right to request a return to part-time employment following the birth of their child.

Minister for Women Verity Firth has publicly stated that women's employment and addressing the issues facing women at work is one of her top priorities. While workforce participation by Australian women is low by international standards, most women in New South Wales still spend large periods of their lives juggling both paid employment and family responsibilities.

National paid maternity leave can only be introduced by the Commonwealth. We on this side of the House welcome the Rudd Government's reference to the Productivity Commission of paid maternity leave and other ways in which the Government can support families with newborn babies. Representations will not fall on the deaf ears of the former Government, the Productivity Commission will investigate all the issues facing families, the community and business to give the best possible system for supporting women and their families. This is the first genuine attempt to deal with all the issues surrounding paid maternity leave and deliver a system for all Australian women. As the Rudd Government dismantles WorkChoices and fully examines the needs of working families, I look forward to the development of a paid maternity leave scheme as soon as possible.