How fair is this Bill
The inflamed row over paid parental leave in the budget is a classic case study in how difficult it is to withdraw entitlements, the defective political debate in this country and the resistance to the cause of budget repair.
Anger against the Abbott government decision to withdraw a PPL benefit for a category of working mothers has become white hot, stirred by Labor leader Bill Shorten’s accusation that Tony Abbott is “vilifying tens of thousands of women” and columnists depicting the government as fools, quasi-criminals, stubborn white men and hypocrites. For many, there is no limit to its infamy.
Under the current arrangements Australia has two classes of working mothers — those who get two PPL schemes and those who get one only PPL scheme. An impartial observer might think this a problem.
The former Labor government introduced a sound PPL scheme that operates for 18 weeks at the minimum wage and is worth about $11,500. It is paid to the primary carer of a newborn child taking time off from work and goes to individuals on less than $150,000 income.
The Abbott government has proposed a decisive shift. It wants to eliminate the two scheme model. Abbott and Morrison say that if your employer scheme pays better then you don’t get the government safety net. If you have an employer scheme and it pays less than the government scheme, then the government will make up the difference.
Morrison argues the current system is blatantly unfair. It favours better-off mothers and public servants. Of those enjoying both a government and employer scheme 61 per cent are public servants, a core ALP voting constituency. Indeed, these working mothers are actually funded twice by the taxpayer for their leave. How fair is that?
http://www.theaustralian.com.au/opinion/columnists/much-heat-but-little-light-in-parental-leave-debate/story-e6frg74x-1227360662493