Early action needed on paid maternity leave

NFAW strongly supports the promise made by Mr. Rudd, in Opposition, that: “If elected I will ask the Productivity Commission to examine the effectiveness of different models to improve support for parents in the labour force with new-born children…..”

The NFAW calls on the Government to honour this promise at the earliest possible opportunity.  Action, not promises, is needed.

Australian women first voted in a federal election on 16 December 1903, and now, almost 104 years later, NFAW is pleased to see a woman Deputy Prime Minister and an impressive group of women Parliamentarians newly elected and re-elected in the 2007 Federal election.  However, the work of these women, and the men in the Rudd Government, is just starting.

In June 2007 NFAW released the report of consultations with women nationally which identified paid maternity leave and the growing gender pay gap as two issues of very high priority for Australian women.

The new Rudd Government must bear in mind that the opinion polling that NFAW commissioned in conjunction with a consortium of child development groups showed an overwhelming level of public support for a national scheme of paid maternity leave, and a similar view that not enough is being done to enable new parents to spend adequate time with their new-born children.

Mr. Rudd has promised to govern for all Australians, and we remind him that women make up over fifty per cent of the population.

“The new Prime Minister said Australia has shown it wants to 'look to the future' and to ‘invest in the nation of tomorrow’ and this means putting kids first on the national agenda,” said Ms Gillian Calvert, NSW Commissioner for Children and Young People.

“Investing in children through actions such as paid maternity leave is an important part of building the strong social foundations that give kids a great head start to life, especially during the critical early years of their development, while promoting our nation's future prosperity,” Ms Calvert said.

Further information

Marie Coleman   Chair, NFAW Social Policy Committee 0414 483 067 Michelle Neathercote, NSW Commission for Children and Young People on 0413 456 080