Campaign Media Release PRIME MINISTER MINISTER FOR FAMILIES

GIVING DADS MORE TIME WITH THEIR BABIES A re-elected Gillard Labor Government will, for the first time, provide two weeks Paid Paternity Leave for fathers of newborn babies. This will be provided in addition to Federal Labors 18 weeks Paid Parental Leave. Parents will still be able to choose to share the 18 weeks Paid Parental Leave between them. Federal Labors new entitlement for two weeks dedicated paternity leave pay will be made available to eligible dads from 1 July 2012. Federal Labor knows that more dads want to be hands-on at home. In its landmark report, the Productivity Commission estimated that around half of all working Australian men are unable to access any paid parental leave. Almost 20 per cent of fathers are self employed in occupations which effectively do not have any access to parental leave paid or unpaid such as carpenters, electricians and other small business owners. This new entitlement will give working dads more time to spend at home with mum and their newborn baby in the critical early weeks of a babys life. The Gillard Labor Governments Paid Paternity Leave will be governmentfunded, and will provide eligible working fathers and other partners with two weeks pay at the national minimum wage currently $570 a week. Around 220,000 fathers and other partners who are sharing the childs care, and who meet the work and income tests, will eligible to access paternity leave pay.

The payment will provide additional financial support to eligible fathers and other partners who want to spend time at home after a childs birth, and who normally have to take unpaid leave to be at home. Paid Paternity Leave recognises the importance of time spent bonding with a newborn and assists financially at a time when family income is reduced. A family may receive Paid Paternity Leave either on its own or in addition to other family payments such as the Baby Bonus, Paid Parental Leave and the Family Tax Benefit. The mother, or primary carer, does not have to be receiving Federal Labors Paid Parental Leave scheme for her partner to be eligible for a separate Paid Paternity Leave entitlement. The involvement of fathers in childrens lives has many positive benefits for children including improved social and emotional development. Paid Paternity Leave allows fathers and other partners to support the primary carer in their new caring role, and to recover from the birth. This reform will encourage fathers to take some time off after the birth of a child, and help embed paternity leave as a normal aspect of work and family life. To help encourage more fathers to take time off, Paid Paternity Leave will be on a use it or lose it basis. This means it can only be taken by the father, or partner of the primary carer. The work and income tests for Paid Paternity Leave will be the same as for Paid Parental Leave. To be eligible, the father or other partner will need to have: Worked around one day a week (330 hours), in at least 10 of the 13 months prior to the birth or adoption. Earned $150,000 or less in the financial year prior to the birth. Part-time, casual and seasonal workers, as well as self employed workers, who meet the work test will be eligible. The income of the primary carer, usually the mother, will not count towards the income test. Paid Paternity Leave will be available to fathers and other partners who meet these eligibility requirements, regardless of whether the mother has been in paid work or at home prior to the birth or adoption. Fathers who take Paid Paternity Leave will also still be able to assume any unused amount of the 18 week Paid Parental Leave entitlement if they take over as the primary carer when mum returns to work.

Australias first national Paid Parental Leave scheme, delivered by Federal Labor, starts in just four months on 1 January next year. Australian families have been waiting decades for paid parental leave. For 12 years, the former Coalition Government refused to deliver paid parental leave and Tony Abbott even said that paid parental leave would only ever happen over his dead body. Now in Opposition, Mr Abbott has cynically dreamt up a scheme that is unfair for families, unfair to business, and will hurt the economy. Mr Abbott wants to hit businesses with a great big new tax that will mean higher costs for families and pensioners at the supermarket. He wants give high income earners up to $75,000 more, while other parents such as hairdressers, cashiers and hospitality workers receive much less. And he wants to claw back two weeks leave from mums caring for a baby at home if dads opt to take two weeks paternity leave. Australians cant afford to risk their families future with Tony Abbott. Under the Gillard Labor Governments fair Paid Parental Leave scheme, businesses will not pay more tax, all parents receive the same support, and mums and dads can choose how to share the leave between them. Our new paid paternity leave entitlement means that dads can spend two weeks at home with a new baby without it impacting on mums Paid Parental Leave. Federal Labor will provide $146 million for this new commitment over the forward estimates. This funding will be fully offset over the forward estimates consistent with the Gillard Labor Governments commitment to return the budget to surplus in three years. CANBERRA 19 AUGUST 2010 COMMUNICATIONS UNIT: Phone: (02) 9384 2220 | Fax: (02) 9264 2213 www.alp.org.au
AUTHORISED N.MARTIN for the ALP, 5/ 9 Sydney Ave. Barton ACT.