ACTU – Families tell Hinch not to rob babies of precious parent-time

4 November 2016

Unions called on Senator Derryn Hinch to block the Turnbull Government’s push to strip families of employer Paid Parental Leave entitlements at a rally outside Senator Hinch’s Melbourne office today.

The Australian Council of Trade Unions says the Turnbull Government’s planned cuts to parental leave will hurt working families. The Government plans to cut Paid Parental Leave to a maximum of 18 weeks, when the Productivity Commission says six months should be the minimum amount of time a newborn baby gets with a primary care-giver.

Quotes attributable to ACTU president Ged Kearney:

• “The women who would be most affected by the Turnbull Government’s proposed cuts are on minimum wages, with a median income of $43,000, working in retail, cleaning, administration and hospitality jobs. This is a mean-spirited cut to working families who deserve better from Malcolm Turnbull.
• “It is appalling that the Liberal Party wants to prevent new parents spending time with their babies. Supporting parents so they can look after their babies is the right thing to do.
• “Tens of thousands of women on low-incomes are already juggling and struggling to scrape together whatever income they can to spend that precious first year with their baby.
• “With more than 700,000 Australian children living below the poverty line, we simply cannot afford to cut family payments to vulnerable families. Paid parental leave is good for our families, good for babies and children, and will mean we have a stronger next generation of Australians.
• “These cuts won’t amount to a budget saving. These cuts simply shift spending to health and childcare. Instead of cutting Paid Parental Leave Prime Minister Turnbull could rein in tax breaks for big business.
• “We are rallying today to tell Derryn Hinch and the rest of the crossbench to stand up for Australian families and abandon these savage cuts to paid parental leave.”