WEBVTT - How does Australia's parental leave policy stack up?

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<v Speaker 1>My name is Lily Maddon and I'm a proud Arunda

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<v Speaker 1>Bungelung Cargoton woman from Gadighl country. The Daily oz acknowledges

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<v Speaker 1>that this podcast is recorded on the lands of the

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<v Speaker 1>Gadighl people and pays respect to all Aboriginal and Torres

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<v Speaker 1>Strait Island and nations. We pay our respects to the

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<v Speaker 1>first peoples of these countries, both past and present.

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<v Speaker 2>Good morning and welcome to the Daily os It's Monday,

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<v Speaker 2>the twenty third of October.

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<v Speaker 3>I'm Zara, I'm sam.

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<v Speaker 2>Last week, the federal government introduced legislation to increase paid

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<v Speaker 2>parental leave to twenty six weeks.

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<v Speaker 3>Paid parental leave was increased from eighteen to twenty weeks

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<v Speaker 3>earlier this year, but new draft laws would see it

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<v Speaker 3>gradually rise every year until it reaches twenty six weeks

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<v Speaker 3>in July of twenty twenty six. We'll have more on

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<v Speaker 3>what that means and if it will pass in the

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<v Speaker 3>Deep Dive, But first, Aara, what's making headlines this morning?

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<v Speaker 2>Over the weekend, streets around the world were filled with

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<v Speaker 2>large protests in relation to the ongoing war in Israel

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<v Speaker 2>and Gaza. The largest of these was held in London,

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<v Speaker 2>where over one hundred thousand people participated in pro Palestine protests.

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<v Speaker 2>Also over the weekend, two American hostages were released by HUMMAS.

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<v Speaker 2>They were a mother and daughter, Judith and Natalie Ranan,

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<v Speaker 2>and are the first hostages to be freed by HUMMAS,

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<v Speaker 2>who are believed to have taken around two hundred hostages.

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<v Speaker 3>Masaamini, the twenty two year old who died after being

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<v Speaker 3>arrested by police in Iran, has been posthumously awarded the

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<v Speaker 3>European Union's top prize for human rights. The award also

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<v Speaker 3>went to the movement of protesters that fought for women's

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<v Speaker 3>rights after her death. Amini's death sparked international protests after

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<v Speaker 3>she was allegedly beaten by Iran's Morality police for violating

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<v Speaker 3>the country's hijablaws.

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<v Speaker 2>US President Joe Biden will host Australian Prime Minister Anthony

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<v Speaker 2>Alberzi for state visit this week, marking Albanesi's first official

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<v Speaker 2>trip to DC as Prime minister. Just hours before leaving

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<v Speaker 2>for the US, Albanesi announced he will also travel to

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<v Speaker 2>China in early November, which will be the first visit

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<v Speaker 2>to China by any Australian Prime Minister since twenty sixteen.

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<v Speaker 3>And today's good news, Scientists have discovered a breakthrough that

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<v Speaker 3>could lead to more efficient recycling of lithium iron batteries

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<v Speaker 3>found in electric vehicles. Swedish researchers at Chalmers University developed

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<v Speaker 3>a method that allows almost all of the aluminium and

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<v Speaker 3>lithium found in EV batteries to be recycled without the

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<v Speaker 3>need to use any harmful chemicals. If the process is

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<v Speaker 3>scaled up, it would mean these recycled metals could be

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<v Speaker 3>used in future battery production.

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<v Speaker 2>Paid parental leave could increase to twenty six weeks by

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<v Speaker 2>twenty twenty six under a government proposal that was introduced

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<v Speaker 2>to Parliament last week.

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<v Speaker 3>So Zara, before we get stuck into those draft laws,

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<v Speaker 3>can we go through what paid parental leave in an

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<v Speaker 3>Australian context actually means and how it works.

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<v Speaker 2>Sure, So, currently, eligible primary carers can access twenty weeks

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<v Speaker 2>of leave that is paid for by the government at

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<v Speaker 2>minimum wage. Eligible parents need to have worked consistent hours

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<v Speaker 2>prior to the birth or to the adoption of their child,

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<v Speaker 2>and they also need to meet an income test proving

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<v Speaker 2>that they require the payment.

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<v Speaker 3>And when you're saying primary care, you mean the person

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<v Speaker 3>who's taking the bulk of the responsibilities in looking after

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<v Speaker 3>the newborn right.

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<v Speaker 2>So, paid parental leave has traditionally been intended for the

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<v Speaker 2>birth mother, except in circumstances like adoption or same sex families.

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<v Speaker 2>Under the current system, the other parent can share in

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<v Speaker 2>that twenty weeks of leave.

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<v Speaker 3>And is this the only kind of paid parental leave

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<v Speaker 3>that you can get?

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<v Speaker 2>No, So I think it can often be a bit

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<v Speaker 2>confusing because there are a couple of different schemes that

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<v Speaker 2>you can access. So some employers have their own paid

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<v Speaker 2>parental leave policy, and that is different to the twenty

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<v Speaker 2>weeks of minimum wage that we're talking about that the

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<v Speaker 2>government gives you, so private employer and the government. There

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<v Speaker 2>are also laws that entitle employees up to twelve months

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<v Speaker 2>of unpaid parental leave. So under that program, if you

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<v Speaker 2>go on parental leave, as long as you've worked at

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<v Speaker 2>the company for at least twelve months, your employer has

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<v Speaker 2>to guarantee your job for you to return to.

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<v Speaker 3>So the way I'm understanding it is that paid parental

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<v Speaker 3>leave is what the government is paying for, and then

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<v Speaker 3>some employers can fund their own leave policies as well.

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<v Speaker 2>Exactly, and employer funded paid parental leave doesn't affect your

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<v Speaker 2>eligibility for the Government's paid parental leave. As an employee,

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<v Speaker 2>you can access both at the same time.

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<v Speaker 3>So give me a sense of how many Australians are

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<v Speaker 3>actually accessing paid parental leave.

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<v Speaker 2>So what we know is there's around one hundred and

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<v Speaker 2>eighty thousand families that receive paid parental leave every year

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<v Speaker 2>and almost all of those payments are redeemed by female parents.

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<v Speaker 3>Okay, so now the government's thinking about the future of

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<v Speaker 3>paid parental leave, what are the proposed changes.

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<v Speaker 2>So paid parental leave, as I said, was actually expanded

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<v Speaker 2>already from eighteen to two twenty weeks earlier this year,

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<v Speaker 2>so there's already been some momentum in the space. On

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<v Speaker 2>Thursday of last week, the government introduced new legislation to

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<v Speaker 2>increase that further.

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<v Speaker 4>Now.

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<v Speaker 2>According to the draft laws, paid parental leave would gradually

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<v Speaker 2>increase over a two year period, from twenty to twenty

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<v Speaker 2>two weeks in July next year, and then from twenty

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<v Speaker 2>two to twenty four the year after, with a final

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<v Speaker 2>increase from twenty four to twenty.

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<v Speaker 4>Six weeks in July twenty twenty six.

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<v Speaker 3>When one parent takes the paid parental leave what happens

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<v Speaker 3>to the other parent.

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<v Speaker 2>Yeah, So the legislation does include a proposal to add

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<v Speaker 2>four weeks of what's called concurrent leave, so that's for

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<v Speaker 2>parents caring for the same child, so a month of

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<v Speaker 2>lead that they could take at the same time to

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<v Speaker 2>allow partners to provide more support. And it's aimed at

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<v Speaker 2>increasing female workforce participation and addressing this idea of the

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<v Speaker 2>motherhood penalty, which is understood to be a key driver

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<v Speaker 2>of the gender pay gup here in Australia.

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<v Speaker 3>So these are some potential changes that would impact a

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<v Speaker 3>lot of Australians. Where has the impetus for this change

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<v Speaker 3>come from?

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<v Speaker 2>So you might remember, I think we did a podcast

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<v Speaker 2>episode about it. The government hosted a National Jobs and

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<v Speaker 2>Skills Summit last year and during that time, peak bodies

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<v Speaker 2>and unions called for paid parental leave to be expanded

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<v Speaker 2>from eighteen weeks to twenty six weeks. At the time,

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<v Speaker 2>PM Anthony Albernezi called it a worthy idea, but he

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<v Speaker 2>said that the government was restricted by budget constraints, something

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<v Speaker 2>that we hear all the time on any given issue

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<v Speaker 2>of the day. But then he did announce this increase

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<v Speaker 2>to twenty weeks paid parental leave in April, and now

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<v Speaker 2>we have seen the legislation be tabled, so it's in

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<v Speaker 2>line with what businesses and unions were originally seeking when

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<v Speaker 2>they made those comments at the Job Summit.

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<v Speaker 3>It's just taken a couple of steps, so it's.

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<v Speaker 2>In line with what businesses and unions were looking for

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<v Speaker 2>during that summit. And I know that there are a

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<v Speaker 2>lot of advocates in the space who were at these

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<v Speaker 2>discussions really advocating for paid parental leave in this country

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<v Speaker 2>to strengthen and improve.

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<v Speaker 3>Okay, so eighteen to twenty six weeks is a pretty

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<v Speaker 3>substantial increase. But then if we zoom out and look

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<v Speaker 3>at Australia's place in the global landscape in terms of

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<v Speaker 3>paid parental leave, how are we going when we compare

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<v Speaker 3>ourselves to countries around the world.

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<v Speaker 4>Oh, look, not great. No, it depends who which countries

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<v Speaker 4>you're comparing.

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<v Speaker 3>I feel like this is always when Northern Europe comes up.

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<v Speaker 2>But look, if these reforms pass, it'd bring Australia's paid

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<v Speaker 2>parental leave scheme closer to other developed countries like New Zealand,

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<v Speaker 2>who had twenty six weeks of paid parental leave. But

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<v Speaker 2>we're still very much lagging behind the policies in some

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<v Speaker 2>of the world's biggest economies, those economies that make up

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<v Speaker 2>the OECD countries. So, according to the OECD Family Database,

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<v Speaker 2>average paid leave for mothers is, what.

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<v Speaker 4>Do you think as is going up to twenty six

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<v Speaker 4>maybe a couple.

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<v Speaker 3>Of years, maybe kind of the mid thirties. Fifty one

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<v Speaker 3>weeks okay, so a week off a full year.

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<v Speaker 2>If we look at countries like Canada where up to

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<v Speaker 2>forty weeks of paid leave can be shared between parents,

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<v Speaker 2>but there one parent can't receive more than three thirty

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<v Speaker 2>five weeks of benefits, so again that's trying to target

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<v Speaker 2>that the sharing.

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<v Speaker 4>Piece of it.

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<v Speaker 2>In the UK, primary cares are entitled to thirty nine

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<v Speaker 2>weeks paid parental leave and thirty seven weeks of paid

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<v Speaker 2>leave can be shared by both parents. Finland, Slovakia and

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<v Speaker 2>Portugal have the highest paid parental leave of OECD countries,

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<v Speaker 2>with around one hundred and sixty weeks of paid leave

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<v Speaker 2>available to mothers.

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<v Speaker 3>So that is over three years, but that's not.

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<v Speaker 2>One hundred and sixty weeks at full pais significantly less.

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<v Speaker 2>Then on the other side of the spectrum, the US,

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<v Speaker 2>naturally it's the only OECD country with no national paid

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<v Speaker 2>parental leave entitlements.

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<v Speaker 3>So clearly Australia's kind of I wouldn't say in the middle,

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<v Speaker 3>but edging their way up the charts in terms of

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<v Speaker 3>paid parental leave, Zara, How likely do you think it

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<v Speaker 3>is that this will actually pass well?

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<v Speaker 2>The Opposition has said it'll consider the draft laws before

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<v Speaker 2>it takes any position on the proposal. Now we know,

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<v Speaker 2>of course that the Government has a majority of seats

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<v Speaker 2>in the Lower House. That's not a problem for them,

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<v Speaker 2>but when the legislation gets to the Upper House they

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<v Speaker 2>don't and they'll need some additional support to pass this legislation.

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<v Speaker 2>The Greens have voice support for adding superannuation to paid

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<v Speaker 2>parental leave, so we'll have to wait and see if

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<v Speaker 2>that impacts negotiations because that's not in the bill that

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<v Speaker 2>the Government has put forward at this point.

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<v Speaker 3>Thanks so much for joining us on the Daily Ods

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