On May 20, I appeared before the Productivity Commission Inquiry into paid maternity, paternity and parental leave, and presented the Commission with the details of my Private Senators' Bill for paid maternity leave.
Last year, the Australian Democrats introduced historic federal legislation to establish a paid maternity leave scheme that would provide all working women with 14 weeks Government-funded leave at the minimum wage on the birth or adoption of a child.
The Workplace Relations (Guaranteeing Paid Maternity Leave) Amendment Bill 2007 amends the Workplace Relations Act 1996 and builds upon the existing provisions for unpaid parental leave, to provide for a system of paid maternity leave that will assist all eligible Australian working women to take time off from their employment upon the birth or adoption of a child.
Without a minimum national standard for PML across the board, Australian women have been left with no other option than to bargain for paid leave entitlements at the workplace level – and are at the mercy of whether their workplaces provide paid maternity leave.
I have led the parliamentary campaign for paid maternity leave, introducing in 2002 Australia's first (and only) paid maternity leave legislation, which would give all working women access to 14 weeks Government-funded leave at the minimum wage on the birth of a child.
Yet, despite the efforts of the Democrats, Australia remains one of only two OECD countries that do not have paid maternity leave (the other is the US).
According to the Equal Opportunity for Women in the Workplace Agency, provisions for paid maternity leave should be seen as a financial edge for businesses not a burden, with those currently offering it experiencing a 19% higher return rate from maternity leave than those businesses which do not offer it1.
While there has been concern in some areas of business about the potential costs of paid maternity leave, this Bill does not propose an employer-funded scheme of paid maternity leave, recognising the burden it would place on small businesses.
A paid maternity leave scheme allows women to maintain their attachment to the labour force and also promotes retention of the skills and knowledge that they bring to the workforce.
In recognising the importance of women’s attachment to the labour force, and allowing for the continuation of superannuation payments throughout the period of leave, a paid maternity leave scheme relieves the pressure experienced by women to minimise time taken after the birth, or adoption of a child.
The Productivity Commission is due to report in February 2009, and it's to the Labor Party to prove its commitment to Australian families, and introduce government-funded paid maternity leave. For further information about the progress of the inquiry, please follow the link below to the inquiry homepage: www.pc.gov.au/inquiry/parentalsupport1. ‘Leading the way: EOWA Employers of Choice fro Women’ Equal Opportunity for Women in the Workplace Agency 23 May 2007 | 
