The expanded scheme will be included in the October 25 federal budget but will not start for several years,keeping the cost down and allowing time for a debate over the “use it or lose it” rules that force one partner – usually the man – to take leave and do more of the work to look after newborn children.
“By 2026,every family with a new baby will be able to access a total of six months’ paid leave,shared between the two parents,” Albanese will say in a speech on Saturday.
“And single parents will be able to access all 26 weeks. We will give families more leave and more flexibility,so people are able to use their weeks in a way that works best for them.”
Loading
The existing scheme,introduced by Labor in 2011,is paid at the national minimum wage of about $812 a week for 18 weeks for the primary carer and another two weeks for dads or partners,butonly half the fathers eligible are taking the leave.
Social Services Minister Amanda Rishworth called the proposal a “huge boost to the economy” and the government is portraying it as an economic reform on the grounds it would increase the participation of women in the workforce,adding to growth.
This mastheadrevealed the plan at 10.55 am on Friday before it was put to a federal cabinet meeting ahead of the prime minister’s announcement in a speech to the NSW Labor Conference in Sydney on Saturday.