2024-09-19
The Greens welcome the passage of the bill to pay parents superannuation on paid parental leave (PPL).
Lines attributable to Greens leader in the Senate and spokesperson on Women, Larissa Waters
“Today has been a long time coming. The Greens are so glad to see Labor finally get on board with our long-standing policy to pay superannuation on paid parental leave, after telling women for years they had to wait ‘until the budget permitted’ while other Budget priorities got instant funding.
“Unions and stakeholders have long called for super on PPL and the Greens have lobbied Labor consistently on this subject for over a decade. As the last type of workplace leave that did not have superannuation paid on it, and one that was overwhelmingly taken by women, this was legislated discrimination that we are pleased has been fixed.
“How disappointing that the Bill passed today won’t start paying super on PPL until 1 July 2025. Why is Labor making parents wait until after the federal election when fossil fuel companies and nuclear submarines don’t have to wait?
“Paying super on PPL will go some way to closing the gender retirement pay gap, but there is more the Government can and must do to make PPL fairer.
“The Women’s Economic Equality Taskforce, comparable OECD nations and unions have called for PPL to be extended to 52 weeks by 2030. Instead, we see women being asked to wait until 2026 for an increase to just half that, 26 weeks.
“The rate of PPL being minimum wage is part of the reason why fathers don’t take the PPL available to them which then sets in train women bearing a disproportionate load of unpaid care, that has economic impacts for women’s financial security. The Greens support full wage replacement, including incentivising employers to top up the government scheme.
“We are pleased that this small but important step of paying super on the PPL has occurred but this cannot be a set and forget - PPL still needs reform to address the gender retirement income gap.”