16th Jun 2010, 12:44 PM – Senate Paid Parental Leave Bill 2010, Paid Parental Leave (Consequential Amendments) Bill 2010 - In Committee - Superannuation

The Aye voters failed to pass a motion to agree to making a request that the House of Representatives amend the Paid Parental Leave Bill 2010 to introduce an entitlement to superannuation.

This means that the majority of senators have rejected the amendments.

The amendment was introduced by Greens Party Senator Sarah Hanson-Young, who argued that the amendments were necessary to address “the gap in retirement savings between men and women”.

Senator Chris Evans, speaking for the Labor Government, did not support the amendments. He relied on the Productivity Commission’s recommendation that superannuation contributions under the scheme should be delayed until after a review of the scheme.

Liberal Party Senator Mitchell Fifield said that the Coalition Opposition appreciated and was sympathetic towards the amendments’ objective but would not be supporting them because “there is no realistic prospect of the government accepting such amendments in the House”. Senator Fifield argued that although the Labor Government’s scheme was “not perfect, it is a step in the right direction and we do not want to thwart that”.

The Coalition’s election victory in 2013 may see changes to paid parental leave. For example, the Coalition’s proposed scheme includes superannuation contributions. A copy of their proposed paid parental leave scheme can be found here [1.7MB].