Moroney Sue: Parental Leave and Employment Protection (Six Months’ Paid Leave) Amendment Bill — First Reading 
Text is incorporated into the Bound Volume 
Moroney Sue: Parental Leave and Employment Protection (Six Months’ Paid Leave) Amendment Bill — First Reading 
[Sitting date: 25 July 2012. Volume:682;Page:3957. Text is incorporated into the Bound Volume.] 
SUE MORONEY (Labour) 
: 
 As I was saying before I was rudely interrupted by the bell before during my maiden speech in Parliament I said that I wanted to improve work-life balance for New Zealand families. This bill the Parental Leave and Employment (Six Months’ Paid Leave) Amendment Bill will do that. It will do it in a way that helps New Zealand children get the best start possible it will do it in a way that supports working families at that critically important time in their lives and it will do it in a way that truly does value parenting. I want to thank those parties that have expressed their support for this bill in the House tonight. I think there has been some very rational and well-researched debate coming through from the parties supporting the bill. I was though alarmed and I will say actually surprised at the sheer venom coming from the benches opposite as this side of the House strives to do something positive to support working families. 
Hon Dr Nick Smith 
: To get us more in debt—more debt. 
SUE MORONEY 
: The sheer anger—led by Dr Nick Smith I would have to say but challenged very very quickly by Maggie Barry—coming from that side of the House was something I was not quite prepared for. I have got to say that to me it demonstrated an anger and a resentment towards working families that I thought was quite ugly. I thought it was quite ugly because that Government was on the wrong side when it came to the class sizes issue. It did not understand families’ needs then and it does not understand families’ needs now with paid parental leave. There is a bit of a theme coming through. 
But look I think there was actually a lawyer in Kaitaia who said it best. A Kaitaia lawyer by the name of Bryce Quarrie was quoted in his local newspaper saying he was not entirely surprised by finance Minister Bill English’s threat to use his power of veto over this bill. He said: “When you’re a farmer in Dipton you probably think women should be at home making tomato sandwiches for the shearing gang anyway.” and I think he has hit the nail on the head because as much as those members might try to say that they support paid parental leave the truth is and the fact is that the National Party has always voted against paid parental leave even when Labour when in Government was running such strong surpluses. When we were in Government the National Party voted against it on every single occasion. This is not to do with affordability; this is to do with ideology. It is to do with the tomato sandwiches and the shearing gang and that is where the National Party still sits on this issue. Yet it says that it wants to provide—in fact it promised the voters at the last election—a brighter future. Well I put that party on notice. Selling our State assets is not a brighter future. Increasing class sizes is not a brighter future. Investing in children in those early years by extending paid parental leave to 6 months is a brighter future. That is what New Zealanders are going to start to see through very very soon. In fact I think they have starting seeing through it already. 
 I think on the odd occasion the National Party did let its mask slip. Maggie Barry called this ridiculous policy at the same time as I am sure her speaking notes her research unit notes were telling her “Please don’t say you don’t like paid parental leave. Just pretend you do and say it is all about the cost.” We have already exploded that myth because as I said at the very outset that Government spends money on people earning over $150000— 
Hon Dr Nick Smith 
: You still haven’t told us how you’re paying for it. Where’s the money coming from? 
SUE MORONEY 
: I am telling you now Mr Smith. I am telling you exactly how. The tax cuts for those people earning over $150000 that they did not need is money that should be spent on supporting working families. That is exactly the money. Mr Smith has challenged me to say where the money would come from and I have said where the money would come from. But here is an even better idea. The paid parental leave allowance is $475 gross a week. We pay in childcare subsidies up to $588 a week for those same babies to be looked after by strangers. I say let us put that money into having their parents being able to choose to stay at home with them and let them have a choice. 
This debate is about families and I want to take the opportunity now to thank my family for being here. Three generations of my family are here today to support me on this bill. My parents Mary and Daddy Moroney are here who brought me up and I think did a pretty damn good job. Thank you very much for being here. I have my husband Shane who has come to support me for the first reading of this bill and I guess who you might call the people who gave me the personal initiative for this bill: my sons our boys Quinn and Logan. It is great to have you here. You are all my pride and joy and that is what it is all about. It is about a mother’s love for her children. I recommend this bill to the House. Thank you.