Moroney Sue: Parental Leave and Employment Protection (Six Months’ Paid Leave) Amendment Bill — In CommitteeText is incorporated into the Bound VolumeMoroney Sue: Parental Leave and Employment Protection (Six Months’ Paid Leave) Amendment Bill — In Committee[Sitting date: 05 November 2014. Volume:701;Page:687. Text is incorporated into the Bound Volume.]SUE MORONEY (Labour):I think it is important that I do respond to the questions that were asked by the member Stuart Nash who has just resumed his seat. I know that the member was not actually in the Chamber when we debated some of the earlier clauses during the Committee stage because the previous clauses in this Committee stage were debated before the election. So when we debated clause 2 there was an amendment moved to clause 2 that brought the commencement date in as being 1 July 2015. This relates to clause 5 in the way that the part that comes into being on 1 July 2015 is the 22 weeks’ duration that is described in clause 5.So I can see what the member has done. He has looked at the bill as it was presented to the Government Administration Committee and because it was at the select committee for rather a long time—this bill had a very long gestation we might say—we went past the date that had originally been put in by me as the member. I think it was the right consideration from the select committee that paid parental leave is a great thing but getting it paid retrospectively probably is not a goer.Stuart Nash: Why was it staggered as well?SUE MORONEY: It was staggered because there was a recognition that in order to make this affordable for the country at the time when the bill was written—we were at the height of the global financial crisis—this was a way to make sure that it would not be harmful to the Government’s books.It was a way to make it affordable and it was done in conjunction—in consultation actually—with a group that was set up around advocating for this very issue called 26 for Babies. In amongst that group a group of wonderful community organisations are networking around this particular issue including Plunket Barnardos Every Child Counts the New Zealand Breastfeeding Authority organisations that represent women in their workplaces unions—a collection of organisations that agreed with the approach that is taken in clause 5.This approach is to make sure that this is done in a way that is fiscally responsible quite frankly—fiscally responsible—because that is what we have all wanted in this House. We have wanted this to be done in a fiscally responsible way because we know that if we can get that investment put in place and have the public support it in that way it will be successful. So those are the reasons—Chris Hipkins: What are the dates now?SUE MORONEY: The dates now are that the leave would be extended to 22 weeks’ paid parental leave on 1 July 2015 and then on 1 July 2017 the final 4 weeks’ additional leave would be brought into place so that it becomes a total of 26 weeks.The importance of getting to 26 weeks was well rehearsed when we debated the last clause but one of the matters that was not debated at that point and which is relevant to clause 5 is around where we sit when we compare ourselves with other comparable countries—the OECD countries. Actually where we sit at the moment is second to last in the OECD countries.I frequently have women write to me who immigrate to this country thinking they are coming to a place where we are progressive around women’s rights around children’s rights and around families’ rights. They leave their homeland places like Canada or the UK thinking they are coming to a country that is going to better support them in raising their children. But they find they are leaving countries like Canada which has 12 months’ paid parental leave and coming to New Zealand which has just 14 weeks. Quite frankly they tell me that they find that backwards and barbaric from a country they thought was a progressive country they were immigrating to.So clause 5 is the opportunity for our country to regain the position that we should rightly have. Our reputation has been that we are a progressive child-friendly place. We used to say that New Zealand is the best county in the world to raise children and it can be and it should be but the Government needs to wake up and start supporting these measures. It is not acceptable for the Government to say that 16 weeks is OK. No one else agrees with that.