Dowie SarahSARAH DOWIE (National—Invercargill): Thank you Madam Chair Tolley for this opportunity to speak in the committee stage on the Parental Leave and Employment Protection Amendment Bill on the title and commencement clauses. Look I'm going to start in a positive vein. As I've mentioned before I've long been a supporter of paid parental leave. It was a policy of the National Government to periodically and methodically extend it in a fiscally prudent way. We campaigned on it and with the roll of the dice—or should I say the close of the door on the negotiations—the new Government has the opportunity to extend paid parental leave. And it's a good thing—it is a good thing. It is wonderful that the Government will extend it in two tranches notwithstanding that we would like to see the costings. It's going to be extended in two tranches firstly to 22 weeks and then to 26.We've long debated the benefits of paid parental leave. It is well documented and well researched that it gives the ability of parents to bond with baby. In the case of mothers biological mothers it gives them a chance to become proficient with breastfeeding. As I've said in this House before don't underestimate those who bottle-feed who can't breastfeed notwithstanding the World Health Organization's recommendations. It's still a vital time to bond with baby. But in saying that with respect to Amy Adams' Supplementary Order Paper (SOP) which has not been accepted it is also a vital time for the other parent and other family members to bond with baby.Before I move on to discussing that in more detail I do want to congratulate the Government for accepting my SOP in respect of extending the keeping-in-touch hours. It is an acknowledgment that keeping-in-touch hours and days are very important to nuance paid parental leave; to make it fit for purpose for modern-day New Zealand; to keep people connected with the workplace; to make sure that they have opportunities to train to hand over caseloads workloads; and just generally keep in touch with their colleagues so that they don't miss out on that confidence I guess. When you leave work and you're away from work it gives you that ability to go back to work stay in touch with your peers and remain confident about your career while you take a break to have a baby.But it is disappointing given that the Government has acknowledged that this bill requires work that they haven't seen sense to accept the Hon Amy Adams' SOP which suggests that we need more flexibility in paid parental leave—the ability to take parental leave concurrently. We need to acknowledge that there's more than one type of family in New Zealand and that there are situations that give rise that require two parents to be at home to give baby the best start in life. I think that if this bill had been given more time—and we've already heard throughout the debate that the commencement is not for some seven-odd months so there was time to take this to a select committee and debate the merits of this. We need to acknowledge that there are different situations that that families find themselves in and there are valid reasons to have two parents at home. As we've discussed at length there are some things that go wrong when you're having a baby. They are not pleasant and they need to be effectively dealt with.So this is an opportunity absolutely. We need to keep our eye on the ball though. Paid parental leave is a fantastic opportunity for New Zealand families to give baby the best start in life but this is not the end of it. It needs to continue to evolve and certainly the issues that the Hon Amy Adams has raised are very important. They need to be discussed. They need to continue to be debated and moved forward as paid parental leave evolves generation by generation.Again I thank the Government for taking up my SOP—again another fantastic tool in the toolbox to make paid parental leave relevant.