Is 18 weeks of paid maternity leave enough?
Do you like this story?
Well, it’s kind of progress. At least it’s being discussed. According to the ABC:
The Government should pay for 18 weeks of parental
leave for new mothers and two weeks for fathers at the minimum wage
rate, the Productivity Commission has recommended.The Commission’s interim report, Paid Parental Leave: Support for
Parents with Newborn Children, says the scheme should pay mothers at a
rate of $544 a week, at a cost to the Government of about $450 million
a year.However, mothers who are eligible for the scheme would not be
allowed to receive the $5,000 baby bonus and Family Tax Benefit B and
the weekly payment would also be taxed.
Even if you are a casual working or being paid less than the minimum wage, you’d still receive the $544 per week. But if you earn more than that, you only get $544. Which is better than the nothing you currently get but doesn’t help if your mortage or rent or living expenses are geared for a higher income.
Predictably and infuriatingly, employer groups are saying 18 weeks is too much. They would like 0 weeks.
Those in the scheme would receive a total of nearly $12,000 while those on the allowance would receive nearly $7,000.
The employer would pay the entitlement and would be reimbursed by
the Government but would also be required to pay the employee
superannuation which the Commission estimates will cost business around
$75 million a year.Australia is one of only two OECD countries that still does not have publicly funded maternity leave.
Speaking before the report’s release, Prime Minister Kevin Rudd said
it was time the Government offered a scheme, but gave no commitment
there would be one in next year’s Budget.“The Australian economy of the future will have stay-at-home mums
who will be supported with the baby bonus but also mums in the paid
workforce who we will also be supporting with paid maternity leave,” he
said.“It’s time Australia bit the bullet on this.
“It’s going to be a challenge to make sure we get the exact policy
settings right because we are in the midst of serious global economic
challenges.”
Is it just me or does it sound suspiciously like Rudd is making excuses already for why this isn’t going to happen? The current global economic crisis should not impact on a government funded maternity scheme……what a cop-out.
If you want to read the actual report, you can find it here
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Recently i was approached in the street by a petition weilding advocate for paid perterity/materity leave,asking for a signiture,at the time i was unwilling to sign.After giving the subject some consideration,the idea is fine,although i think it should be means tested in some form,this will also enlarge the resourse base,for those concerned.
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I am 33yrs. old and a small business owner. It is a family business, my brother is my partner. I have been working for the family business for 12 years. I do feel that if the store can afford to pay me some maternity leave, that they should. I feel I deserve it after 12 years of working most weekends and holidays etc. It’s retail.
My problem is that my brother has the “no fair” attitude. We all know small businesses are not required to “pay” maternity leave. It will be more work for my brother with me not there, but I feel that he should support me. I deserve credit in building the business to where it is today.
I think that he would like to buy me out and run the business on his own (he’s a little bit of a control freak) but I do not want to make that decision until after I have my baby.
I like the idea of working part time. I think the store benefits having me there. The problem is that weekends and holidays are our busy time and my husband has a “normal” job. We both agree that once the baby comes we would like to have that time together as a family.
Not all business owners in my industry work weekends. People all the time say to my that I should just hire someone to work weekends. That is easier said than done. Not to mention if my brother is working weekends he definitely won’t find that fair. That is why in the long run it may be in my best interest to sell to my brother to save our family relationship.
I am just wondering what others think of this situation. It’s always more difficult when it’s family. I would not expect to get pd. maternity leave if the business were really struggling. The economy is not doing very well but so far our business is surviving. Is 4-6 weeks pd. asking for too much?
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Sorry Nikoleta, your posting doesn’t make sense to me in relation to what I said.
Mia – I had to post this link, it’s just appalling and it continues to show the slow (or rapid) decline of compassion and understanding in society, this type of ‘thing’ is sadly becoming more commonplace.
http://www.smh.com.au/news/world/onlookers-goad-teenager-to-his-death/2008/10/02/1222651211750.html
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Dreamqueen, but yout superannuation will be useless if there isn’t a working young generation to make the foods you will be buying with that money. If there aren’ty nurses and doctors for when you get sick – who are you going to pay? If there aren’t bus drivers to drive youplaces, how are you going to get there? If there isn’t anyone producing oil, how will you fill your car – you won’t even have a car if there isn’t a next gebneration to make one for you to buy with your super.
We NEED society to produce the next generation, or your superannuation money is worthless.
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We are paying pensions to retirees now because superannuation didn’t exist when they were working, therefore I think that we should be funding their retirement and that they shouldn’t have live hand to mouth the way that they do now. Pensions will fade out down the track because that is the point of having superannuation, there will always be people in society that will need help and it’s our job as being part of the bigger picture of society to help those that are less fortunate. It’s hard when some of those are not grateful and ‘expect’ handouts but we don’t live in a perfect world and we never will.
But being a small business owner as well, I couldn’t afford to pay for someone to be on maternity leave and even though I wouldn’t want to not be discriminatory that is what will happen if small business has to participate in the way that they are suggesting.
But as I said above, I do support it because it is about the bigger picture and not about me and I think our society needs to remember that, we are so ‘me’ focused and we really have depleted our social capital banks.
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Can anyone think of another tax-payer funded part of Australian society that generates such a critical, “us vs them” mentality? When are we going to start appreciating the value of giving our children the best start to life that we can.
Whilst the proposed system has its flaws, this is certainly a progressive step necessary to improve the health and development of our children.
I agree with Mia that a system that is based upon your previous income rather than minimum wage is far more likely to allow families a real choice in terms of when they return to work. This not only means that households can better manage their expenses (particularly when the mother is the main income earner) but provides encouragement for women to remain in the workforce and pursue their careers in parallel with raising a family. After all, the proportion of tax a high income earning mother has contributed over the years compared with one on minimum wage should help to alleviate the concerns of how much one is to be paid on maternity leave.
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JLo, you are SPOT ON!!! I agree wit everything you said 1173632 per cent
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To all the people who are whinging about paid maternity leave! My children will be paying your old age pension one day. Everything comes full circle, i pay my taxes too. Ive never been to hospital, i pay for public transport, tolls etc. Its about time i got given a break.
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We need to look at all of the countries that have implemented paid maternity leave. It has been very successful. I dont understand the furor that this is creating. Nobody seems to have a problem paying the Aged Pensioners, in fact at the moment people want to increase the pension. Many argue that retirement should be self funded. So why is it ok to subsidise one group but not another. This country is underpopulated and needs growth, how can we do this if the cost of living is too high for woman to take time off work to have children. Woman of child bearing age do not get many tax benefits, i dont think this is too much to ask.
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Wow, I have so many thoughts…
Firstly thank you to Cath for painting a more realistic picture of working families today, and reminding us that they too, pay taxes and they too pay taxes for things they don’t directly benefit from.
And GOOD ON YOU Dreamqueen, I was so happy to read your honest comments. I have a couple of girlfriends who sound like they are similiar circumstances to you (so was I 5 years ago) but even after chatting with them about these types of discussions, they do not have the ability to ‘see the bigger picture’ like you have.
I work for a small not for profit organisation who get limited $, we currently get NO paid maternity or paternity leave. So i would be wrapped if the 18 weeks came in (the sooner the better in fact as we would like to have baby number 2 but can’t afford to just yet) even if it was at $544 before tax. We have done the sums and worked out how many weeks before I would have to go back to work based on dividing the baby bonus into fortnightly payments. Due to my family support and our tertiary qualifications, I would considering us as living a middle class existence. My question is ‘how the hell are people without family support or our working class families surviving at the moment?” I think lots of people thought that moving to Qld (where i live) was changing gears but now the rapid increase has pushed the prices up. I yet again want to remind people that for MANY people CHANGING GEARS is not an option – there is no gear to go to!!!! The price of houses has escalated, rental properties are on average costing a 1/3 of people’s incomes, food has gone up as to petrol etc etc. Also, caravan parks and other forms of cheap accommodation are being scrapped to reclaim land to build housing estates. Unless your partner is on big bucks – one wage doesn’t cover the costs of living these days.
I think its a national disgrace that we haven’t already got a scheme in place and am relieved it is finally on the agenda.
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I’m only going to dip my toes in this debate, it’s a really tough one and I nodded my head at most comments because I can see both sides of the fence …
I find it hard to understand why us non-parents (and I’m getting too old now to have children and that’s NOT by CHOICE, it’s the way my life has panned out but I’m accepting of that) should pay for women to have time off after having a baby but as a few people pointed out, the children are our future and as Mia rightly pointed out, we are paying for stupid things like the Olympics that are really of no benefit to us personally.
As a single female with no children, I lose out probably more than anyone because I really don’t get any extra benefits and have to continue to look after myself. So from my perspective, how is it fair that my taxes continue to benefit everyone else except me?
But as we tend to forget, we are supposed to be a society and a community, life is not just about us and how it benefits me as a singular person but how does it benefit us as a society and the children of the future deserve all the help they can get because life appears to be much harder now than when we were kids.
If paid maternity leave helps parents be better parents then I think it’s a good thing even though it doesn’t benefit me personally, it will benefit society, because clearly we are doing something wrong with the increase in child neglect, abuse, etc going on.
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What I don’t get is why you can’t get the baby bonus just because you want to take maternity leave. Does taking paid maternity leave mean that you don’t need an extra $5,000 to pay for things like a cot for baby?
Also, if, as Mia thinks, you can’t get the leave if you where already fulltime mothering, what happens if you have stepkids who you’re not fulltime mothering, but your partner is fulltime fathering, and getting Family Tax Benefit payments for, and you decide to have your own kid? Does your partner get payments for current kids cut off, since people taking maternity leave aren’t entitled to them, or are you not entitled to maternity leave, despite never actually having kids before?
Even though it’s an improvement, it sounds like a pretty crappy system to me. Maybe I’ll just move to Canada before I have any kids…
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I agree with Mia and Cath. Actually I’m really surprised that people aren’t cheering over this, yes it’s not a perfect plan, but it’s a start, a start of a cultural shift back to peoples’ health and well being being more important than money. Yay!
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Oh, sorry. My reply was to gigdiary’s earlier post. Now it doesn’t make as much sense. Of course, by the time I posted it – he’s already moved on somewhat!
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Yep. My point being, benefits from a paid maternity leave scheme should eventually have some benefits for most people – if it doesn’t directly benefit someone owning a business now, I bet they would have appreciated it before they started their business, when they were working for someone else (if that was their situation). If they have kids, it should eventually benefit them. If they have valuable employees, they should get them back in good shape, and be rewarded for their loyalty. If they never have kids, and have a business, you’re right – it may cause them some pain. It’s not a perfect solution as yet (as I mentioned earlier). But owning a business is a choice, too. And are we absolutely sure as yet that this scheme would not also be inclusive of working women who are self employed (business owners), and want to take some time off after having a baby? Isn’t this scheme aimed at all working women? I’m not being a smart – I’m just genuinely not sure they wouldn’t also receive some benefit.
Business is hard, but this initiative is not designed to ruin business – it’s intention is to improve the lot of families, who are mostly struggling with the cost of living. Business owners also have a voice, and a vote, and have the same right as everyone else to advocate for a system that doesn’t disadvantage them in any way.
Obviously there’s a lot of work to be done. I’m just happy that there’s some movement in the right direction, (for a change).
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Such great points of view from you all! I agree with so many of the differing opinions. Mia’s comment about funding for sports being given priority over more important and deserving issues is spot on.
As mentioned, the government pays benefits to the unemployed, to the elderly, to the disabled, to students where applicable, and to other deserving cases, as deemed by our agreement of what constitutes a civilised society. We agree to this when we vote a party into power. Maternity leave surely must rank up there as a very important case for society to contribute to.
As Cath says, the present proposition is flawed. The model that requires business to shell out for someone to stay at home is illogical on a number of fronts. If, as proposed, there will be a rebate to the business, why the heck is the government requiring this extra step in the transaction. Why this punative action against business, especially small business ? Will there be a threshold before a business is deemed large or capable enough to participate without financial burden ?
Surely it is less of a drain on government resources to pay the benefit directly to the recipient. Other questions include, do self employed mothers qualify ? Will the benefit be means-tested ? Should it be ?
In the long term, we will produce more a healthy, in all senses of the word, generation if many more children are able to spend their first weeks, months or years with a parent, than financially requiring parents to put their infants prematurely into daycare.
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As I just come home from my first week back at work (part-time) I enjoyed reading all the comments (after having my head in numbers all day!). My only comment is that it doesn’t seem that fair to me that some women get paid leave courtesy of their employers and some don’t. While I appreciate how expensive it may be for some (small) business owners, doesn’t that mean a fair solution is for the government to provide some support? I was lucky – I got 14 weeks paid leave…why should another woman who does a similar job, but with a differnt company get nil? It’s just about bringing some equality to the equation. And if you want to challenge me, feel free, but I am about to go to bed as I am TIRED!!
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Don’t business owners have kids?
Yes, business owners have kids, so that makes it even more difficult for them to pay other people to have kids. Business owners (female) can’t take maternity leave. They have a right like others to decide to have children, they don’t receive support from the government unless they wind up their business, and discontinue employing people. Which is anathema to most small business proprietors.
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Gosho, what fun we’re having debating this. Amy, let me clarify what I meant by the line “you only get $544. Which is better than the nothing you currently get but doesn’t help if your mortage or rent or living expenses are geared for a higher income.”
I was trying to make the point that maternity leave should be paid at the wage you are earning when you have your baby. If the point of it – as the govt claims – is to allow women to take time at home to spend with their babies before returning to work, then the only way economically this is possible for many families is if the income the woman was earning before she took maternity leave continues to be paid during that leave.
The fact that the payment will be based on ‘minimum wage’….well, what does that tell us about how society views the job of raising children? At the lowest level.
One problem with all of this is that women who were full-time mothers BEFORE they have another baby, are not eligible for this 18 weeks of leave (as I understand it). They still get the baby bonus though. I think. But at $5K, it’s still $7K LESS than women would receive who were working outside the home before having their babies. That’s not fair either.
Clearly, we’re still a long long way from Sweden and Canada and France and all the other countries who are so advanced in their approaches to paid parental leave.
As for the arguments raised by Judy and RealSydney….well, I can understand why some people might feel that it’s a personal choice to have a child and therefore it should be user-pays.
The only problem with this is that my tax payer dollars are used for LOADS of things I don’t use or even agree with – LIKE FUNDING OLYMPIC ATHLETES TO SWIM UP AND DOWN POOLS FOR 8 HOURS A DAY FOR FIVE YEARS.
The babies we are having today are going to pay taxes too. And those taxes are going to pay for hospitals and roads and retirement homes used by Gen X, Gen Y and the Boomers.
It’s time we started valuing the job of mothering as much as we value other jobs in our society. Like being a soap star (!).
Oh, and I still don’t think 18 weeks is enough. It should be 6 months. As for having it all?
Hahahhaaa….now that’s a funny joke. I think that concept is as extinct as dinosaurs. Or should be.
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The current proposition of 18 weeks for working mothers may be a little fraught, in that it may be difficult for employers to pay the upfront and super costs, as well as covering replacement staff. So it’s not perfect – there are a few glitches. But surely it’s a step in the right direction? 18 weeks means mothers can bond, breastfeed, and eventually get some sleep before making the difficult decisions about childcare and returning to work. Two weeks off for fathers means they can support their partner, spend time with other kids, help around the house. All this – without risking losing their jobs.
I don’t understand why so many people assume young families are trying to ‘have it all’ or ‘keep up with the Joneses’. Sure they might make up a small group of the population, but I work with the larger part of the population who are just trying to raise a family, pay off a house, and work to support all that. The reality is, it’s genuinely a struggle for many people. I work with mothers and fathers who are forced to return to the workforce unbelievably soon after premature births, losing babies, experiencing trauma and / or medical complications during birth – you name it. It’s flat out heartbreaking, and the outcomes for mother father, baby and family are often not good. They don’t have time to heal, recover, or bond, because our society doesn’t value them enough to protect their right to do so. Usually they badly want and need more leave, but if they risk taking more than the minimum, they could lose their jobs. Jobs which are hard to find, and jobs they need to support their family.
I think we also need to remember that working parents are taxpayers, too. They’re contributing by working, and they’re contributing by paying tax – so thay’re helping to fund an initiative that will benefit them now, and benefit their kids in the future. We should also remember that some mothers are sole parents (or sole breadwinners in the family, for various reasons). If you think $544 a week is a fortune, you seriously have no idea what it costs to raise a family. I’m not talking X Boxes – I’m talking food, petrol, electricity.
It’s an interesting debate, but I would like to think that we’re collectively moving towards a time where we value families, and children, enough to support policies that support them. So many people seem to have an issue with this policy because they’re not now, or never have been in a situation, where this will benefit them as individuals. But if it doesn’t help you out now, it probably will in the future. Or it will benefit your kids, and their kids. Don’t business owners have kids?
And in regards to Judy’s niece – she’s one smart cookie. Because she’s worked hard to get a good qualifiaction, which will come in handy when she does decide to return the workforce to help support all those children! Right now, she’s giving them her full attention. How can this be dissapointing?
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ok Amy, I deal with numbers all day. The $544 a week is actually going to be taxed, so you’d really get $482. And are you aware of what it costs to have a baby? If you can’t breastfeed then a tin of formula is $20 a time, and you will probably go through 1 a week. Nappies are about $20 a pack which might get you through the week. Then of course there’s baby wipes, shampoo, some cream for its butt because it gets some rash, dummies which you constantly lose, not to mention clothing or anything else that a constantly growing baby might need. I don’t know, you could probably spend $60 a week without even trying and you haven’t even started to feed the rest of the family yet, or paid bills, or the rent, or heaven forbid have a night out.
$482 a week is a help for sure and way better than nothing but you’d see it as a supplement rather than your only income in that time.
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First off, I’m all for maternity leave. If there is government support for students, pensioners, unemployed people, etc., then shouldn’t mothers, and their kids & families, received some help too?
But reading Mia’s post, I was nodding my head along until this line:
“you only get $544. Which is better than the nothing you currently get but doesn’t help if your mortage or rent or living expenses are geared for a higher income.”
Seriously! what does that imply? That people who leader a richer lifestyle should get more for their maternity pay?!! A bit of an oxymoron, isn’t it?
$544 a week is $2200 a month! That equals to $26400/year AFTER tax. Same salary for an average fulltime sales assistant. If that’s NOT enough then you’re in for a real wakeup call!
On this, I agree with TheRealSydney, “CHANGE GEARS!”
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Nikoleta you bring up some great points & I am aways willing to hear others thoughts and opinions – and to change my mind even, if I am so swayed.
I am bothered by you Bridget – declaring that mine and Judy’s opinions on motherhood and babies are HORRID.
Firstly – I think my 17 year old daughter would disagree with you quite strongly – she thinks my views on motherhood are very progressive.
Secondly – Bridget, just because someones views are not aligned with yours, doesn’t make them HORRID.
I find that so many people respond to other peoples posts in a very aggressive / demeaning / and what seems to be a somewhat hysterical manner – why can’t we share our views and opinions (disagree even) without ‘attacking’ others?
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Bridget, why do you and others like you believe that Australia NEEDS people to procreate? Nearly every state is suffering form water shortages and power shortages, most state governments can’t provide health, education and transport needs within their budgets, yet we should all have kids and ask for another handout in the process.
By no means am I against having kids, plan to have some myself one day. BUT I don’t believe that the government should subsidise this. When we plan to have children, sacrifices will be made and life will be harder for a while. This is what generations before us have done, and what we should be doing. People soon forget that the money that is handed out on top of baby bonuses, first home buyers grants etc is only achieved by taxing the population. You need to seriously look at the income tax rates in most of the countries that provide paid leave.
Basically if you can’t afford to have and raise kids, either downgrade and give up a few perks, or don’t have them. Don’t keep putting your hand out and asking for a tax payer subsidy so you can keep yourselves ‘in the manner you’ve become accustomed’.
Also as a small business owner with a young staff, I would really have to think hard about employing young women. I can’t afford to make these upfront payments and wait for the government to take their time in giving a rebate.
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Having a child is more than a choice. It is a necessary part of our society. Why do you think the government was panicking when birth rates plumetted? How exactly will you support an ageing population – and not just financially. All their supers are useless if there isn’t anyone to provide services, manufacture goods etc etc.
Having children is just as valuable a contribution to society as working, and that is why most OECD countries offer paid maternity leave. Much more paid leave than they are talking about here.
It is not just about having children. WHY do you insist on sacrifice? Parenting well itself is an emotional “sacrifice” in a way (I prefer challenge), why make it harder? Why, as a society, should we not create a set of conditions that are condusive to having a child? Otherwise what is the point of all this wealth we have (I mean Australia as a nation, not individuals)? That includes child-friendly workplaces, social scene and everything that goes along with being a human being these days – at least in a wealthy OECD society like ours. Society shouldn’t be strucured so you have to sacrifice to have a child, it should be built around having children! No, not everyone should be pressured into having children but lately it seems like that is what this social order is optimised for… and that is just wrong.
And before you start with how the third world countries will provide for the next gebneration, in that case we have a moral duty to help bring up the next generation. I hope everyone of the immigration” opinion is sponsoring at least 3 children because that is how many taxpayers it takes to provide for one retiree (not financially, as I said below, with goods and services).
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Judy and Sydney, what horrid outlooks you both have on motherhood and having babies. Maternity leave should never be seen as a ‘luxury’ but a necessity that this country is long-overdue in providing. Quite simply, society, the economy and certainly the government need us to be procreating and in turn, mothers and fathers need support from governing bodies. Having children shouldn’t just be something only the wealthy can afford to do, and the government AND employers need to step in and give everyone – stay-at home parents and working parents – a helping hand. Judy, I don’t think anyone planning on having a baby in today’s climate is naive enough to think that they can ‘have it all’ but is a bit of paid leave really so much to ask?
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Judy, you bring up a good point about this possibly being a disincentive to employ women because employers have to foot the bill before they are reimbursed. And I do agree that we have been deluded into thinking that we can have it all. We can’t have it all. It’d be great if we could, but this is real life, not utopia.
However, a lot of other countries have implemented government-funded paid parental leave successfully. I think it’s a matter of examining what’s worked in other societies, and then finding an appropriate solution for Australia. This is definitely something we need to take our time to get right.
Also, I think there’s more to it than just implementing paid parental leave. We also need a cultural shift, where the roles, abilities and choices of women (and men!) both in the workplace and at home are more valued and respected. There’s a whole attitude around this sort of thing that needs to be addressed.
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I agree with Realsydney (Judy went off on a tangent there) absolutely. In some situations women must work to live and I respect that, how could you not? But I do think there is a lot of keeping up with the Joneses going on and it brings a lot of stress onto families because they will not consider changing their lifestyle. We moved from Sydney (which we enjoyed and I had grown up in) to the Canberra area because I knew when I had a child in no way could I be a mother and afford to live as well. It was’nt a fun decision, my family and my husband’s family are all in Sydney, but its best for our child- our debt levels are managable and we have cultural excitments such as Summernats available to us if we choose. We are even condsidering buying a V8 Holden Superute with our savings. (Im hoping for a white and black Jim Beam paint job)
Anyway back to the point of the post, it may end up being to the detriment of women in that employers will think twice, and prosecuting is not an easy road…Responsibility for your child starts before conception so plan for your life afterward before you go for it. I think we should be very careful what we wish for.
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I hear you Amelia. If the niece can afford to stay at home and raise her children and she’s happy doing so then what’s wrong with that?? So what if she studied and never used the qualifications. It is just the right decision at the time. I don’t think you can have it all – something suffers along the way if you try.
As for paid maternity leave (or support of some description even minimum wage), well that’s great but it shouldn’t be a burden on business.
I don’t think there is an ideal solution to this, but at least the current government are opening the doors for discussion and are trying to do something.
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Judy – I dont mean this to sound rude, but with regards to your niece – what business is it of yours?!?! get your nose out and mind your own business, let her do what she wants and makes her happy. Im sorry but i was getting so frustrated reading your post. If that is what you and your husband think about your niece, i feel sorry for your daughter. No one is saying you “have” to have children, but i do believe it is morbidly depressing if you believe that people should not have children because of financial reasons (if that what they really want). Everyone has a choice, relax and let people do what makes them happy!
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Hello The Real Sydney…. you are NOT alone! Your comments echo my beliefs (and those of my husband) exactly! I know we’re keen members of a very baby/family-friendly club here on Mia’s site, but honestly, I couldn’t agree with you more. So if everybody else jumps down our necks, we can hold hands tightly, and weather the storm together.
People of today have become too greedy. Without giving away my age, it’s not that long ago when none of this money-giving-out was happening. It certainly wasn’t when I had my daughter, and I managed – just – and have come to value everything I now have. (Mind you the Harvey Norman style ads on tv do nothing to help, with their “have it all now, and don’t pay for three years” sort of policy)
Even with child care, I’m wondering how good it is for families. Women are told they have a right to have it all, but I don’t think you can do everything successfully for more than a very short time, before things start to go pear-shaped. Some women would be better off being loving aunties, or surrogate aunties, to other people’s children, because their personalities have a need to do fulfilling work, professional sport, or go off adventuring etc. That’s not being selfish, it’s being true to yourself (and maybe circumventing the need for psychiatric help further down the line)… what IS selfish is the rest of society coming down on them for not wanting to procreate. Not everybody is suited to parenthood. Look at all the dreadful things happening to children these days… often horribly neclected by their own parents. That sort of being does not deserve to have children.
I never criticise women or couples for not having children… it’s their right to choose. Some find it impossible to conceive naturally, and have neither the desire nor the money to go down the IVF road… good on them – it’s their choice.
My husband and I feel disappointed in our niece, who studied and trained to become an osteopath, in the footsteps of her wonderful grandfather. But then she got married, and has been busily producing four children. We cannot seriously every see her returning to the profession she devoted so much of her time to achieve. We think it’s a horrible waste, but no doubt other people would say she’s chosen a more fulfilling career in being a full-time mother.
A lot of mothers HAVE to work – either for the finances, or for their own memtal stability… they say they’d go nuts if they were stay-at-home mothers. That’s fine too, but getting back on to the original subject, I think maternity leave is a luxury few employers can afford, especially when it now emerges that they will have to pay it up front, then reclaim it from the government later. I wonder how many businesses or employers will now reconsider employing a woman of child-bearing age, (if they’re lucky enough to have a choice of prospective employees) because of the maternity leave thing. It’s also hard on the person who steps into the breach, takes on a job, learns all the ins and outs, then has to go when the mum comes back to her job, after her maternity leave.
It’s a no-win situation really. (Hold my hand, Real Sydney – here they come!!)
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Em, what the hell? Like the Coalition gave a rat’s proverbial about parental leave!
I don’t think 18 weeks is enough. But then what is? Should the government fund leave for 6 months? 12? 24?
Should people even be having babies if they can’t afford the sacrifices that come with them?
And why isn’t paternity leave getting the same consideration? Two weeks paternity leave is rubbish.
I don’t have the answers to these questions, but I wish I did.
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I’m going to be shouted down for this BUT I’m going to say it anyway (yes, I am a woman and yes, I have raised a child).
BUT I don’t think paid maternity leave is a right – if people want to have babies then I think they should manage their lives accordingly – not rely on employers or govt to pay them when they choose to have a baby and take time off work.
Having children is a choice and often a sacrifice, because YOU CAN’T HAVE IT ALL. So, if it means living in a smaller house / not having credit cards / not having the latest plasma then do that.
If your mortgage / rent / living expenses are geared to a higher income, but you want to take time off to spend with your baby, then CHANGE GEARS.
I don’t want to have another baby – but I would really like to take 18 weeks off work to pursue something else I would like to do – should my employer or the govt support me?
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Em, as if the Liberals ever gave us anything.. At least there are talks about it NOW.
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Ok, so I’m moving to Sweden to have my baby:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paternity_leave
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It’s what you get for voting labor mia.
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