Coalition's Paid Parental Leave Scheme is unaffordable & unnecessary

The Coalition's proposed Paid Parental Leave Scheme is unfair to those mothers not in the well-paid work force. Labor's parental leave scheme at 18 weeks on the minimum wage PLUS whatever the employer provides is adequate attendance to this problem, in view of the present parlous state of the economy.

The idea that the Coalition's scheme is fully funded is semantic bunkum. The proposal is to charge a levy (= tax increase) of 1.5% on profits of companies that have more than $5 million taxable income! They say this will be offset by the Coalition's proposed 1.5 % company tax cut. What a load of semantic BS! First priority of Government must be to hold or cut expenditures AND devise NO MORE NEW taxes, and get rid of the existing CARBON and MINING taxes. Working within these restrictions the Federal Government may have a chance of turning the economy around from the disaster its heading for. Saying that productivity will be increased is just pie-in-the sky dreaming typical of trade unions.

The large companies subject to the proposed levy are quite capable (and do) devise their own parental leave scheme tailored to their circumstances. There is no need for the Government to interfere in this matter, extending the nanny state into unknown and expensive territory.