Crossbenchers say the treasurer should "absolutely" use some of the cash recouped from proposed super changes to pay superannuation on Commonwealth Paid Parental Leave (PPL), arguing it could rectify the current "glaring gap" in support for new parents.
The federal government is set to recoup around $2 billion every year once its recently-announced changes to super tax concessions are fully operational.
Treasurer Jim Chalmers has repeatedly insisted that the money will be used to help fix the budget deficit.
"When we can afford to pay super guarantee on PPL we would like to, but this change we announced yesterday is about budget repair," he said.
But a growing number of super groups and crossbenchers have urged him to reconsider his position and put some of that cash toward adding super to the Commonwealth's PPL scheme.
Under the current scheme, the Commonwealth offers 18 weeks of PPL for the primary carer at the minimum wage, but it does not provide superannuation on top.
Although some changes are being made to the scheme later this year, and despite repeated calls for superannuation to be added, it will still not be offered.
According to a review commissioned by the former government, if super was paid on PPL payments, it would cost about $200 million a year given about 178,000 people access it every year.
While some private and public workplace provide super payments on their own paid parental leave schemes, many still do not.
Given women still make up the majority of primary carers who access the parental leave, that has a knock-on effect at retirement age, leaving women with less superannuation and in some instances less financial security than men.
Paying super 'entirely reasonable'
A number of teal independents have questioned the treasurer's priorities and called on him to find the cash to ensure super is paid on PPL.
Member for North Sydney Kylea Tink said Mr Chalmers should "absolutely" reconsider his position about how to use the funds recouped from the super tax concessions.
"The lack of superannuation payments for paid parental leave is a glaring gap in our support for new parents," she said.
"Rectifying this inequity would have been a better move by the government during this debate.
"All governments choose to afford what they want to afford.
"The small cost of adding superannuation payments to paid parental leave would send a strong signal to women and Australian families that they deserve equal footing to everyone else."
Member for Kooyong Monique Ryan also said the government should urgently address the matter.
"The fact that super is currently not paid on PPL is anomalous given it's paid on long-service leave, annual leave and sick leave," she said.
"It seems entirely reasonable that the treasurer find an income stream for super to be paid on PPL and this [changes to tax concessions] is an obvious source of that."
Independent member for Goldstein Zoe Daniel has also said the new-found cash from the super changes could help fund much-needed programs.
"I'm particularly interested in how the government plans to spend that revenue, including the potential to add superannuation entitlements to Paid Parental Leave, given that women already have far lower super balances than men and are at greater risk of poverty and homelessness in retirement," she said.
Independent MP Allegra Spender said the government's super changes were a "missed opportunity" and she would like to see a bigger debate about super and taxes.
"I think that this was an opportunity to have a conversation about super in a broader sense and I'm afraid we've ended up with something super narrow," Ms Spender said.
"I think in my community there's a concern that we're just going to come back to it in a few years’ time."
Crossbench support crucial for tax changes
The government will need the support of the Greens and two crossbenchers to get its super changes through parliament because Opposition Leader Peter Dutton has said the Liberal Party will vote against the legislation.
ACT independent senator David Pocock said the government needed to pay super on PPL because the current super gap between men and woman was "unacceptable".
"Budget repair is important but so is investing in the critical services our communities need," he said.
"A relatively modest investment in that now [super on PPL] would deliver a huge dividend in future in terms of taking pressure off the aged pension and giving people — and women in particular — a better retirement.
"Paying superannuation on Commonwealth paid parental leave from when the super savings kick in would be a first step to addressing this."
But Jacqui Lambie Network senator Tammy Tyrrell said the government should focus on larger costs like aged care and the NDIS for the time being.
"I get why it's important to pay super on paid parental leave, and think it'd be a good thing to look at when we can afford it," she said.
"But right now, we're writing cheques we can't cash. We need revenue to pay the bills we've got sitting in our laps. It's not the time to be ordering extras."
'Steep penalty' for many mothers
Women in Super's chief executive officer Jo Kowalczyk said compound interest was the "magic ingredient" of superannuation and taking time off work to care for children had long-term financial implications.
"The impact of this can be for each child around $7,000 [less] in a super balance at retirement," she said.
"And while these numbers might seem small at this stage of people's lives, with that compound interest, it can make significant differences when it comes to retirement."
She has encouraged the government to reconsider its position on not using money recouped from the super tax concessions to pay for super on PPL.
"Paying super pay parental leave doesn't have to come as a hit to the budget, " she said.
Chief executive officer of The Parenthood, Georgie Dent, said it was a small price to pay to help address the gender pay gap.
"Super not being paid absolutely contributes to the gender pay gap, because we know that it's women who are foregoing their income for a longer period of time when they have a baby," she said.
"[They] pay a steep penalty for that at the end of their working life.
"Anything that we can do to invest in ensuring parents have the opportunity to establish financial security over the course of their working lives is absolutely worth doing."
