There are growing calls for the federal government to act on a policy idea that had resounding support at the jobs and skills summit — to help close the gender pay gap.
Finance Minister Katy Gallagher declared women had "nailed it" at the two-day event.
However, some are questioning why the government did not list an increase to paid parental leave in the 36 immediate initiatives announced on Friday, despite the issue being raised several times during the summit.
Unions and business groups both called for an increase to Commonwealth-funded paid parental leave from 18 to 26 weeks to help close the gender pay gap.
The Australian Council of Trade Unions suggested the categories of "primary" and "secondary" carer should be condensed to "parent" to encourage couples to share the load.
President Michele O'Neil said Australia was behind when it came to family support.
"Australia has the second-worst government-funded paid parental leave scheme in the developed world," she said.
"In 2022, women shouldn't have to give up on having a family and men shouldn't miss out on being involved in raising their kids because paid parental leave is insufficient."
Advocacy groups like The ParentHood also backed the calls for an increase and executive director Georgie Dent warned the cost of inaction would be higher.
"By allowing parents to have the opportunity to share the responsibilities of caregiving without having to worry about their finances, increasing the paid parental leave to adequate levels can allow for hundreds of thousands of women to re-enter the workforce (per the ACTU's report), and contribute to the nation's economic growth," she said.
Government urged to act
A growing number of crossbenchers have thrown their support behind an increase to paid parental leave.
Independent MP Kylea Tink argues the government should act, at the latest by 2024.
"The fact we didn't see 26 weeks shared paid parental leave come out as one of the key reforms [from the summit] is disappointing," she said.
"That is something we know we can do to shift the gender dial in Australia and for that reason I think it is something as a parliament we should be trying to prioritise.
"We know from international experience that the fastest way to address any gender pay gap is to introduce shared paid parental leave."
Fellow crossbenchers Zali Stegall and Allegra Spender also want an increase to paid parental leave, along with incentives offered to parents who share the leave.
Government frontbencher Patrick Gorman defended the government's decision not to include the policy as a priority in the 13-page jobs and skills summit outcomes document.
"With a trillion dollars of debt left by the previous government, not every good idea can be actioned immediately," he said.
"It's not something we can prioritise at this point in time."
Earlier in the week, Treasurer Jim Chalmers said any changes depend on the budget circumstances.
"There are some instances where you've got to weigh things up against other priorities," he said.
"And as it stands right now, it will be hard to make it work in October but if and when the circumstances permit, and the budget makes it possible there are some of these ideas that I would love to pick up and run with."
Independent Senator David Pocock said that argument didn't stack up.
"The government can't have it both ways," he said.
"You can't be saying we want to support women, we want to embrace sensible proposals that have consensus from jobs and skills summit but at the same time we can't afford it.
"The community wants this to happen, the unions want this to happen, business wants this to happen, the balls are in the government's court."
Paying for change
In the lead up to the October budget, government ministers have repeatedly said spending must be measured due to budget circumstances.
However, crossbench MPs and senators have argued paid parental leave is a necessity that has wider economic benefits.
The Grattan Institute has estimated it would cost about $600 million a year to expand the scheme to 26 weeks.
The government did make some new, smaller spending commitments following the summit, including allowing pensioners to earn more without affecting their payments.
Senator Pocock said the government could find the money for paid parental leave by not pushing ahead with planned tax cuts for 2024.
"You can't keep saying we can't afford it when you refuse to reconsider $243 billion dollars of tax cuts that are coming for the wealthiest … mostly wealthy men," he said.
But Kylea Tink said the planned tax cuts should stay and the government should look at how to generate more cash.
"To deliver that tax benefit we need to address the revenue generation," she said.
"Those opportunities to address revenue generation lay in looking at the taxing of multinationals, the super profit tax and looking at the way wealth is taxed."
The former government made slight changes to the paid parental leave scheme, by combining primary and partner pay together, and it is still scheduled to be introduced in March next year.
Deputy Opposition Leader Sussan Ley would not weigh into the debate about whether a further increase in support was needed.
"These proposals should all be worked through with sensible policy discussions," she said.
