Pauline Hanson says parental leave will force small businesses to ‘fold’ – despite no law forcing employers to pay

One Nation leader, Pauline Hanson, says her comments last week on paid parental leave were ‘totally taken completely out of context.’ Photograph: Lukas Coch/AAP

Pauline Hanson says small businesses will “fold” under the cost of providing paid parental leave, as Labor suggested the One Nation leader didn’t understand how the policy worked.

It is not compulsory for employers to pay parental leave entitlements in Australia, though most businesses do provide it and employees are entitled to 12 months of unpaid leave.