ACT has hit out at Labour's new paid parental leave policy believing it's poor use of money and doesn't give the flexibility needed for a modern family.
Labour announced on Tuesday if it's re-elected at the October 14 election, it would create four weeks of 'paid partner's leave'. The partner of a primary carer could take four weeks of paid leave concurrently or consecutively with them in addition to the current two weeks of unpaid leave offered.
The scheme would be phased in from July 2024. Initially, the partner would receive two weeks of paid leave, and this would then increase to three weeks in July 2025 and four weeks by July 2026. That means the cost steadily increases, from $35m in 2024/25 to $75m in 2027/27 - an overall cost over the forecast period of $230m.
"We believe Paid Parental Leave should be expanded on – not a pie to be sliced up in different ways," the party's policy document reads.
But ACT's deputy leader Brooke van Velden told AM Early on Wednesday she doesn't support the policy as it's not suitable for a modern family.
Van Velden told AM Early host Nicky Styris making the current policy more flexible would work better.
"I think it costs more money, but it actually takes away flexibility. What I'd prefer to see is that original 26-week policy that's currently there being able to be used by both caregivers at the same time because if you think about it, everybody's got different family situations," she said.
"It takes two people to make a baby, maybe it takes two people to look after the baby at the same time. We've got to allow for that, so I'd like to see those 26 weeks to be able to be used at the same time for both caregivers."
The current law in place for paid parental leave is for six months and can be transferred from one partner to another, which means parents share the parental leave, but not at the same time.
Labour's policy comes two weeks after it rejected a bill by National's deputy leader Nicola Willis that would've given parents more flexibility about how to use their paid parental leave.
Willis' Bill would've allowed the primary carer to split their leave allowance, meaning the partner could stay at home at the same time as them.
She called it a "shameful day" when Labour voted it down earlier this month, arguing the governing party was choosing "politics over parents", especially as it came "at no extra cost to the taxpayer".
When asked if she thought the Government was electioneering with its policy, van Velden agreed and claims it isn't the first time they've done that.
"We want people to have a good relationship with their child and be able to care for their child at those first few weeks of life," she said.
"But if you even think about the GST exemption policy from Labour, once again, a policy that sounds good at first glance, it costs a lot of money, terrible overall. So, yes, more choice, more flexibility in this and the system so that we can care for parents caring for their kids."
Van Velden was also asked if she supports National's bill over Labour's and she told AM she's in favour of more flexibility.
"If you look at modern-day relationships, we've got to allow for more flexibility in the system. I think that's a good thing. What I see from Labour is a policy that will end up costing more money but not giving any more flexibility for a modern family," she said.
Watch the full interview with Brooke van Velden in the video above.
