Baby Steps in the Right Direction: Does the New Maternity Payment Realise the Aims of Paid Maternity Leave?

By Luke Raffin

The Federal Government's universal Maternity Payment and the workplace based paid maternity leave system have competing aims.

Raffin argues that while both policies are likely to have a positive impact on the national fertility rate and acknowledge financially the invaluable contribution that mothers make to society, paid maternity leave would overcome serious failures of the Maternity Payment. Paid Maternity Leave would be more effective in minimizing discrimination, respecting the unique experience of childbirth, consolidating labour force attachment for mothers, strengthening the economy, and improving the plight of poorer women and their families. Ultimately, paid maternity leave is an essential step in our pursuit of a more egalitarian Australia.

(Australian Journal of Labour Law vol. 18, no 3, November 2005 pp270-291)