Government must recalculate Paid Parental Leave veto

Labour MP Sue Moroney is calling on the Government to withdraw its threat of a financial veto against her Paid Parental Leave Bill following confirmation that its figures are grossly inflated.

As the member in charge of the Bill and as Labour’s spokesperson for Women’s Affairs, Sue Moroney gave the first public presentation on the extension of paid parental leave from 14 to 26 weeks at the Government and Administration Select Committee this morning.

“The figures now being used by officials are well below those bandied about by Finance Minister Bill English as justification for the veto,” Sue Moroney said.

“Ensuring that costings are robust is the very reason I was determined to get this Bill to select committee. I want to see value for money for the New Zealand taxpayer and believe that the business case for this Bill is strong.

“So far the figures presented to the Select Committee do not take into account the 1 April implementation date that the Bill specifies, the savings that can be made from ECE subsidies or from income tax revenue gained from PPL payments.

“Despite this, official figures currently before the committee are substantially lower than the costings Mr English used to justify his financial veto.

“This Bill makes working families a priority and it is affordable.

“It recognises that paid parental leave enables families to focus on establishing good bonding and attachment between parent and baby as well as reducing stress at a time critical for their child’s development and for family cohesion.

“There is a lot of information, including public submissions, that is to come before the Select Committee. The public deserve to have the facts. Threatening a financial veto is selling New Zealand families short,” Sue Moroney said.