The Parenthood has partnered with Fair Agenda to make it loud and clear they want Senator Nick Xenophon to stick to his original promise on paid parental leave.
Together, they’ve commissioned a large billboard, on a Rundle St intersection just minutes from Xenophon’s office Adelaide office. Unveiled late last week, they’re calling on donations of around $25 to raise the $2,500 they need to keep the billboard up.
The sign comes after concerns that despite promising to “protect the current paid parental leave system”, Xenophon has indicated his team may support changes that will fundamentally alter the scheme’s purpose.
Representing more than 55,000 parents, The Parenthood’s executive director Jo Briskey recently told Women’s Agenda that despite Xenophon declaring he would oppose an original January start date to changes for the scheme that would end so called ‘double-dipping’ by new mothers, that his party may negotiate with the government to amend the legislation in order to try and achieve what they believe is a “fairer” scheme. She’s particularly concerned about public comments from Xenophon that he may look to see the scheme move to means-testing household income, which would see it shift from being a work-related payment to looking more like a social-welfare payment.
“We’re extremely worried that NXT might suggest significant changes to our paid parental leave system that would completely alter its design and purpose and leave thousands of parents being denied access to PPL,” she said unveiling the sign. “The Productivity Commission determined access to a paid parental leave system that both employer and government contributed to would be based on the income of the individual taking the leave and this is what we must protect.”
NXT previously pledged to Fair Agenda during the election campaign that it would, “vote to protect the current paid parental leave system and oppose any diminution of the current system.”
They’re aiming to keep him to his word, in the most public way possible.