The government has committed more than $250 million to expanding paid parental leave. This is on top of the $600 million plus expansion of the scheme back in October 2022.
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While the last expansion at least put more money into the hands of parents, this one has little to recommend it, missing the mark in several ways.
If the government has an extra $250 million to spend on paid parental leave, it seems a safe bet almost all families would prefer that extra money as cash now, rather than have it locked up in super for 30 years.
After all, the whole rationale of paid parental leave is to help new parents struggling to fund extended time out of the workforce along with the expense of a new baby.
But this suggests the problem is not the absence of super but that paid parental leave often represents a significant reduction in salary, as it is set at the minimum wage.
This is not the only flaw in the reasoning.
One rationale put forward in justification of the payment of super is the pretence paid parental leave is a workplace entitlement. The problem is it functions as a welfare payment.
If it were a true workplace entitlement it would be paid by the employers, and paid at the worker's rate of pay (like sick leave). It would then attract super as well.
There are more fundamental problems in the thinking justifying this decision.
This move is being........