I am pleased the Families Commission report into paid parental leave has
sparked a nationwide debate. Research has shown New Zealand parents have
benefited from our Labour-led government’s Paid Parental Leave scheme and
are eager to contribute ideas to improve and extend the scheme.

“Our government will look at four different areas where the scheme could
be improved – the 10 per cent of women in paid work who currently miss out
on any payment at all, the level of money that people get, the length of
time, and the fact that few fathers access the scheme at the moment.”

I hesitate to ask what the word “Father” might mean in Dykson’s Dictionary, but you can tell Labour is short of a vote when “Father” enters her vocabulary.