11. DAVE HEREORA (Labour) Link to this
to the Minister of Labour
Has she received any evaluations on the uptake of paid parental leave in New Zealand?
Hon RUTH DYSON (Minister of Labour) Link to this
I have received a recent evaluation of the paid parental leave scheme that the Labour-led Government introduced in 2002. It shows that it is widely embraced by New Zealanders and has been taken up by 80 percent of eligible women. With last year’s change to include the self-employed, the scheme is now available to nearly 90 percent of all women in paid work.
Noting the Minister’s primary answer, did the evaluation identify any potential barriers to the scheme or its further extension?
Yes. It noted that although few fathers currently use the parental leave provisions, many said they wanted to take time off work to help care for their new babies. Our Government is committed to exploring options allowing that to happen, and to supporting parental choice, much—I note—to the disdain of anti - paid parental leave advocate Kate Wilkinson, who said that when it comes to providing this support the State should “butt out”. Even if the evaluation did not identify the National Party as a barrier to paid parental leave, Kate Wilkinson’s attitude would certainly suggest otherwise.
Kate Wilkinson
Madam SPEAKERI am sorry but that is not a point of order. Please be seated. The member knows that is not a point of order. Any further questions? No. Then we go to question No. 12, Heather Roy.
I raise a point of order, Madam Speaker. I take personal offence at being misrepresented by that Minister—Standing Order 116.
It was a personal reflection on my credibility, and I take personal offence at being so misrepresented.
The member should know by now—she has been here long enough—that if she wants to make a personal statement, that is in order, but that was not a valid point of order.