The Greens welcome the joint agreement of business groups and unions, and support the ACTU and Business Council of Australia in urging the government to expand paid parental leave to 26 weeks.

The Greens’ PPL plan called for 26 weeks with payments that match salaries up to $100k pa, super paid on leave, and ‘use it or lose it’ incentives built in to encourage shared parenting, and we’re glad to see these groups coming onboard.

The Greens support the Safety. Respect. Equity. campaign and call on all other parties to match that commitment to the nine policy asks of that campaign, which would eliminate violence against women and deliver economic security.

Quotes attributable to Greens deputy leader and spokesperson on women Senator Larissa Waters:

“The Greens are proud that our election policy platform already backs the policy asks of the Safety. Respect. Equity. campaign and we call upon all other parties to commit to those policies too, because women deserve it.

The Greens condemn the Morrison Government for failing to include a gender lens in the Budget, instead leaving it to a non-profit women's organisation to do their homework for them. 

"Women are once again mopping up after the Morrison Government by applying a gender lens to the Budget, something which should have been done by government itself," said Greens Leader in the Senate and spokesperson on Women, Senator Larissa Waters.

Greens Leader, Adam Bandt, says a return to free childcare is needed in Victoria immediately and that the success of the initial COVID-19 childcare package has shown Australian families that it is possible and desirable to pursue free childcare for good.

“Even though the restrictions in Victoria are now harsher, the childcare support from the Federal government is now weaker,” Bandt said.

“In the middle of a pandemic, the government has tried to reinvent the wheel and thrown parents, workers and the industry into unnecessary confusion.”

As Melbourne goes back into stage 3 lockdowns, the Federal government is pulling the major childcare supports which played a positive role in the initial outbreak response. 

Dan Tehan’s announcement of a new semi-subsidy will risk the viability of many centres who will neither be able to return to normal operations, nor collect full income if parents keep their kids at home.

“The Government is tying itself up in knots. It would be far simpler and fairer to extend free childcare after 12 July,” Greens Leader, Adam Bandt said.

The Greens have today welcomed a call from former Labor Premier, Jay Weatherill, for a rethink of how childcare is run, which aligns with Greens calls for free childcare run on a not-for-profit basis.

While saying that his ideas required more discussion, and while not backing his call for the Commonwealth to vacate the field and hand childcare over to the states, Greens Leader Adam Bandt and Greens education spokesperson Dr Mehreen Faruqi said that it was time to start treating childcare as an essential public service.

Australian Greens Education Spokesperson, Senator Mehreen Faruqi, has backed fair pay for early childhood educators and the ‘Big Steps’ campaign. Early childhood educators will walk off the job tomorrow (5^thSeptember).

Senator Faruqi said:

“The Greens strongly support early childcare educators across the country and their rights to fair pay. Early childhood education is incredibly important and it is well past time for the people who educate and care for our young people to have decent pay and conditions.