Paid Parental Leave 1/8

Ministerial Foreword

Eight years ago a group of mothers and babies converged at parliament to show their support for 12 weeks paid parental leave, an international benchmark that was also adopted as Alliance Party policy.

The announcement of a 12-week government scheme that will come into
force on July 1 next year is a result that can be attributed to the campaigning
of activists, mothers, academics and health professionals alike.

In many ways, paid parental leave (PPL) has been an issue that has crossed
political boundaries. It has united many New Zealanders with a fundamental
belief in social justice, the fair distribution of resources and humanised
workplaces.

But it is the Alliance that has consistently put PPL forward as a priority,
and this result will go down in history as one of the most significant
achievements of the Alliance within the Labour-Alliance Coalition Government.

This PPL scheme should be seen as a good starting point. Over the months and
years to come it will again fall to New Zealanders with a desire to improve
outcomes for all families to make sure policy makers continue to steer PPL and
other family friendly policies in the right direction.