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The Forum > Article Comments > An open letter to the Prime Minister and the Treasurer > Comments

An open letter to the Prime Minister and the Treasurer : Comments

By Babette Francis, published 15/4/2014

Government payments should be focused on the well-being of children and not on preferential treatment for career women.

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Not everybody has a chance to go to uni, or have parents who support them while they qualify.
It should already be sufficient advantage, that the privileged elite could become brain surgeons or some such, earning a million plus per, that they should then turn around, and demand the less well off to also support them through the early months of maternity.
The fact is, a women, any woman can claim a universal maternity leave scheme! (Reasonable additional expenses!) And on the taxpayer.
Not all that long ago, nobody could claim even this modest entitlement!
But back then we had something far better, affordable housing, and enough money in the breadwinners pay packet, to afford private health cover and the usual costs of living, raising a family etc.
No problem with women choosing to work.
Just that it should be personal choice, (then) rather than a necessity! (Now)
People in very privileged positions, hardly ever get there on their own, but rely on all sorts of assistance along the way.
Even so, those with the better paid jobs, would be far better served, by more affordable child care!
The facts pertaining to public servants and politicians, is not grounds for extending the unaffordable to the many, but clawing it back from the undeserving?
Ditto pollies super duper super and so on!
It's not their personal money or piggy bank!
People are given charge of the public purse, so they can do as much for the community with it, as is reasonably possible, and not so they can grant themselves rewards, not accorded, to perhaps even more deserving community members?
Who provides the most benefit to the community, a competent brain surgeon, or a polly that needs extensive help, just to make the most rudimentary or extremely bad decisions?
Well?
Rhrosty.
Posted by Rhrosty, Tuesday, 15 April 2014 4:01:23 PM
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Congratulations, Babette - if only government advisers had your common sense (yes, I know common sense is uncommon - how sad!).

The latest longitudinal childcare study, reported by Patricia Karvelas in today's Australian (15/4/14, p 7) shows the very real risks of Tony Abbott's paid parental leave policy. By encouraging mums to leave their babies and toddlers in long daycare while they clock up enough paid work to qualify for generous handouts after the birth of their next baby, they risk their first child under-performing in literacy and numeracy later on.

This policy is economic, social and educational madness.
Posted by Edmund Burke, Tuesday, 15 April 2014 4:02:44 PM
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It is quite true that Australia's fertility rate is slightly below replacement level, but our population is currently growing at 1.8% a year, enough to double our population in 38 and a half years, suggesting that we really don't need large families, contrary to what Babette Francis says. 60% of the populationn growth is due to immigration and the rest to natural increase, although about a third of the births are to migrant mothers. The remaining 27% of the growth is due to demographic momentum. Natural increase of the existing population won't stop until some time in the 2030s. The government has probably calculated that young adult migrants are a better proposition than Australian babies because they have already been raised, educated, and trained at someone else's expense.

There isn't a massive overhang of Baby Boomers and other older people, as can be seen from this age distribution chart from the Australian Bureau of Statistics

http://www.abs.gov.au/websitedbs/d3310114.nsf/home/Population%20Pyramid%20-%20Australia

Australia is simply changing to a stable age structure, where the generations are of approximately equal size until you get to extreme old age. The bulge above age 20 is probably due to the disproportionate migration of young adults.
Posted by Divergence, Tuesday, 15 April 2014 4:10:24 PM
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We don't need to worry about the unfair and discriminatory PPL scheme which was set to prop up the lifestyle of families just like the Prime Minister's. There is no way it is ever going to get through the Senate in its present form. It's a win-win for the government. They can say they did their best to implement it but they won't have to fund it.
Posted by estelles, Tuesday, 15 April 2014 5:16:17 PM
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Pledges in blood have to be honored one way or the other.
Posted by 579, Tuesday, 15 April 2014 5:30:19 PM
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Babette Francis has highlighted how Tony Abbott ignores part of the natural conservative base of voters who would be voting for the Coalition if his government provided any kind of taxation justice to single-income families. These voters instead vote for the DLP, Australian Christians, Christian Democrat Party, Family First and Rise Up Australia. Their second preferences may not necessarily flow back to the Coalition.

The study quoted in today's Australian newspaper indicating that children in long day care do not do as well in maths and literacy as those not in long day care is another reason why the Tony Abbott's government should support the choice made by mothers to be full-time homemakers caring for their pre-school children rather than place them in long day care. Why should Mr. Abbott and Mr. Hockey be subsidizing an inferior option for the care of children?
Posted by Gadfly42, Tuesday, 15 April 2014 5:32:35 PM
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