Can't see the down side of people going overseas to have kids. Someone has to pay for this and I'd rather someone overseas do it, then it come out of my taxes. Maternity leave is middle class welfare after all and we've got enough of already.

"There is a definite, but hard to quantify cost to the Australian economy when our brightest talents and their partners nest overseas, or when we fail to attract overseas talent in their childbearing years to our own shores. We lose tax revenue, consumption dollars and intellectual capital."

I would say that the benefits far outweights any perceived "costs". Can the author cite any real evidence that a childbearing aged women is more capable then say one in her forties?

This type of argument has been put forth time and time again to promote paid maternity leave and I, as a woman, find it utterly specious (particularly so in view of the current economic crisis). Claria is suggesting that paid maternity leave has some kind of economic benefit to the nation and that it would help solve our talent shortage. Claria, have you been living in an outback hut for the past few months? We are heading into a major downturn with unemployment set to hit the roof. A double-digit unemployment rate is a real possibility, and yet you are suggesting that paid maternity leave will benefit us by bringing more workers home to compete for scarce jobs.

And as for the comparisons with other countries, let’s be quite clear on this. Comparisons are often drawn between Australia and countries like Sweden and Denmark – countries that have comparatively generous welfare provisions on all fronts, not just on the paid maternity leave front. Australia, by contrast, pays aged pensioners, disability pensioners, and the unemployed a relative pittance. It is a disgrace – in an environment where we have many pensioners living on the breadline – to argue for yet another non-means tested form of welfare. Claria can dress it up however she wants – at the end of the day, non-means tested paid maternity leave is just another form of greedy middle-class welfare. Until the day this country starts providing adequate income support to those who really need it, I will remain vehemently opposed to this non-means tested rort.

Ok, so overseas they pay maternity leave.

Do they also pay you the equivilant of five grand A$ just to have the child. I think this needs to be established before you can compare the both.

I say once again, be careful what you wish for girls, as for every 'action' there is a 're-action'. This one could make women of child bearing age financially unatractive to future employers.

I feel in these times you should be contented with your five grand of tax payers funds!

There is more to a human being than their brain power, talent or qualifications. What about their values? I’d rather people with a sense of justice than all the ‘yuppiedom’ in the world. These people are no great loss to the country if they decide to stay overseas for the sake of maternity leave which is offered by other countries. Just because other countries offer maternity leave does not necessarily make it just and reasonable. The governments of other countries have succumbed to the bullying and lobbying by certain groups who seek to promote child bearing as ‘special’ and therefore deserving of such taxpayer funded support.

Many people including those who have raised children can see the injustice in giving handouts for one particular lifestyle choice over and above others. They accept that having a child is a financial decision as much as anything else but they do not expect taxpayers to foot the bill.

‘The generous maternity provisions in many other countries are fuelling a brain drain by luring Australian expats to stay overseas for longer so they can maintain their lifestyles post-baby.’

People leave Australia for all manner of reasons - should we bribe them all to come home or let them take responsibility for their decisions? Which lifestyles should we reward and which do we exclude?

Tell us exactly why the lifestyle of raising children is so special and we may be persuaded to loosen the purse strings.

phanto,
From my experience the majority of posters on OLO don't like it when the obvious is brought to their attention, esspecially when it comes to welfare and hand outs.

I am 100% with you on this and I to am a parent who together with my wife of 24 years have raised two children with very limmited help from the government.

We have been self employed since the late 80's and we were entitled to and received the child endounment payment, only for our daughter and only for 18 months. After this we were considered to be high income earners and as such not entitled to ANYTHING!

At no time during our 20 years of FULL TIME EMPLOYMENT has there been any consideration for the levels of debt we have carried, nor have we been recognised for our efforts in providing jobs for 20 years.

Back in 98 I had a serious acciedent and had to sell off several assetts just to pay our creditors. Even then, after all this we were not entitled to unemployment benefits as we were effectively still working. This was because I refussed to declair bankruptsy.

So it appears to me that the majority of posters are of the 42%ers. The ones who we, the 52%ers support, along with the raising of THEIR CHILDREN and all they can do is windge and ask for more and more.

The cookie jar is running on empty!