Nick Xenophon weighs supporting parental leave ‘double dippers’ deal

Nick Xenophon warns the Treasurer, who is inching towards a deal to stop parental leave “double-dippers’’.

Treasurer Scott Morrison is inching towards a deal to stop workers “double dipping” taxpayer-funded paid parental leave benefits, despite an influential senator accusing him of “megaphone lecturing” and “inflammatory and unhelpful” rhetoric.

The Nick Xenophon Team’s three senators hold the key to passing the policy, first announced by Joe Hockey, that will effectively prevent employers providing additional “top up” leave for their employees unless they are also willing to cover the 18-week, $12,100 allowance provided by the commonwealth.

Senator Nick Xenophon, the party’s leader, today canvassed a number of policy changes that he said would need to be addressed before his senators would consider supporting the plan.

Senator Nick Xenophon.

Senator Xenophon said the scheme should not take effect before October next year, to avoid disadvantaging families that have already budgeted for a new baby, and the $150,000 individual means test should be replaced to take account of household income.

“It’s been put to me that if household income is $1 million-a-year they shouldn’t be accessing this scheme,” he told ABC radio.

However Senator Xenophon criticised Mr Morrison for his “megaphone lecturing” of the crossbench and said the government’s use of the term “double-dipping” was “inflammatory and unhelpful”.

One Nation Party leader Pauline Hanson on Monday threw her party’s weight behind the government’s plan, which will save the budget $1.2 billion.

The NXT’s support will be key to passing the legislation. Labor and the Greens oppose the plan, arguing workers have forgone payrises to negotiate paid parental leave entitlements that they would be banned from receiving.

“More than 75 per cent of parents receiving the government’s paid parental leave scheme are on incomes of less than $70,000 a year,” Jenny Macklin, the opposition social services spokeswoman, said yesterday.

Senator Xenophon, who opposes cutting company tax for companies with annual turnover of more than $10m, said he was open to negotiating further corporate tax cuts in the coming years.

However he cautioned against blindly accepting claims that company tax cuts will save Australian manufacturing, describing the idea as “voodoo economics”.

“For the government to say this is the panacea for industry, it’s just silly when you consider all the other issues at stake,” he said.

The Coalition has proposed to cut the company tax rate to 25 per cent to make Australia more attractive to international investors.

Senator Xenophon said there was no constitutional bar to Family First senator Bob Day taking his seat when parliament resumes, but predicted a “stormy ride” as Labor and the Greens press the senator to explain how he was solvent.

Malcolm Turnbull told reporters he was “absolutely understanding and sympathetic” to pregnant women facing the loss of paid parental leave entitlements “insofar as men can understand these matters”.

“Australians have a very keen understanding, all of us, of a fair go, and so fairness is a critical part of our platform now and always will be,” Mr Turnbull said in Rockhampton.

The Prime Minister declined to “negotiate through the media” with crossbench senators, saying it was important to engage with them directly.

Bill Shorten said the government was failing to show “respect for working women”.

“Women who have negotiated conditions in their workplace – modest improvements to paid parental leave – don’t punish them for giving up wage rises … by denying them minimum government payments,” the Opposition Leader said.