Interview with Laura Jayes, AM Agenda

11 September 2024

LAURA JAYES: And perfect coincidence, we have the Shadow Finance Minister, Jane Hume, joining us now. So that question, Jane, wouldn't this be inflationary if it was a lump sum?

JANE HUME: Well, this Laura, this scheme isn't due to kick in for a considerable period of time yet, not until the first of July 2026. I would hope that by that stage, the Government, or hopefully the Coalition Government has inflation well under control by then.

LAURA JAYES: So what's the purpose of this lump sum payment? And is it correct that if you don't get these amendments up, you'll pass this legislation anyway?

JANE HUME: We've always said that we supported superannuation on paid parental leave when the policy was announced, that was what we said, and our position hasn't changed. This is simply a way of amending that legislation to give more flexibility to new parents, and flexibility is exactly what parents deserve at that point in time. You know, it's quite a dramatic shift to your life when a new baby arrives in the household. So this gives parents the opportunity to either take that money as superannuation on their government provided paid parental leave, or they can extend the number of weeks they take on their paid parental leave by two weeks, or they can take it as a cash sum up front, and it really depends on your personal family circumstances as to which one of those suits you the best. We just want to make sure that new parents have the flexibility they need at a time when they need it most.

LAURA JAYES: I just want to quickly turn your attention to Melbourne, what's happening in your home city at the moment, these protests outside this conference that has begun this morning. It's a weapons conference. What is going on there? I mean, this has been escalating for hours and hours, and there are almost 2000 police at the ready.

JANE HUME: It hasn't just been escalating for hours and hours, Laura, it's been escalating for days. These protests started some days ago. My understanding is that they were even intimidating people that were sitting in restaurants in the city over the weekend, the same group of protesters. And let's be clear, this group of protesters are professional protesters, and this is a trade conference that they are protesting in front of. We entirely respect all Australians' right to peacefully protest on any issue that is disturbing them. But this is violent. This is causing damage to properties. It's intimidating the police, those frontline workers. Goodness me. Those you know, the police that are facing that barrage of not just abuse, but violence as well. I really feel for them today. This is unacceptable behaviour, and I do hope that both Victorian laws and Commonwealth laws, where appropriate, have the ability to make sure that we rein in this kind of behaviour, because let's recall that these violent protests also have quite serious anti-Semitic overtones.

LAURA JAYES: Yeah, they seem, they seem to and Jane, we're going to leave it there, because Georgie Dickerson is on the ground for us, and things are certainly not calming down.