THE days of the $5000 baby bonus would be finished under a plan for paid parental leave.
The report into parental leave, which sets the groundwork for a national scheme, has recommended the Federal Government pay new mothers or fathers for 18 weeks of parental leave.
It has recommended that the Government adopt a taxpayer-funded leave scheme which would pay the primary care giver at the minimum wage rate, currently $544 a week. But it has also recommended the baby bonus be scrapped.
The baby bonus - currently a one-off payment of $5000 - provides the equivalent of 14 weeks parental leave at $357 (untaxed) per week, or around two thirds of the minimum wage.
It is estimated the proposal will cost around $530 million annually, at a cost of around $450 million to taxpayers, and $75 million to business.
The baby bonus was introduced in 2004 by former treasurer Peter Costello, in a bid to improve the nation's fertility rate.
Under the new proposal, employers would pay the parent's superannuation as part of a scheme which would benefit about 140,000 parents each year at an additional cost of $450 million, the report says.
The overall cost would be $1.3 billion a year.
The proposal is longer than the 14-week model advocated by unions, business and federal Sex Discrimination Commissioner Elizabeth Broderick.
Woah! I'm stopping at 2! Fortunately, we have all the babies we need now and I don't think we'll be looking for any new additions to the family. But for those who were planning for a family hoping to get the 'one time bonus', think about the lifetime of support for the little kid. Its no joke bringing up a child in times like these where inflation is hitting double digits and everything else is going up except your pay packet! Its good enough that Australia provides this compared to Malaysia so I guess anything is better than nothing! Go Aussie, go Aussie!
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