Senator MOORE (6:00 PM) —Senator Stott Despoja, thank you for making my day. We were not surprised at all to see your requests here today. As you know, the Labor spokesperson for work, family and community, Ms Plibersek, is already on record as being a well-known advocate for extending eligibility for the maternity payment to adoptive parents, and we would have been disappointed if these requests had not come up. You know that Ms Plibersek moved a second reading amendment in the House calling on the government to extend eligibility for maternity payment by removing the age restriction altogether. The amendment was ultimately defeated by the government, but we are keen to remove any unreasonable restrictions on new parents who seek access to maternity payment. If we are going to have a maternity payment at all, in recognition of the costs and other changes associated with new children, then it makes sense that the benefits of such a payment should be available to all new parents. So Labor certainly support the need to extend eligibility for the maternity payment beyond the two-year age restriction that the government has included in the bill we are debating today.

Despite our concern about the arbitrary nature of the two-year age limit, the government is now seeking to impose an applicant’s maternity payment. Labor resisted the temptation to propose substantive amendments to the bill. We did this because, as I indicated earlier, we support the bill—and we support the other important provisions in the bill relating to family tax benefits and other issues. We also support the measure in the bill, as I am sure the Democrats do, which extends the maternity payment age from its current six months to two years. This measure will benefit a significant number of Australian families who adopt children aged up to two years.

Labor have no wish to delay these important financial benefits for Australian families any longer than they already have been due to the government’s delay in introducing this bill into the parliament. Those families who have incurred family tax benefit debts due to the government’s failure to correct the problem with FTB part B since last year’s budget have had to wait long enough for the changes we have before us in this bill. Those families who have already missed out on a maternity payment because they did not qualify on the basis of the six-month age limit have had to wait long enough for the government to extend the limit to two years. However, although Labor recognise the importance of getting this legislation through the parliament so that the benefits can be passed on to Australian families, we are also very keen to ensure that the amendments proposed by Senator Stott Despoja are treated with the seriousness they deserve.

As I pointed out earlier, the member for Sydney highlighted Labor’s concerns about the two-year age restriction when the bill was debated in the House, so I am able to indicate that Labor will support the Democrat amendments to the bill before the chamber today. I also note, for the record, that I do not think it is acceptable for the government to just say that they oppose these amendments because they do not provide for payment where the children are not newborn. That was the basis of the argument, was it not, Minister—that the payment be limited? I think that needs to be stronger—and I think Senator Stott Despoja mentioned that in her comments—in terms of the cost of any new child coming into the family environment, which is the difference. So what exactly is wrong with the requests in front of us and what is the government’s reason for opposing what seems to be a fairly clear-cut measure to remove what we think could be a blatantly discriminatory age restriction in this process?

I hope the government does use this opportunity to address the inequity and think about how this can be made to work better for any new family and new group who are looking at building a family, particularly those with adoptive children. But I want to make it clear that at the end of the day Labor will pass the bill in this session. If the government insists on its position and returns the bill to the Senate later this week or next week, asking that we do not insist on the amendments, Labor will not insist on the amendments. So I indicate, on behalf of the opposition, that we will support Senator Stott Despoja’s amendments this evening—subject to the government providing any compelling case as to why the amendments should not be supported. We do expect to hear some rationale as to why this is unfair and why these amendments would not work effectively for Australian families.