Paid Parental Leave scheme touches 100,000

Prime Minister Helen Clark today celebrated a significant milestone in the Labour-led Government's commitment and support for families : More than 100,000 parents have now signed up for Paid Parental Leave since the policy was introduced in 2002.

Helen Clark and other Labour MPs celebrated the occasion on International Women’s Day with parents who have enjoyed Paid Parental Leave.

Helen Clark and Trevor Mallard said that Labour recognises the importance of Paid Parental Leave for the well-being of new babies and for families’ overall health and income.

"Having a child is an important and special time for a family," Helen Clark said.

"I am proud to see New Zealand families fully embracing paid parental leave since it was introduced in 2002."

"New Zealand’s workforce is ageing and we have ongoing skill shortages. An increasing number of women are in the workforce. At the same time, family structures and parenting arrangements have become more diverse, and women tend to have fewer children and have them at a later age. In these circumstances, Paid Parental Leave has become a very important part of the range of policies the Labour-led Government has introduced to support families.

"Since first introducing PPL in 2002, a number of extensions to the scheme have been made. The length of paid leave has been extended from the original twelve weeks to fourteen weeks in 2005. In 2004 employees who had six months service or more with the same employer were included. In 2006, self-employed parents were included," Helen Clark said.

"Labour is committed to ongoing reviews and improvements to Paid Parental Leave, and notes the advocacy of the Families’ Commission for that.
Labour Minister Trevor Mallard said Paid Parental Leave is an important feature of Labour’s policy to support children, and families.

"Labour is very proud that we introduced paid parental leave in the face of very stiff opposition from National who voted against. It’s a very popular scheme and we know that it has made a real difference to families and new parents.

In addition, late last year, the Parliament passed the Employment Relations (Flexible Working Arrangements) Amendment Act to provide employees with the right to request flexible working arrangements from their employer and a process for employers to consider those requests. 


Related Documents
Paid Parental Leave backgrounder.pdf (pdf, 44 Kb)