I am OFFENDED

Scott,

Last weekend I took offence at your comment about ‘double dipping’ on paid parental leave (PPL). The PPL scheme was designed so that government and industry can support families together, so there is NO SUCH THING AS DOUBLE DIPPING! To call taxpayers double-dippers is offensive and uneducated. The current PPL is already not enough, and you sending the wrong message does not help!

Narelle

Hi Narelle,

My wife agrees with you! Tony Abbott agrees with you! But I don’t!

The Government provides parents 18 weeks of PPL at the level of the minimum wage. Currently, an employee has the ability to ‘double dip’ by also accessing their employer’s generous maternity leave scheme.

My view is it should be one or the other -- but not both. It is not an entitlement; it’s a taxpayer-funded safety net. Either way, that was just one line in a column that focused on empowering first-time parents to save up at least $10,000 so they can create their own safety net.

Scott