Tony Abbott has announced his proposed paid parental leave scheme, to be partially paid for by a levy on the 3000 largest businesses in the country. While paid parental leave is a good thing, I have a few problems with the proposed scheme.

• It seems overly generous – providing up to $75,000 for a woman earning $150,000.
• It is regressive, in giving the biggest benefit to high income earners who need the money the least, less benefit for low income earners, and no benefit at all for women who choose to stay out of the workforce to raise their children, the women who are often the ones working in the local school canteens for no remuneration at all.
• It seems rather nonsensical for Tony Abbott to be espousing the benefits of a 1.5% cut in the company tax rate on the second day of the campaign, and then to be putting back a 1.5% tax on companies 11 days later.