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Education, Employment and Workplace Relations portfolio

Hon Julia Gillard MP

Minister for Education. Minister for Employment and Workplace Relations

Minister for Social Inclusion

31 January, 2008

Transcript

Interview Today (Nine)

Productivity Commission Inquiry into Paid Maternity Leave Options, National Curriculum Board announcement ,Apology to the Stolen Generation

LISA WILKINSON:

Deputy Prime Minister, Julia Gillard joins us now live from Parliament House in Canberra. Good morning to you.

JULIA GILLARD:

Good morning Lisa.

LISA WILKINSON:

Now, as a wealthy nation, when you hear that being read out, should we be embarrassed?

JULIA GILLARD:

I don’t know about embarrassed but we should be striving to do more. We will be delivering through our new workplace relations system some improvements for women and working families. We are going to give women a right to request an extended period of maternity leave or a return to part time, flexible work. Obviously they have got to work through with their employer whether that works for the business but at least we’re going to say, let’s have that conversation and often when people sit down round a table and say what’s possible, flexible work options are possible. And we are going to have a Productivity Commission inquiry into paid maternity leave. We know some big businesses are providing it; we want the Productivity Commission to look at what’s out there and to make recommendations to us about a national system. But we are obviously really conscious about not putting additional burdens on small business.

LISA WILKINSON:

What do you think would be a fair and equitable amount for a taxpayer funded maternity leave period?

JULIA GILLARD:

Well one of the reasons we are asking for the inquiry is we really want to find out what’s out there and what would be the best system to work. Obviously we want to support mothers, we want to support families. We have also got to make sure that it’s economically sustainable and one of the things we have got to make sure of is if the government does more, that that doesn’t mean the businesses who are now offering paid maternity leave start to do less. We want to build on what’s there, not substitute for what’s there. So that’s why an inquiry is really important.

LISA WILKINSON:

Inquiries are notorious for taking a very long time, what sort of timeframe are we looking at?

JULIA GILLARD:

We don’t want this to be a long time inquiry. I understand that sometimes when people hear politicians say the word inquiry they think, well we will never hear about that again. We want a short term, focused inquiry. That’s why we are getting the Productivity Commission to do it, of course that’s a very reputable body that has runs on the board for solving some of the hardest problems in the economic area that affects the nation.

LISA WILKINSON:

Is this just for women or for fathers as well?

JULIA GILLARD:

Well the concept of paid maternity leave is, generally benefits for the principle carer who tends to be the woman, consequently referring to it as maternity leave. But obviously we want, across our workplace relations policy and everything government does, to be supporting the whole of the family. When I talked about the right to request earlier, that is also a right that will fathers have because we understand that families might want to arrange their affairs so mum stays home for the first twelve months of a new baby’s life and maybe dad stays home for the second twelve months.

LISA WILKINSON:

Just turning our attention to your announcement yesterday of a nationally aligned education system. It seems like a sensible idea but how will it work for children who are already in the education system, there has got to be a changeover period?

JULIA GILLARD:

This is a big job and we’re acknowledging it’s a big job. That’s why we have got an expert like Barry McGaw leading the team and why we are saying it will take a period like three years. What we want to achieve is a national curriculum so for kids that move from State to State and we know around 80,000 children a year do they’re not looking at unfamiliar text books and, you know, screwing up their faces at the teacher going, what’s going on here, I’ve got no idea. That there’s consistency there and we also want to be lifting quality. So part of what we are doing is getting the National Curriculum Board to develop a national curriculum. As you say Lisa, that is obviously going to have to come with transition arrangements.

LISA WILKINSON:

Yes. Other news again, you announced yesterday via Jenny Macklin that there will be an apology as the first item of business, an apology to Indigenous Australians for the Stolen Generation. Do you believe you have the full support of all Australians on this apology?

JULIA GILLARD:

I think many Australians want to see us apologise and move forward. Australians are concerned that Indigenous Australians can expect to live 17 years less on average than their fellow Australians. I think that is something as a nation we do want to see fixed. I think people do recognise that wrongs have happened in the past; that the Stolen Generation should be apologised to and that’s what we want to achieve when the Parliament returns. Obviously we’d like that to be a gesture that isn’t about party politics and can be supported by all Parliamentarians and we are certainly calling on all Parliamentarians to consider supporting that apology.

LISA WILKINSON:

The PM has ruled out any compensation being available but do you think that will stop Indigenous groups from attempting legal action to get that compensation?

JULIA GILLARD:

Look, I really can’t predict that but certainly from the Government’s point of view we said this is not about compensation, this is about offering an apology for the things that have happened in the past, particularly to members of the Stolen Generation and I think it’s an important thing for the Parliament to do. It’s obviously important that we also get on with the very practical task in health and education, as areas of disadvantage in our Indigenous community. Jenny Macklin is already working on that hard with new policies and programs. We are certainly doing what we can in the education area. So we have got to make a difference to people’s lives but acknowledging what has happened in the past, saying sorry, is part of the process of moving forward.

LISA WILKINSON:

Ok, Deputy Prime Minister, Julia Gillard we will have to leave it there. Thanks for your time this morning.

JULIA GILLARD:

Thanks Lisa.
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