Partners are currently entitled to two weeks' unpaid leave. Photo: 123RF
Labour has unveiled a new Paid Partner's Leave policy promising four weeks' paid parental leave (PPL) for partners, if it is re-elected.
Partners are currently entitled to two weeks' unpaid leave, but Labour's staggered plan would give them four weeks' paid leave by mid-2026.
The new scheme would be phased in from 1 July 2024, with leave taken either concurrently or consecutively with the primary carer and on top of the current entitlement.
It comes just a few weeks after Labour voted down a bill in the name of National deputy leader Nicola Willis, allowing parents to share their leave entitlement.
National accused the government of "shameful, mean and spiteful" politics, while Labour leader Chris Hipkins said officials had advised that National's bill would be "unimplementable".
Hipkins said Labour's new scheme would remove some of the financial barriers new parents faced when taking parental leave, supporting all parents to be a part of their babies' youngest days.
"This is absolutely the right thing to do - we know that when it comes to a baby's first few weeks, you can't overdo support, whether that's an extra pair of hands, sleep or cooked meals."
He said the policy, entirely government-funded, would be healthy for everyone, including the businesses new parents worked at.
"Taking time off is expensive, but most partners take leave to support their partners regardless," he said. The policy would help support the entire family unit in the crucial early days and in the longer term support a return to the workforce, the statement said.
Hipkins told Morning Report parents could still continue to swap parental leave entitlement that currently exists. "This is an additional entitlement."
Hipkins said it was better than National's parental leave policy because it still maintained 26 weeks of leave, whereas National's policy of sharing the 26 weeks between parents and allowing for overlapping could mean fewer weeks at a stretch.
"We will review all parental leave entitlements properly with the goal of providing some more flexibility."
"We want to see parents being able to spend more time at home" - Labour leader Chris Hipkins
The National Party has questioned whether Labour's paid parental policy was affordable given the current state of the government's finances.
Leader Christopher Luxon said he thought it would be fantastic for New Zealand families and parents.
"The key issue is affordability of it and when you look at what's happening in the country at the moment, we're over taxed, we have $73 billion worth of debt, we have deficits and it's really important that we are prudent and responsible with the taxpayers' money and can actually afford to do it."
The government could have adopted Nicola Willis' bill last week, Luxon said.
The bill was being rushed through "two days after a GST gaffe", he said.
Luxon accused the government of "literally making things up on the fly" and said it "isn't fully costing things, isn't being prudent and responsible with budgets and the country's finances and we believe we owe that to the New Zealand taxpayer".
Finance spokesperson Nicola Willis said the party would take a close look at the policy before laying out its full manifesto before the election.