Linda Hall: More leave's a wise investment

Linda Hall.

Should paid parental leave be extended from the current 18 weeks to 26 weeks?

According to the Government no, but there was a hint of "maybe later" from those in power.

It's a tricky question and one answered, I found anyway, very differently according to age and circumstances.

Someone in their 70s said: "I had three young children and no car, I didn't get help from the government."

Another in their 50s: "Definitely not. Why should I pay for people to have babies?"

Others who I spoke to in their 40s, 50s and 60s were in favour of the idea, mainly because it gave mothers and babies more time to bond.

And that, in my view, is one of the major benefits of increasing the parental paid leave to six months.

Spending those first precious months with your baby is priceless. Even at six months, handing over the care of your child for several hours a day must be dreadful.

Thankfully, I never had to do that.

It's all very well to say couples should save to have children or stay home with them until they start school.

Unfortunately, being a stay-at-home parent these days is a luxury the majority can't afford and that is mainly thanks to the cost of housing.

We can't really compare "the olden days" with today. It used to be relevant - wages went up, house prices went up.

Not any more. There are many people who are paying more than 60 per cent of their income into rent or mortgage payments.

That's what the Government needs to fix.

Housing in this country is out of control - now the Government is offering money to people in Auckland to move out of the area.

They don't need more money.

Most of the people moving have sold their homes for hundreds of thousands of dollars more than what they paid for them.

They are moving out of the "rat race", buying freehold homes and living (I imagine) a much less stressful life.

How about offering the $5000 to people who are living in cars and can't afford a bond?

It seems that lots of people in Parliament are talking about the "housing crisis" but nobody is doing anything about it.

Another plus about increasing parental leave is that employers have a much better chance of getting someone to take on a six-month contract.

That's giving someone else a chance to work and maybe learn new skills, and while they are doing it they pay tax - so there you go, that tax helps pay for the parental leave.

I know it's much more complicated than that but the bottom line is, we can't have it both ways.

Parents can't stay home with their children and pay huge mortgages at the same time. A lot of people seem to think parents go back to work so they can have flash cars and buy their children all the gadgets under the sun.

I don't think that's true. They go back to work because they have to.

House prices in Hawke's Bay are rising rapidly. Let's hope the Government does something about the housing market before no one but the very rich can afford to live in their own homes.

- Linda Hall is assistant editor of Hawke's Bay Today.