As a small Mother’s Day treat I gave myself a good chunk of Sunday off news.
Why? Because occasionally I do put myself first. Yesterday Tony Abbott commented that “a mother is someone who never puts herself first”.
As Lisa Pryor aptly noted, albeit in more colourful language, that is one attitude certain to perpetuate difficulty for mothers, families and communities. And it does.
For many mothers putting herself first is difficult: never putting herself first is diabolical.
Yesterday, with selfish abandon, I chose to bask in a period of disconnected glory. I slept in, I walked, I had brunch, I picnic-ed and hung out with my little family. At rest time, I opened the paper and scanned Twitter.
What a mixed bag I discovered. Scott Morrison had announced a generous Childcare package that was splashed across the Sunday Telegraph.
(As an aside would someone kindly let all headline writers know that like PARENTS raise, feed, love and care for children, PARENTS pay childcare fees? It’s a complicated concept but with a little concentration I am certain we can accept that Mums alone do not bear the sole responsibility for childrearing.)
There are winners and losers in the $3.5 billion childcare package but there is no denying it is generous and reflects some of the concerns parents and educators have discussed. The glaring omission is supply – all the rebates in the world are null and void if you can’t get your child a place.
Before I had fully grasped the intricacies of Scott Morrison’s policy I was startled by another announcement. Whilst Scott was playing Santa, Joe Hockey and Tony Abbott were playing a different, less generous role.
Remember how before the last two elections Tony Abbott was resolute about delivering Australia a “fair dinkum” paid parental leave policy? A generous scheme whereby a parent would receive 26 weeks paid leave at their salary? Remember that? Well savour the memory. Those days are gone.
For yesterday, in a rather remarkable twist, Tony & Joe stood before the nation and took 18 weeks of paid leave at the minimum wage away from Australian parents. Away! On Mother’s Day no less.
To paraphrase: before the election parents were promised 26 weeks paid leave at their salary up to $150,000. After the election a decent percentage of Australian parents had 18 weeks at minimum wage TAKEN AWAY. That folks is a pretty jaw-dropping change.
In other circumstances one might imagine voters lining up eager to hear from their fearless leader, the minister charged with responsibility for advocating and representing Australian women. (I say women because they still represent the overwhelming majority of parents who take parental leave in Australia.) What would the minister for women make of such a blatant betrayal?
In these circumstances it is the minister for women doing the swindling. Read it and weep.
Plenty of mothers (and fathers for that matter) rightfully put themselves first regularly. They recognise that without their own health, sanity and well being they aren’t in a position to put anyone else first. So it seems to me that Tony Abbott mixed things up. It seems he is the one inclined never to put mothers first.