Centre for Policy Development
Common Ground: Paid maternity leave
See how our first Common Ground event went here.
Common Ground is a
public lecture series with a difference. Each event will bring together people
from different worlds, opposing parties, or conflicting interest groups and
invite them to talk about what they have in common.
Many of the traditional faultlines in Australian politics fade into insignificance when we take a long-term view. Right now, Australia's most pressing challenges can only be solved if those who represent competing interests can cooperate to serve our common interests. Through Common Ground, the Centre for Policy Development and our partners Slater and Gordon lawyers aim to give the leaders of this cooperation a national platform.
For our first Common Ground, CPD is bringing together Sharan Burrow, President of the Australian Council of Trade Unions and Tony Steven, Chief Executive Officer of the Council of Small Business of Australia, to discuss how employers and employees can work together to ensure that all working women - not just the lucky few - have access to paid maternity leave.
Common Ground will be introduced by CPD fellow David McKnight, author of Beyond Right and Left, and moderated by Jackie Frank, editor of Marie Claire.
Time: Wednesday 23 April 2008, 5:30 for prompt 6:00pm start (concluding 7:30pm)
Place: Barnett Long Room, Customs House, 31 Alfred Street, Circular Quay, Sydney
RSVP: Register online here, or by email to contact@cpd.org.au. VERY FEW SPOTS LEFT!
Registration is essential. Book early to avoid disappointment!
Download a flyer here with the event information for your friends.
Australia is one of just two OECD countries that don't provide any paid leave for mothers with new babies. But the ground has really shifted over the last few weeks, with retailers Myer and Aldi introducing 14 weeks paid maternity leave, and yesterday's announcement that the ACTU, the Australian Industry Group, and the Human Rights and Equal Opportunities Commission will work together to support a publicly funded, national scheme. As Sharan Burrow, Heather Ridout (AIG) and Elizabeth Broderick (HREOC) wrote in a joint article:
Paid maternity leave has been on the public policy agenda for more than three decades and its realisation is well overdue. The struggle for a universal scheme can only be described as a protracted labour, and now is the right time to induce.