Parental Leave

Worth knowing which.

Having a baby is one of the most expensive things a family goes through – less coming in, more going out, all at once. Paid parental leave is what lets a parent be there for those first weeks and months without the household falling behind. It's also one of the clearest tests of whether a party actually backs working families, or just says it does.

So it's worth looking at how the votes have gone.

Here's the one that surprised us. Back in 2017, when the government moved to lift paid parental leave from 18 to 20 weeks, Pauline Hanson opposed it – describing it as part of a “welfare handout mentality,” and pointing to having raised her own children as a single mother with, in her words, “no assistance, no help from anyone.”

We went back through the record, and 2017 wasn't a one-off. Time and again, when parliament has tried to make paid parental leave better, One Nation has voted against the improvement.

2023 – super on parental leave

During debate on the Paid Parental Leave Amendment (Improvements for Families and Gender Equality) Bill 2022, an amendment pushed the government to pay superannuation on paid parental leave – the single most effective fix for the fact that women retire with far less super than men, partly because time off to have kids isn't counted. One Nation senators voted against it.

2023 – including PhD students

A further amendment to the same bill would have extended paid parental leave to PhD students, who do full-time research but are currently locked out because their income counts as a scholarship. One Nation voted against including them.

2024 – getting to 26 weeks sooner

The Paid Parental Leave Amendment (More Support for Working Families) Bill 2023 expanded paid parental leave to a full 26 weeks – but phased in over years. An amendment called for new parents to get the full 26 weeks straight away, in 2024, rather than waiting until 2026. One Nation voted against bringing it forward.

2020–2024 – a fairer share for both parents

Across this period, on the question of making paid parental leave apply equally to stay-at-home mums and dads – so a father or partner as primary carer can claim it rather than it being lost – the independent tracker They Vote For You rates Pauline Hanson as having voted consistently against.

2026 – “Why should business pay them?”

It's not only the votes. At the National Press Club in June 2026, Hanson questioned paid parental leave out loud: it was “fair enough,” she said, if women weren't paid while taking time off – “Why should business pay them if they are not at work?” After a public backlash, she said the comments had been taken out of context and that she wouldn't cut paid parental leave. The comments, and the walk-back, are both on the record.

The pattern

More weeks, superannuation on top, a fairer share for dads, getting there sooner – on improvement after improvement, One Nation lined up against it. We've included the 2026 walk-back too, because the full picture is the point. But what the voting record shows, consistently, is a party voting against paid parental leave getting better.

Don't take our word for any of it. Every vote here is a matter of public record – check it yourself at theyvoteforyou.org.au or on the Australian Parliament's website.