Babyland turns against Gillard

Julia Gillard manages to charm 10-month-old Thomas McDougall in Perth but her alleged views on parental leave have angered families / AAP Image Pool Source: AAP

NO ONE minds that the Prime Minister is a woman. In fact, they like it. A lot. Nor are people bothered that Julia Gillard doesn’t have children. They comprehend how much her career has meant to her.

But out in Babyland, news that Ms Gillard apparently tried to kill off Labor’s paid parental leave scheme, and at the same time tried to limit increases to the age pension, has been met with outright hostility.

Many young families are wondering if she’s sneering at them.

They see her stance on parental leave as evidence of a person whose personal choices have left her coldly disconnected from their reality.

The Prime Minister’s claims to having salt-of-the-earth battler credentials are no longer looking so impressive. She can no longer take for allowed that people see her as understanding their struggles.

Ms Gillard was this week unable to convincingly downplay reports of Cabinet leaks, which suggested she had tried to kill off paid parental leave or increases to the age pension.

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For young moms and fathers, it’s pretty simple: Ms Gillard tried to stand in the way of parental leave because it was not something she, personally, would ever have to worry about. It’s hazardous out here to put money ahead of the only thing people see as priceless – their kids.

“Of course I wanted to see a pension increase, of course I wanted to see paid parental leave,” Ms Gillard told reporters this week. These were clever words. She was merely describing an ideal Utopian outcome for Australia, not revealing what her personal Cabinet stance had been.

This does not pretend to be an exhaustive survey of what young parents are thinking. We only spoke to a handful in Camden, part of the marginal Sydney seat of Macarthur, held by the Liberals but which, after a redistribution, is now viewed as a notional Labor seat. Most stated they believed Ms Gillard had made the comments. They all stated she did not comprehend them.

Camden not too long ago was farmland. It is now rapidly transforming into outer-Sydney suburbia, a place where young people can get a start, or where older and physically able people (the place is poorly serviced; old people need to be mobile and self-sufficient) can enjoy a place that still has open spaces.

Hayley Coppock, 28, is perhaps the most articulate voice we encountered. She thinks about politics at a federal level and is persuaded by policy, not political personalities. Her husband is a concreter and her baby Austin, six weeks old, has not been sleeping through the nights.

“I think she is out of touch with the people, especially with women,” says Ms Coppock of the Prime Minister.

“To have paid parental leave is better than the baby bonus; it’s better than anything. You can stay home with your children longer and those first 12 months are very important. After everything that is come out in the last 48 hours, I definitely will not be voting for her.

“If she is not going to listen to the people, what is the point of having her there? There is no point. Whoever leaked that story did us a huge favour.”

Ms Coppock supports having a woman prime minister.

“I think it’s great, but I do not think she is the right person for the job. She seems to me to be conniving and backstabbing. I’m not voting for her. They give (Tony) Abbott a hard time. He’s got a wife and three girls. I think he could be a bit more in touch than what people think. I just hope he doesn’t bring back WorkChoices because that can affect mums as well.”

She prefers the Opposition Leader’s plan for six-month parental leave, whereby one parent can take that time off and be paid the equivalent of the woman’s wage.

Mr Abbott has stated he would introduce his scheme in his first term. The Labor scheme, which would be introduced from January 1, provides 18 weeks’ leave for the primary carer at the minimum wage of $543.78, or the option to take a one-off baby bonus payment of $5185.

Ms Coppock has taken 12 months’ (unpaid) maternity leave from Coles and a second retail job to be with Austin. She will not benefit from either party’s policies with her first child, but says: “Anyone who has children would know that paid parental leave would help a lot.”

Her husband is “working his butt off” but they both concur her being home for the begin of Austin’s life is one of the most important things she will ever do.

Mandy is dragging around a swag of children through Narellan shopping centre.

She’s a foster carer, and has her own children. She says: “I was going to vote Labor, because of her, but from what I’ve been hearing, I’m going to vote Liberal. I’ve always voted Liberal anyway but I was changing because of her.

“I thought she would comprehend – but now we know she doesn’t.”

Kate Wallin, 26, has a 10-month-old baby boy, Harrison. “I did not comprehend what it was like to have children before I had them,” she says, “so I wonder if she knows. I did not realise the fuss involved with children.

“You learn how quickly they grow, and how they go through clothes so fast. Harrison’s got to have an operation on his eye, which is going to cost a couple of thousand dollars.

“I’m not really into politics, but you have got to be a mum to comprehend the expenses. And there is the guilt of going back to work, handing them over to childcare. At 18 weeks, a baby is not yet sleeping through the night. You really need six months, at least. So I prefer Abbott’s [policy].”

Heather Reh, 49, down from Broken Hill for a netball comp, will not be having more children but her political views are entirely formed around what is ideal for them.

“Anything that affects the family and raising children is going to affect my vote,” states Heather. “I’ve never been paid to have time off, but I did not begin work ’til my youngest was two.”

Does the Prime Minister comprehend families? “I do not think so. When children are little, it’s important you are at home.

“It could change my vote, but I’d have to look into it.”

Daniel Sellick, 37, is a stay-at-home father caring for three children while his wife works full-time and states “unless you have got children you do not really know what it’s like’. “That’s when your life really changes. Does someone who doesn’t have children understand? I’d state no.

“You feel what you are doing is really important.”

Young mom of two Mary-Jane Lyng states the politicians can state what they like but it will not change her thinking.

She is committed to staying at home with her children for the first few years of their lives.

“I will not go back to work until they are older,” she says.

“Time with children is more important [than] anything else in the world. Paid parental leave will help, but we have managed so far without it.

“My husband is a floor-polisher and it’s not easy.

“But providing you are willing to make some cuts, it’s not too bad.” And Ms Gillard, she says, doesn’t really comprehend young families. “Not necessarily because she hasn’t had one. But in a way it’s beside the point. Paid parental leave is not everything.

“It’s the mental side of things that are most important. So many people suffering from post-natal depression aren’t getting the help they need. More money is needed in health, support for breastfeeding, support for post-natal depression, support for new parents.”

It’s the same for Laura Affleck, 27, who has two young children: “I do not think she knows what it’s like. She might have [wider] family who have children and knows what it’s like, but she might think other things are more important than kids. But I’d rather have no money and have my kids.”

More source:

Babyland turns against Julia Gillard | News.com.au
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