Pauline Hanson’s stance on paid parental leave and childcare could turn clock back by decades, economists warn

‘I didn’t have a university degree to look after my children’ … Pauline Hanson hinted at major changes to childcare at the National Press Club. Photograph: Hilary Wardhaugh/Getty Images View image in fullscreen ‘I didn’t have a university degree to look after my children’ … Pauline Hanson hinted at major changes to childcare at the National Press Club. Photograph: Hilary Wardhaugh/Getty Images Pauline Hanson’s stance on paid parental leave and childcare could turn clock back by decades, economists warn One Nation leader appears to suggest women should not be paid by employers while on maternity leave and calls for family income splitting Get our breaking news email , free app or daily news podcast One Nation could wind back the clock by decades for working mothers, damage productivity and worsen gender inequality, economists have warned. In a controversial address to the National Press Club on Wednesday, Pauline Hanson seemed to suggest women should not get paid by their employers while on maternity leave. She also hinted at major changes to the childcare system, and called for income splitting for families to help incentivise a parent staying home with their children. “If women take time off and they are not paid their wages because they’re not working, fair enough. Why should business pay? But they’re not at work. That’s the difference. That’s why the pay gap is there,” the One Nation leader told the press club. Paid parental leave is not compulsory for employers, though many offer it as a means of attracting staff, and all employees are entitled to 12 months of unpaid leave. The government paid parental leave scheme from 1 July will offer parents 26 weeks at the national minimum wage. 1:30 Pauline Hanson says Australia must be ‘monocultural’ in Press Club address – video Leonora Risse, an associate professor in economics at Queensland University of Technology, said any move away from paid leave could have serious financial implications for women. “Questioning these policies is actually winding back the clock to many decades back, where it wasn’t an even playing field, and the gender gap was much wider,” Risse said. “It isn’t just the financial implications for women, it is also setting women back in terms of decision-making, having financial independence, having a say, having status and respect in society.” Sign up for the Breaking News Australia email Risse said that competitive paid parental leave ensures that women can remain in the workforce longer term and improve productivity. “If women can sustain their involvement and their attachment to the workforce and to their employer during their child-bearing years, that’s positive for productivity because it maintains a good job match,” she said. “We’ve worked really hard to validate that case and to prove that it has a productivity benefit as well as a wellbeing benefit.” Guardian Australia asked One Nation whether it would continue to support government-funded paid parental leave, but the par