Prime Minister Tony Abbott has again hinted that there may need to be some changes to his "signature" paid parental leave scheme for it to get through Parliament.
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Mr Abbott's policy, which would pay working mothers their full salary for six months, capped at $75,000, plus superannuation, has been widely criticised as unaffordable.
On Thursday, when asked if there would be any change to the Coalition's paid parental plans, Mr Abbott suggested that his policy may need to be amended to pass both houses of parliament.
"Obviously, it has got to go through the Parliament, and sometimes things have to be negotiated through the parliament. But as far as I'm concerned, the scheme that we took to the election is the scheme that we should take into the parliament. And try our hardest to pass," he told Fiveaa Radio in Adelaide.
When asked if Australia could afford the scheme, he replied that it was "fully funded" by a "modest" (1.5 per cent) levy on big businesses.
"It's not something that would be paid for directly by taxpayers," he said.
Former Treasury head Ken Henry has said that Australia cannot afford expensive new social programs like the PPL scheme without new sources of revenue, while Treasurer Peter Costello has reportedly advised his successor Joe Hockey not to proceed with the scheme.
This comes after a report last month that the government's own Audit Commission has criticised the policy as too generous, given the state of the budget.
The scheme is due to start on July 1, 2015 and is set to cost about $5.5 billion a year.
The Coalition will have no trouble getting its scheme through the lower house, given its majority, but will run into trouble in the Senate, where Labor opposes the policy.
Palmer United, DLP senator John Madigan, independent Nick Xenophon and Family First - all of whom will be represented on the Senate crossbench come July 1 - have also signalled concerns with the Coalition's plans.
The government has the most chance of success through the Greens, who have a plan similar to the Coalition's, but with the six months' salary capped at $50,000.
Both schemes are significantly more generous than the current scheme - introduced by Labor - of 18 weeks leave, at the national minimum wage.
Mr Abbott also faces some opposition from within his own party. Nationals senator John "Wacka" Williams has already signalled his opposition to the scheme, as has LNP MP George Christensen.
But on Thursday, Liberal frontbencher Jamie Briggs backed the Prime Minister's paid parental leave plans, telling reporters in Canberra that the policy was an election commitment and he backed Mr Abbott "100 per cent".
Addressing reporters later on Thursday morning, Mr Abbott said the Coalition had a "clear mandate" for its paid parental scheme.
"This wasn't just a policy that the Coalition took to the 2013 election, it was the policy we took to the 2010 election. This is a policy to which I am personally very committed," he said.
When asked if he would be willing to negotiate a $50,000 cap, as per the Greens' policy, he said, "[the] point I will be making to anyone who comes to me [is], if you are a public servant, a member of parliament, a political staffer, you get parental leave paid at your wage.
"If your wage is $200,000, you get paid at that rate. If your wage is $300,000, you get paid at that rate. If it is good for Commonwealth public servants, if it is good for politicians, if it is good for [parliamentary] staff, why shouldn't it be good enough for the rest of the Australian population?"
Apart from an introductory meeting between Mr Abbott and Greens leader Christine Milne after he was made Prime Minister, Fairfax Media understands there have been no talks between the Coalition and the Greens about the paid parental leave policy.
