The Coalition's compromise plan to cut paid parental leave entitlements will hinge on crossbench support, after Labor and the Greens criticised the proposal to allow working parents to "top up" an employer scheme with government payments to reach 18 weeks.
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The government's mid-year budget update, released on Tuesday, revealed the Coalition would provide almost $36 million over four years to make sure "all eligible primary carers receive 18 weeks of paid parental leave".
This would mean that anyone with an employer scheme would receive a top-up - paid at the minimum wage - "for the difference in weeks between their employer scheme and the 18 weeks provided for under parental leave pay".
While this is less than the current policy - which lets women access both an employer scheme and the full government scheme - it is more generous than the cut proposed in the May budget.
Earlier this year, the government announced it would save almost $1 billion by stopping women from accessing both their employer parental leave scheme (if they have access to one) and the government's 18 weeks at the minimum wage.
But the budget plan, which would have led to about 80,000 new mothers losing entitlements, failed to gain the required support in the Senate.
On Wednesday, Social Services Minister Christian Porter told Sky News the government was trying to make the system "as fair as possible". He also told ABC Radio he was in "negotiations with the crossbench".
Six of the eight crossbench votes would be needed to form a majority.
Independent Nick Xenophon indicated he was still opposed to the reform, while Ricky Muir said he would review the plan in the new year.
"A proposal that will increase the time working mothers can spend with a baby is a step in the right direction," Senator Muir said.
Independent John Madigan similarly offered "general support" for a policy that left more money in the hands of new mothers, but said he would wait to see more detail.
Liberal Democrat David Leyonhjelm said he would support the paid parental leave move because it still represented an overall cut.
"PPL is pretty hard to justify at the best of times," he said.
Labor quickly dismissed the new proposal, with Opposition Leader Bill Shorten saying the government was still "treating working mums as double dippers".
"My best advice to the Malcolm Turnbull/ Scott Morrison team is: please don't penalise working mums who have got good industrial conditions ... and don't undermine the public safety net."
The Greens, who have a majority-making 10 votes in the Senate, called for more detail but were highly critical of the approach.
"This government just doesn't get that Australian women deserve a right to paid parental leave that enables them to care for their child and then to re-enter the workforce," acting leader Larissa Waters said.
Women on Boards executive director Claire Braund described the new PPL plan as a "sensible middle ground".
However, she cautioned that Women on Boards needed to see the detail and ensure that vulnerable women would not be further disadvantaged.
Sydney University employment relations professor Marian Baird - a member of the research team evaluating the existing PPL scheme - said the compromise plan was still going in the "wrong direction".
Professor Baird said the aim was to get women to 26 weeks of paid parental leave to promote breastfeeding and bonding with new babies.
With Lisa Cox
