Double Baby Bonus For Stay-At-Home Mums

Would you vote for Tony Abbott if he promises to double the baby bonus to $10,000?

This is what Nationals Senator Barnaby Joyce is encouraging Tony Abbott to do if he wins the elections. According to Joyce, the plan targets stay-at-home mums and can be considered their own version of superannuation.

The Senator said that women make a great sacrifice by staying at home and to ensure that their families stay afloat despite hard economic times.

Earlier last month, the Coalition proposed a paid parental leave plan, which would give working women as much as $75,000. The plan has been met with skepticism and criticism, saying this would mainly benefit wealthy women.

In an attempt to balance public sentiment, it is pushing for a plan that, this time, would benefit stay-at-home mothers.

Finance Minister Penny Wong, however, said the proposed scheme would cost up to $3 billion in the next three years.

Wong said this is a proposal that the Coalition clearly cannot afford. She added the Coalition would need to identify where to get the money to fund these proposals.

The sentiment is echoed by Andrew Robb, saying that promises of the Coalition would still depend on the budget. Robb is Abbott’s finance spokesman.

Warren Truss, Nationals head, clarified that the double baby bonus scheme was a proposal of Nationals and not the Coalition. Truss added that Abbott does not endorse it.

The paid parental leave policy was also not an issue about welfare. Instead, it was aimed at encouraging married women to remain in the workplace.

Tagged Andrew Robb, Barnaby Joyce, Penny Wong, Tony Abbott