A week on from the Federal Budget changes to the paid parental leave scheme are still causing headaches for the Abbott government.

There’s now increasing pressure on the government to take a more bipartisan approach.

Sam Mortimer reports.

TRANSCRIPT

The government is banking on saving a billion dollars over four years, stopping parents claiming government and employer paid parental leave entitlements from July next year.

But, Labor, the Greens and crossbenchers are all opposed.

Now Victorian Liberal backbencher Sharman Stone has called for the government to go “back to the drawing board” and possibly make a deal with Labor.

But the government defends the move.

Scott Morrison, Social Services Minister: “The government formed the view and listen to the families, and they said ‘we want you to invest in childcare. That’s where we want the more generous investment to be.”

Eighty-thousand mums will lose up to eleven-thousand dollars, or eighteen weeks of entitlements in the changes.

Despite the Abbott Government getting a boost in the opinion polls childcare is still a sticking point in the budget.

Sam Mortimer, QUT News.