My wifes work off 1 year of Maternity leave unpaid, so babsically get the PPL for 14 weeks, and then nothing from there. Oh and they also top up her PPL with a lump sum payment to her full wage the day she starts her Maternity leave so you can get any little bits and pieces for the new arrival. Got to love Meridian Energy!

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I may be ugly but atleast I get the pity shag.

Fathers can choose to take part of the 14 weeks instead of the mother and I assume that would remain the same if the amount was paid parental leave was increased.

A lot of new mothers (myself included) feel like they have to go back to work at the end of their paid parental leave just to survive. There is already provision for mothers/fathers to take 6-12 months off work after the birth of a baby (dependant on how long you have been employed) but obviously only the first 14 weeks is paid.

I feel, if the amount of paid parental leave was increased that the person who would benefit the most from this would be the child.

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Hey bro, Skrippy says you're dumb.

I agree and dont they recommend breastfeeding for at least the first year? If so how can a mother do if being sent back into the work force after 14 weeks?

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I may be ugly but atleast I get the pity shag.

Exactly.

I tried breastfeeding Liliana in the the few weeks I was back at work and it was almost impossible. You have to express milk every 2 hours to keep the milk supply up so my whole working day was ruled by how long I had left until I had to go into a meeting room and express again!

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Hey bro, Skrippy says you're dumb.

Its where some education needs to happen in school, because obviously the parents are too stupid to teach their kids how to budget.

Ive droned on about it before, but my wife and I planned months and months ahead of time before we had a kid. We managed to save hardcore for about a year I think before she arrived. And we've talked about having a second - but not until we get a few things sorted first (paying off student loan, getting a decent - bigger - car, pay more off the mortgage) and plus we want to save a heap more so my wife can afford to spend more time off work. If the shit hits the fan, like I lose my job or something, then having another kid is probably off the table for a while.

Kids are fucking expensive, I think people realise that, but they don't UNDERSTAND it. They will drain your money like nothing else. Like, whatever you think they'll cost - add another 100%. Live within your means. If your poor now, having a kid won't fix it.

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I agree kids are expensive but what if you lost your job whilst your wife was pregnant and you had to use the money you had already saved to pay your mortgage etc? Wouldn't you feel better knowing that your wife had 6 months paid leave (and not necessarily 100% pay) after the birth of your child?

And what about those people who, for whatever reason (and it's not always unprotected sex) end up pregnant and don't want to abort or put the child up for adoption? What about those people who plan to go back to work when the child is 3 months and plan accordingly but for whatever reason the mother cannot go back to work (postnatal depression for example)?

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Hey bro, Skrippy says you're dumb.

Thats fine they make that choice...but why should tax payers have to foot the bill...AGAIN...you make the choice and you live or die by that choice.
People should fucking wake up to themselves and stop expecting the government to bail them out all the time....take some fucking responsibility for your actions instead of standing there with your hand out expecting the government to hand you fucking money all the time....fucking boils my piss!!!


I like Swanny & his wife...they go about raising a family the RIGHT way!! The world would be a much better place with more Swanny's and Mrs Swanny's thats for sure!!

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Im not so sure about that

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Well it couldn't be any fucking worse!!

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I like how I fucked up the quote of that, so it looks like GunJacks Mrs said it.

Im leaving it as is.

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I've nothing against Swanny or his wife.

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Hey bro, Skrippy says you're dumb.

Like a lot at the moment most people around here seem to only think of the economic ramifications and not the social. In terms of helping raise a better generation of kids, plus what a lot of you are saying is basically you can only have kids if you are middle class.

Thing is, the country will have a hard time getting ahead economically on the current path. We're so anti mining and oil drilling (and I guess its not a bad thing) that we'll never be a rich country. Look at all the places that do better than us - mostly its due to some form of resource gathering. So if we want to stay 'Clean and Green' then we have to accept we'll never be able to afford the things other countries have - like extended parental leave etc.

Well thats my partially informed view. Could be completely wrong obv.

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Classic 1oak line.

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I think economical ramifications and social ramifications are pretty much linked.





No...rich people can have families too.

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I think it's a balancing act between what the country can afford and what the country needs (or at least their youngest citizens need).

In the past, when everything wasn't as expensive, I'm guessing it was more affordable for new mothers to extend their maternity leave past the 14 weeks paid period as it was easier to survive on one wage. These days, it is very, very hard to survive on one wage, especially if you've got a mortgage to pay. The 'types' of people you are talking about having kids when they can't afford them predominantly don't work and are on the benefit anyway so an extra few months of parental leave doesn't actually make any difference for them. They're getting 'handouts' from the government either way.

Extended PPL would help out those families who both work and just need a little help for the first few months of their childs life.

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Hey bro, Skrippy says you're dumb.

And totally wrong...there are no class divisions in NZ..well, there wasn't when I left the country 6 year ago.

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OK, so I'm going to assume that if PPL is ever increased all the people on here who are so against it will take the 14 weeks and say no thanks to the rest when they have children/have another child.

Tui advert anyone?

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Hey bro, Skrippy says you're dumb.

Who's against it? Just H_L?

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And hes an aussie now anyway

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I may be ugly but atleast I get the pity shag.

I got the impression you were against it as well Swanny? And Hurricane Girl?

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Hey bro, Skrippy says you're dumb.

Hell if they bump it up to 6 months - great -free money. But its not an option at the moment (well, not with the current government) - so people need to plan ahead of time to be able to afford it. You get the 14 weeks - but anything past that is up to you to budget and plan for if you're thinking about not going back to work straight away.

Don't like the idea of only spending 3 and a half months with your child? Then save more. Or don't have a kid. Or live with the fact that you may only just get by on 1 salary. Personal responsibility for your decisions. Its a crazy concept.

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Oh Swanny...you and your crazy common sense answers!!!

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you are kidding right? There is huge class division in this country, a lot more so then a lot in this country would want to admit.

I actually agree with Swannys later comments, where 6 month is preferable but at the moment it is 14 weeks and thus you have to find a way to live within that. But dosen't mean you can't keep fighting for 6 months.

Oh and this is a way to increase revenue, i keep telling you, more taxes. CGT, Tax the money traders and speculators that cause this whole problem in the first place, tax the super wealthy more etc

I'm not against it, I'm just saying people shouldn't expect it. Too many people seem to think they're just entitled to things. As Swanny said, if people want more time off, they should plan for it first.

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What is your malfunction?
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