I was astonished to read in "What is Rudd's Agenda?" (November) the silly and, worse, ill-informed comment by Robert Manne about the campaign by groups as disparate as trade unions, paediatricians and early-child-development specialists, national women's groups, the Sex Discrimination Commission and others on paid maternity leave. His reference to "old-style feminists who are still fighting battles of an earlier era about women's right to work" combining to "determine a choice of fewer than six months of paid maternity leave" is ludicrous, disrespectful and utterly wrong. Were he informed, he would be aware that the issue is still on the political agenda, thanks to a campaign launched in June 2007 by a coalition of national women's groups, ranging from the CWA and the BPW of Australia through to the YWCA of Australia.
The campaign was led by the National Foundation for Australian Women, which joined forces with the NSW Commission for Children and Young People and NIFTEY to commission a Newspoll survey and develop an online petition, which culminated in a letter to the then leader of the Opposition, Kevin Rudd, and to the then prime minister, John Howard, seeking a reference to the Productivity Commission. Rudd promised the reference. The entire background material, including the Rudd letter and the Newspoll results, can be found at www.nfaw.org.
For its part, the ACTU sought to form a coalition with ACCI and the AIG, and strategically promoted a 14-week-leave agenda. Unions NSW, NIFTEY, NFAW and many others, in a virtual coalition, have sought a minimum of six months. The Productivity Commission, in its draft report, states that it has been convinced by the arguments on child development to recommend a six-month leave period.
As a 75-year-old veteran of the women's movement, I take umbrage at Professor Manne's ignorance of the role of the national women's organisations, and his utterly irrelevant and discriminatory reference to old-style feminists. He is out of line, as well as out of the loop.
Marie Coleman
Chair of the Social Policy Committee, National Foundation for Australian Women
