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Thousands sign petition for change
Mr Baker s comments come after Perth GP Dr Sarah Bailey started a parliamentary petition calling on the government to change the legislation to fix the anomaly.
So far, more than 3300 people have signed the petition.
Last year, Ms Underdown and Mr Baker started a similar parliamentary petition about the same issue, which attracted almost 700 signatures.
In response to Dr Bailey s petition, a spokesperson for the Department of Social Services told nine.com.au in a statement the government s Paid Parental Leave Scheme was designed to complement employer-based schemes and allow parents to spend quality time with their child after birth or adoption.
It s ludicrous : Female GP takes on government over parental leave inequality
When Perth GP Sarah Bailey started making plans for a family she looked into the government s parental leave scheme and was stunned to discover she wouldn t be entitled to a cent.
While Dr Bailey earns slightly more than the $150,000 cut off for the government s 18-week Parental Leave Pay, her partner is currently studying and on a very low income.
But because eligibility for the scheme is tied only to the mother s income, with the father s making no difference at all, neither Dr Bailey nor her husband are entitled to Parental Leave Pay.
VULNERABLE new parents are waiting months for paid parental leave to kick in, with one Gold Coast family told she is one of thousands in limbo. One mother of four has been waiting almost two months while another has been paid one week out of nine owed in what is a festive season blow. Paradise Point mother-of-four Shannon said her son Hugo was born on November 6 and paperwork was submitted three days later. But seven weeks on she still hasn t received any payment, despite contacting her employer and Centrelink nearly a dozen times. It has been left to me to chase it up over and over again and it s the last thing new mums need to worry about when they already have a new baby to care for and bond with, she said.