The prime minister has defended the Government's rejection of a National Party bill that would allow parents to take paid parental leave at the same time, saying it would not necessarily be in the best interests of the child.
The bill's sponsor Nicola Willis said the response is "out of touch" and "offensive to all women and all parents" and if National leads the next government the bill would progress in its first 100 days.
Currently, paid parental leave is for six months and can be transferred from one partner to another. That means partners can share the parental leave, but only separately, not at the same time.
Willis said yesterday the bill would have provided flexibility and "modernised" paid parental leave, allowing parents to make the choice for themselves. The bill was supported yesterday by all parties in Parliament except Labour, which meant the bill was defeated and will not progress.
Today, Prime Minister Chris Hipkins said Labour was concerned the bill would undermine the intention of the Labour Government's extension of paid parental leave to six months.
He said reducing the overall six month period would not "necessarily" be "in the best interests of the child".
"There's good science for why we chose six months. Because actually if you look at the science around childhood attachment for example, having a parent at home for six months is actually incredibly important to a baby's development.
He said the Government wasn't telling people what to do because it didn't "pick which parent takes the six months of paid parental leave".
"As somebody who took paid parental leave when my children were born, I'd encourage them to do that."
Hipkins said the Labour Party election manifesto would "provide clarity" about what Labour's plan was for paid parental leave.
In response, Willis said Hipkins was speaking from a "position of privilege", telling parents "this is how I did it so you should too".
"He has spoken of an ideal... welcome to the real world prime minister, a world in which not everything is perfect and things go wrong.
"Women get hurt giving birth, they have post-natal depression. They just want the support of their partner at home."
She said a lot of women listening would have felt judged by the Government's comments on the bill.
"Those of us who have returned to work when our babies are small already feel our heartstrings hurting.
"Having people at the highest level suggest that we haven't done the right thing by our children — that is deeply hurtful."
"To all those women... don't feel judged. You did the right thing by your kids in your circumstances and no one else is in a position to imply otherwise. You deserve freedom, choice and flexibility."
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