To: New Zealand Government

Paid Paternal Leave

Dear Ministers of Parliament,

We are calling on the government to extend paid paternal leave. We should be encouraging fathers to spend time with their newborns and take some of the pressure off of kiwi mothers.

Why is this important?

Right now in New Zealand, paternal leave is optional and only at a maximum of up to 2 weeks of unpaid work leave.

Extending this for a longer period of time with pay would have many benefits. Some of which include: a break for mothers, especially those who are suffering postnatal depression. As well as, fathers feeling more encouraged to take time off to spend with their baby, and research proves that this initial bond with fathers improves every aspect of the child hauora further along in life.

The paid paternal leave provides the fathers with motivation to actually take time off. Being a parent is hard, although this would not make parenting a piece of cake, however, it would make it that much easier.

Paternity leave in New Zealand: https://www.findlaw.co.nz/articles/4283/paternity-leave-in-new-zealand.aspx

Modernising Parental Leave - Regulatory Impact Analysis: https://www.mbie.govt.nz/assets/f58553252a/ris-2015-modernising-parental-leave.pdf

How does Swedish parental leave work? https://everythingsweden.com/parental-leave-in-sweden/

Few Kiwi dads taking paid parental leave for fatherhood https://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/few-kiwi-dads-taking-paid-parental-leave-for-fatherhood/ORMFAUOCSWWZP6OEMQ3ZUR4QDM/