In 1998 the ILO reported that "more than 120 countries around the world provide paid maternity leave and health benefits by law, including most industrialized nations except Australia, New Zealand and the United States" .

New Zealand has now removed itself from the ILO's list of recalcitrant nations by introducing 12 weeks paid parental leave (effective from 1 July 2002).

Around two-thirds of working women in New Zealand will be eligible for 12 weeks paid maternity leave from July next year.

The decision, announced by New Zealand Labour Minister Margaret Wilson and Associate Labour Minister Laila Harre, covers working mothers who have a baby or adopt a baby after working with the same employer for a full year.

Under the new arrangement, new mothers who usually work at least 10 hours a week will receive NZ$325 gross per week for the 12-week period or 100% of their previous earnings, whichever is lower.

This equates to 53% of the nation's average male and female weekly earnings and will cost the NZ Government about NZ$42m a year.

The payment will mean that half of New Zealand's female wage and salary earners will get 80% of their earnings, and about one-third will receive 100%.

Payments can be shared between eligible partners, including same sex partners.

Employees are eligible for maternity leave - paid and unpaid - totalling 52 weeks.

Eligibility for the paid parental leave will be based on the existing criteria set out under New Zealand's Parental Leave and Employment Protection Act 1987, and parents not eligible may still qualify for the Parental Tax Credit if they are on low incomes.

The one-third of women who miss out on the maternity payment are either self-employed or fail to meet the eligibility criteria under the Parental Leave and Employment Protection Act, Harre said.

Scheme a good start, says Minister
Laila Harre said the scheme represents a major achievement for the government, unions and women's groups, who have been campaigning for such change for many years.

"The paid parental leave scheme should be seen as a good starting point in supporting female employees… it is the first non means-tested piece of income policy since the family benefit was abolished.

"The fact that the government has introduced paid parental leave as a universal provision is a significant shift," Harre said.

"This paid parental leave scheme should be seen as a good starting point. It's now up to New Zealanders to decide how it can best be expanded, and how this should be paid for."