One Nation proposes $2,000 baby subsidy in Victoria, says it won't touch abortion laws

One Nation has proposed a $2,000 subsidy for new parents in Victoria and the removal of out-of-pocket maternity costs, a day after Labor and the Liberal-National Coalition both agreed to cover the cost of abortion care in the state.

The party's Victorian deputy leader, Colleen Harkin, announced the plan on Friday. It would remove out-of-pocket costs for pregnant women in the public healthcare system and provide a $2,000 subsidy for those using private maternity care.

Harkin said the policy would cost $136m over four years, but described that as a "ballpark" figure that would depend on how many babies were born each year.

"We don't go hard on figures, because we actually don't have access to the detail of this stuff," she told reporters.

Abortion laws left untouched, Harkin says

Harkin said One Nation "will not touch the abortion laws" in Victoria, despite the federal party's national platform pledging to "seek every opportunity to roll back brutal and extreme abortion law". She said the party had "no state abortion policy because it is not our focus whatsoever" and accused Labor of "lying" and "engaging with really cheap American-style scaremongering".

On Thursday, Labor announced that if re-elected in November it would eliminate out-of-pocket costs for abortion care, at a cost of $30m over four years. Under the plan, private providers would be paid to deliver medical and surgical abortions up to 16 weeks' gestation. Women would no longer pay for GP and specialist consultations, scans, tests or medication, which can cost up to $1,000. Regional Victorians who must travel long distances for care would also be eligible for a subsidy.

The government would extend access to medical abortion from nine to 10 weeks' gestation and commission a clinical review into whether it could safely be offered at up to 12 weeks.

Within hours, opposition leader Jess Wilson said the Coalition would match the plan to cover out-of-pocket costs and the travel subsidy. In a statement she said "the Liberals and Nationals will not allow Labor to play politics on this issue".

Reaction

On Friday, Fiona Carroll, the wife of the premier, Ben Carroll, defended her husband for raising abortion in the leadup to the election, saying it builds on the Labor legacy and was fundamental to the women of the state. She said it was "even better" that the Coalition had matched the commitment, because it would "take some of that fear" out of the election for women.

Neither the Liberal party nor Labor responded to a request for comment on One Nation's policy.

Anti-abortion activist Joanna Howe criticised Wilson, describing the Liberals as being in "lock step with Labor on every vile and evil policy" and directing her followers in Victoria to back One Nation. The Australian Christian Lobby's Victorian director, Jasmine Yeun, said it was "getting more difficult to vote for a major party".

Women's Health Victoria chief executive Sally Hasler welcomed the bipartisanship, saying it meant Victoria would become the first state to provide abortion free, whichever side won. She described One Nation's announcement as a deliberate attempt to frame reproductive healthcare as a choice between abortion and maternity care.

"Responding to an abortion care announcement with a maternity care announcement is a false trade-off, and it's a deliberate one," she said, calling it "a well-played move from the international anti-rights agenda to wind back women's rights".

Source: The Guardian.