It seems absurd that as a nation we are debating whether we are willing to support paid maternity leave to allow mothers more time with their babies when we are prepared to spend billions fighting climate change, war or a worldwide recession.

What sort of value do we put on parenting?

Very little, according to former Australian of the Year Professor Fiona Stanley.

She estimates one in five Australian mums and dads is unfit to be a parent.

They either lack the means or the life skills to raise children, or cannot devote enough time to their kids because of excessive work commitments.

Professor Stanley, an adviser to Prime Minister Kevin Rudd, has slammed the Federal Government’s policy on paid parental leave.

She believes a national effort – on the scale of the climate-change movement – is needed to protect the future of Australian children.

“We need an Al Gore for child development,’’ the child care expert argues.

“If you look at the overall trend in many problems, they are actually showing no improvement – and some of them are getting dramatically worse.’’

“The fact we don’t have maternity leave or parental leave in Australia is just indicative of our lack of valuing of parents.”

Professor Stanley says there is an increasing group of parents who are just not making ends meet. They don’t have the capacity to be parents.

“And they may represent as much as 20% of the population when you add in Aboriginal people and the most disadvantaged in society.”

Mental illness, obesity, asthma and substance abuse were the biggest risks for Australian children.

So what is the solution?

Just throwing more money at the problem is not the answer – nor should small businesses be left with the bill for paying for people who want to have children.

One of the first steps the government must take is to scrap the baby bonus.

An upfront payment of $5000 is an enticement for some to have children for all the wrong reasons, and there is no accountability in regard to how it is spent.

Replacing the baby bonus with a paid maternity scheme funded by the taxpayer – not small business – will ensure the money is drip-fed to parents in such a way that it is unlikely to be blown on items like plasma TVs or upgrading the family car.

But is 14 weeks really enough?

My wife and I have been very lucky in that she has been able to stay at home for the first formative years of our children’s lives.

For many, however, the economic reality is that with high mortgages and greater costs of just living, both parents need to work.

Many mums are forced to return to work far earlier than they would want to, and the result is that more and more kids see less and less of the most important person in the world – Mum.

As I have written before, it has been heart-breaking to watch a young child screaming as they are dropped off at childcare in the early hours of the morning in the knowledge that their mum or dad may not pick them up until very late in the afternoon.

Surely, as a society, if we made it easier for mum or dad to stay at home, we would have far fewer social problems that can result from parents being overworked and kids being under-parented.

Of course, employers also have an obligation to encourage family-friendly workplaces by providing the flexibility that parents need to deal with the many issues and crises that children throw up.

Many good employers are realising the value of providing a good work-family life balance to retain their most skilled staff.

But the reality is that if small business is forced to pay the cost of paid maternity leave, some will choose to discriminate against women, hiring more men or elevating them to more senior positions to avoid extra costs down the track.

Sex Discrimination Commissioner Elizabeth Broderick has joined business and unions in calling for a national, 14-week paid maternity leave scheme.

Australia and the United States are the only developed countries that do not have paid maternity leave across the workforce.

And while most female workers are entitled to 12 months unpaid maternity leave, only about 40% have access to paid leave.

Finance Minister Lindsay Tanner says he is confident businesses will increase access to paid maternity leave to attract and retain female staff.

That may be the case, but surely it gets back to the question: How much do we, as a whole society, value the important role our parents play?

Surely, as a society, it will return much bigger dividends if we invest in the very foundation of our communities – the family unit.