Pauline Hanson has insisted she does not support scrapping paid maternity leave, saying her comments at the National Press Club were 'taken out of context'.

The One Nation leader said employers are already under pressure and should not have to absorb the additional costs, arguing that voters 'need to look at the other side of the ledger' before taking paid parental leave for granted. 

The claim, made during her National Press Club speech last week, has since sparked debate over the policy. 

'If women take time off and they are not paid their wages because they're not working, fair enough, why should the business pay them if they are not at work?' 

But, during an interview on 7News' Sunrise on Tuesday, Hanson said she did not want to remove the paid leave.

Host Nat Barr quoted Hanson's remarks and asked if she supported scrapping paid maternity leave.

'No, not at all ... there's no way I'm saying to get rid of it,' Hanson said.

'Public servants already have it and it's up to companies if they include it in their policies.'

'It's been beneficial in helping women return to the workforce. 

'They do need that support when they're having their children.'

Hanson said her original comments were misconstrued, insisting she was referring to financial pressures on small businesses, not calling for policy change.

Daily Mail Political Editor Peter Van Onselen warned that 'Hanson should tread carefully,' on the issue of paid parental leave. 

'Paid parental leave isn't easy to just dismiss as welfare largesse the same way the old age pension is. It sits at the intersection of work, family, fertility and workforce participation,' he said. 

'It appeals not just to progressive women but to ordinary families who don't have the luxury of ideological purity.'

Van Onselen argued that Anthony and Labor might see Hanson's rhetorical flourish from last week as an 'opening.'

[Labor] is already hunting for votes amongst professional women, and outer-suburban two income families, knowing that the Liberal Party has spent years grappling with its 'women problem', made worse by low levels of female representation amongst its MP.'