Pauline Hanson has declared businesses should not be responsible for paying employees on parental leave, pointing to her own experience as a small business owner to defend her stance.

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 this week has since ignited a heated debate over the rule.

'Can businesses afford to pay that? There is a struggle that is happening with people being able to afford to pay their bills, but there has to be a balance.'

Hanson leaned heavily on her own background, criticising the government for not having any real-world business experience.

'As I said, I've been in small business. This government hasn't. Albanese and Chalmers haven't,' she said.

'You have to have a balance there.'

She also used her speech to call for other sweeping changes to workplace laws, arguing that the current system places too many constraints on employers.

'Industrial relations… needs a complete overhaul,' she claimed.

Hanson argued that pay differences between genders were directly linked to time that had been spent out of the workforce, and that parental leave plays a central role.

'The difference is that if women take time off and they are not paid their wages because they're not working, fair enough,' she said.

'Why should business pay them if they're not at work?'

'That's the difference. That's why the pay gap is there.'

Her comments quickly gained traction online, drawing a sharp and polarised response.

A video made by former Married at First Sight star Lauren Dunn criticised Hanson's stance. 

She accused Hanson of appealing to 'less intelligent, bitter [boomers]'. 

'So the generation where they had to save up before they went on maternity leave... if they didn't have a wealthy partner to support them, they literally had to save up so they could have a child and go on maternity leave,'

'And now they don't think it's fair.' 

Dunn's video sparked a major response itself.  

'As someone who is childfree, I feel very strongly about my tax money going towards things like maternity leave, childcare, education etc… and by that I mean strongly in favour, it makes our society better,' one person wrote.

'Supported mothers will raise children who can continue to grow our country and benefit everyone.'

But others expressed disappointment, with one commenter saying, 'I was all for Pauline until hearing this.'

There were many who backed Hanson's perspective, and said there were changing expectations about work across generations.

'50 years ago people lived within their means. I didn't receive paid maternity leave and my husband was often on strike, but we survived because we lived within our means,' one wrote.

The debate has also revived Hanson's longstanding views on welfare and workplace entitlements. During a 2017 Senate debate, she also argued against expanding paid parental leave.

'You cannot keep giving out handouts all the time. It does not work... how many of you in this house have ever run a business? she said.

'I know what it is like to be a battler. I had my first child at 17 years of age, and my second by the time I was 21,' she said.

'I was a single mother at 22 and having to work, so I know what being a battler is about.

'I found the money to put food on the table to feed my two children, and I made sure they could eat.'

While Hanson has not committed to scrapping existing parental leave entitlements, One Nation has proposed income splitting for families with dependent children. 

The policy would allow couples to combine their income and divide it evenly for tax purposes.

The party says the approach would 'encourage parents to look after their own children' and reduce reliance on childcare, though the financial benefit varies depending on household income.