The PPL is indeed nonsense on stilts! Even many Abbott supporters like myself acknowledge that.
What is needed, and what I would have liked to have seen 20 years ago when my wife and I had children, was the bleeding obvious - make child care costs a tax deduction. If ever there is an expense incurred so parents can work it is child care!
Of course we then get into the sterile debate where the lefties claim a tax deduction benefits those earning higher incomes . Well, yes, if you earn more, you pay more tax, so should get a bigger deduction. If you pay no tax, you get no deduction. Not rocket science really, but challenging for a few.