Prime Minister Tony Abbott is fostering seasonal goodwill as he tries to come up with a paid parental leave scheme that appeases parliament.
"I've extended the olive branch to the cross bench, to the Greens, even to the Labor Party on this," he told Fairfax radio on Friday.
"I've said `you tell us what you would like to see and let's talk about it'."
Mr Abbott has clung to his six-month full-pay parental leave scheme through two federal elections, despite criticism that even comes from his own party.
But now he's conceded he'll have to shake it up a bit if it's ever to become reality.
News that makes sense
Your trusted source for staying up-to-date with the world around you. Get free daily news updates and analysis, straight to your inbox.
It was sensible to accept that any changes that require legislation had to get through the parliament, he said.
"I am locked in to getting as close as we can to the scheme that we took not to one election but to two elections," he said.
The Greens are interested in a full-pay leave scheme but say it needs to be completely funded by a levy on business.
The current proposal is only partly funded by corporate taxes.
Labor, which established a scheme that gives new parents 18 weeks leave at the minimum wage, has been critical of Mr Abbott's "rolled gold" scheme.
