Finance Minister Bill English will use the financial veto to block Labour's paid parental leave bill.

Getting 26 weeks paid parental leave for Kiwi Mums and Dads has passed its second hurdle in Parliament, but it won't get across the line because of a Government veto.

Finance Minister Bill English confirmed on Wednesday that he still intends to use the financial veto to block the bill, introduced by Labour MP Sue Moroney.

The bill's second reading passed with 61 votes - support came from Labour, the Greens, the Maori Party, UnitedFuture and NZ First - while National and ACT opposed the bill with 60 votes.

MARION VAN DIJK/FAIRFAX NZ "The sooner we get 26 weeks paid parental leave, the sooner we will reap the benefits of children who get the best start in life," Sue Moroney says.

It's expected the bill will pass its third and final reading.

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Despite blocking the bill, it's possible the Government will look to add another two weeks to paid parental leave, taking it to 20 weeks, in Thursday's Budget.

Moroney said the Government was simply "playing politics" if it vetoed her bill and then introduced its own extension.

"By vetoing my bill it shows they've pre-assessed the situation on political grounds and it proves they're not listening to what the experts and the public is saying," she said.

The bill is in Parliament for a second time, previously it was narrowly defeated in February last year when National and ACT voted against it. That balance of power has since shifted with NZ First leader Winston Peters winning the Northland seat off National.

English said he would use the veto at the third reading, which also gives the Government an opportunity to make its own extensions to paid parental leave in the Budget on Thursday.

Moroney said she was confident her bill would pass a second reading and she's "encouraged by Bill English refusing to rule out extensions to paid parental leave" in Thursday's Budget".

"The sooner we get 26 weeks paid parental leave, the sooner we will reap the benefits of children who get the best start in life."

National MP Sarah Dowie, a mother of two premature babies, spoke out in support of the "spirit of the bill" and said she could see the benefits but it came down to whether it was affordable.

On April 1 paid parental leave increased to 18 weeks under the Government - since 2014 paid leave has been phased in through two week increments, starting at 14 weeks.

Parents came out in force to back Moroney's bill during the select committee process - many said the cost of living had increased to a point it was no longer affordable to stay at home when paid parental leave ran out.

UnitedFuture has gone one step further and on hearing the bill had passed its second reading, leader Peter Dunne made calls for 52 weeks of paid parental leave.

Dunne said six months was the "minimum" amount of time parents should have at home with their children and it was "important parents have the opportunity and choice to spend time with their newborns".

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