Kevin Rudd (Griffith, Australian Labor Party, Prime Minister) Share this | Hansard source

No, the objective is to actually increase the supply of qualified childcare workers to the sector. If you have an adverse balance of supply and demand in that sector, obviously it provides a further cost pressure for providers.

The other thing I would say to those opposite is: reflect on the history. When those opposite were first elected, they froze childcare assistance payments for two years, they removed operational and capital works subsidies for community based centres, which forced a number of centres to reduce in size or close completely, and they withdrew funding that was to support the construction of 5,500 new childcare places. When they finally introduced the childcare tax rebate in 2004, they made families wait two years before receiving their first payment. That is what those opposite did in their first few years. In the first six months of our government’s tenure, our action in terms of the childcare tax rebate, in addition to the input measures we have put in place for those working in this sector and those who need training in this sector, is a solid start, but there is still much more to do.

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