House debates
Thursday, 23 March 2017
Questions without Notice
Child Care
2:15 pm
Kate Ellis (Adelaide, Australian Labor Party, Shadow Minister for Education) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source
My question is to the Prime Minister. Today, Early Childhood Australia said of the government's childcare changes: 'We call on the Senate to block the bill today unless there is an amendment to increase the base entitlement to 15 hours a week.' Why will the government not agree to a minimum of at least 15 hours a week so that this legislation can pass through the parliament without hurting the most vulnerable Australian children?
Christian Porter (Pearce, Liberal Party, Minister for Social Services) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source
Over the six years that members opposite presided over the childcare system that so many Australian families rely upon, the cost of child care in this nation went up 53 per cent. The bill that is before the Senate means that 230,000 Australians who presently say that they cannot get work or cannot work more hours because child care costs too much will benefit immeasurably. Failing to support the reforms means that one million Australian families would lose a very significant benefit from the incredibly significant reforms to the childcare sector. Failing to support the reforms would mean that we fail to focus our resources on the hardest-working families on the lowest incomes in Australia. That is where child care is critical. If a working family earns less than $65,000, they would pay no more than $15 a day. Where there is an agreement, we could find that failing to support these reforms means that we are failing to support a mother with two kids in child care who would, under these reforms, be $2½ thousand a year better off.
Ms Plibersek interjecting—
Tony SmithChristian Porter (Pearce, Liberal Party, Minister for Social Services) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source
The government's position is that the savings that are being found in the family tax benefit system can be appropriately allocated to these reforms. The issue of 12 hours versus 15 hours is an issue that the education minister, Senator Birmingham, has worked on during a very long period of consultation. There have been a variety of views. The determination of this government—and we believe it will be agreed to by a majority of crossbenchers—is that, in all the circumstances, that is the best balance and the best approach to provide those million Australians with better, more flexible, more affordable child care and balance the interest in making the package financially sustainable.