Penny Wong (SA, Australian Labor Party, Leader of the Opposition in the Senate) Share this | Hansard source

On behalf of Senator Gallagher, who is unavoidably absent at a press conference in relation to the government's new superannuation package, I move:

At the end of the motion, add, "but,

(1) in respect of the provisions of the Family Assistance Legislation Amendment (Jobs for Families Child Care Package) Bill 2016 and the Social Services Legislation Amendment (Family Payments Structural Reform and Participation Measures) Bill 2016 the Education and Employment Legislation Committee report by 22 November 2016;

(2) in respect of the provisions of the National Disability Insurance Scheme Savings Fund Special Account Bill 2016 the Community Affairs Legislation Committee report by 7 November 2016; and

(3) in respect of the provisions of the Social Services Legislation Amendment (Budget Repair) Bill 2016, the Community Affairs Legislation Committee report by 7 November 2016.".

The amendment seeks to refer three different packages of legislation for committee consideration. They are the Family Assistance Legislation Amendment (Jobs for Families Child Care Package) Bill 2015, the National Disability Insurance Scheme Savings Fund Special Account Bill 2016 and the Social Services Legislation Amendment (Budget Repair) Bill 2015.

We do believe that these bills are worthy of consideration. I will make some comments in relation to the child care package. This government has had a number of positions in relation to child care. Senators may recall prior to the election in the last term of government the chopping and changing on child care that was the government's policy and then subsequently we were going to have a talk about it. The government has put forward a bill. We do consider it is important to understand the impact of the bill on children and families but also on childcare providers in order for the Senate to be able to consider the bill in a fully informed way. We also think a Senate committee will allow consultation with the sector on potential improvements to the bill.

Similarly, the Labor Party does wish to consider more closely the operations the National Disability Insurance Scheme Savings Fund Special Account Bill 2016. We want to understand better the purpose and operation of the proposed bill. Finally, we believe there is additional consideration required in relation to the impact on those Australians who are affected by the budget repair bill. We commend the amendment circulated in the name of Senator Gallagher to the chamber.