Dan Tehan (Wannon, Liberal Party, Minister for Education) Share this | Hansard source

I thank the member for her question. It's a very important question because the Morrison government is investing in the childcare sector. Not only is it investing in the childcare sector through the reforms that we introduced two years ago but it is driving down pressure on fees and pressure on parents' out-of-pocket expenses. Let's go to Senate estimates and look at what the department said. Out-of-pocket expenses are 3.2 per cent lower than what they were two years ago when our reforms were introduced. That is what the department said: 3.2 per cent lower than what they were two years ago when our reforms were introduced. Not only that, we are continuing to invest in the childcare sector, and our investment goes up from $9 billion this year to over $10 billion over the forward estimates.

I'll tell you what we won't be doing on this side—because we don't hear much about it from those opposite. We still don't know what their policy is when it comes to the childcare wage subsidy—

Mr Albanese interjecting—

And the Leader of the Opposition laughs! Let me remind you what Bob Carr had to say about it: 'One policy was simply bad. A government subsidy for'—

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