Alan Tudge (Aston, Liberal Party, Minister for Education and Youth) Share this | Hansard source

We have such a split in the Labor Party. It's clearly the inner-city elites who are driving this policy. They want to fund the child care of those people earning a million dollars or more. And, I tell you what, ask those members who are in seats that are more working class whether or not they think that's a fair policy. I dare say they do not.

But we know who's in charge of the Labor Party these days, and it ain't the old working class that used to be in charge of the Labor Party under Bob Hawke. No, it's the new, modern elites. They drive the policy on climate change. They drive the policy on immigration. They drive the policy of putting taxes up and everything. They drive the policy of the greatest beneficiaries of their childcare policy being those who are earning a million dollars or more.

Our childcare policy has been working. We acknowledge that for many families there's still an impost—that they have to dig in and they have to be able to find those additional means to pay for the child care which they in many cases desperately need in order to go to work to support their families. But we believe very firmly that the additional measures we're putting into the budget will make a real impact for 250,000 families. We believe that overall our childcare system, which is geared towards those who need it most and tapers off down to zero for those in very wealthy families, is a fair system and is not only fair to the people in the childcare system but fair to the 54 per cent of families who don't use the childcare system and who are still paying taxes.

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