Amanda Rishworth (Kingston, Australian Labor Party, Shadow Parliamentary Secretary for Health) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

My question is to the Assistant Minister for Education. I refer the minister to the fact that over 18,000 families rely on the special child care benefit for children at risk or children with disability. Can the minister guarantee no families receiving the special child care benefit will have their assistance cut?

Sussan Ley (Farrer, Liberal Party, Assistant Minister for Education) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I am pleased to take a question about the special child care benefit because I know, as I know the member who has asked the question does, that when it comes to supporting children with special needs in child care there really is not a higher priority. I have had some briefings recently on the special child care benefit because I felt it was inadequate under the previous government and I have sought whether there are short-term ways that we can improve the assistance to those families. I do not want to make the issue of the special child care benefit and its assistance for vulnerable families and children a political issue in this place, so if the member has any particular issues relating to her electorate about affected families I am happy to take those and seek the appropriate advice. When it comes to the Productivity Commission inquiry, that will look, of course, at all payments to families, but there is no intention—not on my part and I know not on the part of any commissioner within the PC or any member on this side—to make any cuts to an important support for vulnerable families.