Amanda Rishworth (Kingston, Australian Labor Party, Shadow Minister for Veterans' Affairs) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

My question is to the Prime Minister. The government's unfair childcare changes start on Monday. Why is this Prime Minister cutting childcare payments for 279,000 families on Monday, including over 2,200 families in Longman, while giving $17 billion to the big banks?

Josh Frydenberg (Kooyong, Liberal Party, Minister for the Environment and Energy) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I can inform the House that, when the Labor Party was last in office, childcare fees went up by 53 per cent.

Ms Rishworth interjecting—

Tony Smith (Speaker) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

The member for Kingston is warned.

Josh Frydenberg (Kooyong, Liberal Party, Minister for the Environment and Energy) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

We all remember the 260 childcare centres they promised. How many did they deliver? Just 38—the double drop-off. What about compliance checks? They also went down significantly when Labor was last in office. The Turnbull government's childcare reforms will see nearly one million families better off. Those opposite have tried to obstruct these reforms all along. That's even though, in the member for Maribyrnong's electorate, 4,800 families will be better off. What about in the member for Kingston's electorate? Over 6,000 families will be better off there. We will increase the subsidy for 370,000 families whose income is just over $67,000 a year. We will increase the subsidy from 72 per cent to 85 per cent. We will encourage more than 200,000 families to re-enter the workforce or to take up greater workforce participation. The hourly rate caps, which were a recommendation out of the Productivity Commission, are designed to put downward pressure on fee growth.

At the end of the day, whether you're one of the 3,000 families in Braddon who will be better off under the Turnbull government's childcare package or one of the more than 7,000 families in Longman who will be better off under the Turnbull childcare package, when it comes to the Labor Party, don't look at what the Labor Party says, look at what they did. They put up childcare fees, whereas we are creating more opportunities for families right across the country.