David Smith (Bean, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

My question is to the Prime Minister. Under the Prime Minister's current childcare scheme, a family with a police officer working full time and a retail worker on three days a week with two children in child care would be no better off if the retail worker took on an extra day of work. Why won't the Prime Minister support Labor's working family childcare boost?

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

It's always interesting to paint a cameo where all the circumstances are not known, but there are important points we need to make about our childcare policy that may have been missed by members of the opposition. Top of the list is that 72 per cent of families pay no more than $5 per hour in day care centres, and within that subset 24 per cent pay no more than $2 per hour. What we have done is get the balance right between the importance of early education and care—often a significant location for that to be provided is the childcare centre—and affordability is key for those families.

On the other end of the spectrum, for example, under Labor's proposal, under the Leader of the Opposition's proposal, for two children for 30 hours of care a week, a family on $1 million would get $28,000 a year from the taxpayer. We're proud to say that that's a challenge. So we've said that those families can afford child care. Labor has simply lifted the lid.

Anthony Albanese (Grayndler, Australian Labor Party, Leader of the Opposition) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Mr Speaker—

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

Has the minister concluded?

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

Yes, Mr Speaker.

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

The minister has concluded her answer.

Anthony Albanese (Grayndler, Australian Labor Party, Leader of the Opposition) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Mr Speaker—

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

You don't have the call, but, as you are well aware, you can address the matters you are seeking to address at the end of question time.