House debates

Thursday, 4 February 2021

Statements by Members

Child Care

1:56 pm

Photo of Amanda RishworthAmanda Rishworth (Kingston, Australian Labor Party, Shadow Minister for Early Childhood Education) Share this | | Hansard source

We all know that this government likes to talk up a big game. When they launched their new childcare system in 2018, they did turn up the dial on the spin machine to full speed. They called it an historic once-in-a-generation reform. There were a lot of glossy brochures telling families how much they would save and that families had never had it better, and with warnings that childcare centres would be named and shamed for hiking fees. It's only been 2½ years and the verdict is in: their new system is already busted.

In the last week, new data has been released which exposes the Morrison government's spin as empty and hollow. The Productivity Commission has just released data that shows a 21.7 per cent rise in one year in the number of parents who aren't working because of childcare costs. There are now more than 90,000 parents not working because of out-of-control fees under this Liberal government.

The data also shows childcare costs rose by 5.6 per cent between 2019 and 2020, and it's supported by the latest inflation data from last week. This shows that out-of-pocket costs in Brisbane, Sydney and Darwin are now higher under this Prime Minister's system than they were under the old system. It's become a bit of sport to watch the education minister have to update his lines, but the government shouldn't need any more proof that their system is busted.