House debates

Wednesday, 12 May 2021

Private Members' Business

Child Care

11:11 am

Photo of Katie AllenKatie Allen (Higgins, Liberal Party) Share this | | Hansard source

I move:

That this House:

(1) notes that:

(a) the Government's childcare support during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, particularly in Victoria, ensured childcare was available to families who needed it; and

(b) nearly $3 billion was provided to support the early childhood education and care sector during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic—protecting the sector from imminent collapse;

(2) acknowledges a record $10.3 billion is being provided to subsidise childcare fees, putting more money back in the pockets of Australian families; and

(3) recognises that quality, affordable childcare is available for families now because of the Government's efforts to back the sector in 2020.

The Morrison government has protected lives and livelihoods throughout the COVID crisis and now, as a government, we're ensuring a strong economic recovery. Changing attitudes around women returning to work after having children, along with improved access to child care, have increased women's participation in the workforce to record highs. As the Treasurer said, we want more Australians in jobs. In jobs, there is a dignity, there is a meaning and there is a purpose, and that should be open to both men and women equally. One of the ways we are doing this is by protecting and improving child care. By lifting barriers, we help reduce the disincentives for women and men to participate in the workforce to the full extent they choose.

When a family welcomes a baby, it's an incredibly exciting and sometimes turbulent time. To have the freedom of choice on how they care for their new family empowers parents—freedom to balance their new responsibilities without sacrificing their career or their precious time with their children. Perhaps a parent would like to undertake study or further training while caring for their children. Perhaps they'd like to go back to work for an extra day or two a week as their children grow. This is an incredibly important time in young families' careers as they're aspiring to a better life. As my adult children are leaving university and entering the workforce, they are looking for opportunities, and these opportunities weren't available to people of my generation. When I was building my career and having babies, there was no maternity leave and there was no childcare subsidy. I also, unfortunately, didn't have the benefit of grandmothers who were alive to help us.

I'm very proud of the commitment that our government has made to preserving family choice. As part of the budget announced last night, our government has announced an additional $1.7 billion to further help Australian families with the cost of child care. This will further encourage workforce participation for both men and women at an aspiring time of their careers. As part of the budget, our government has announced, starting on 1 July 2022, an increase in the childcare subsidies available to families with more than one child aged five and under in child care. This will benefit around 250,000 families across Australia. For those with more than one child in child care, the level of subsidy received will increase by 30 per cent, to a maximum subsidy of 95 per cent of fees paid for their second and subsequent children. This is akin to saying, 'Let's get out there and have more kids!' It's fantastic news. I remember the baby bonus of the Howard-Costello years, when we were encouraged to have more children. These changes will ensure half of Australian families receive a 95 per cent subsidy for the second child and subsequent children. Secondly, the annual cap of $10,560 for families earning over $189,000 will be removed for all families. This investment builds on $10.3 billion that the government is already investing in child care this year. By increasing the childcare subsidy for families with two or more children, we'll help support the choices of working Australian families. This is a targeted investment that makes childcare more affordable. It increases workforce participation and will boost the Australian economy by up to $1.5 billion per year, an incredibly important productivity measure.

But our measures that are in place will truly open the door for those choosing to work or to work more. The measures will help women who want to have a second child return to work so they can continue to progress their own careers and contribute to Australia's economy. Our new measures in place will have three-quarters of subsidies going to families earning under $150,000. Our support is targeted and goes to those who need it most.

Child care is not just a vital sector of our economy, it is a vital sector for each and every family. That's why we've protected, that's why we're strengthening it, and that's why I'm proud to be a member of a government that is investing so well in the childcare sector for the good of all families of Australia.

Photo of David GillespieDavid Gillespie (Lyne, National Party) Share this | | Hansard source

Is the motion seconded?

Photo of Melissa McIntoshMelissa McIntosh (Lindsay, Liberal Party) Share this | | Hansard source

I second the motion and reserve my right to speak.

11:16 am

Photo of Julie OwensJulie Owens (Parramatta, Australian Labor Party) Share this | | Hansard source

When the member for Higgins says the government is protecting child care, I have to ask, 'Who are they protecting child care from?' Let's look at the record of this government when it comes to child care. Since the coalition was elected, in 2013, childcare fees have skyrocketed by 35.9 per cent—close to 40 per cent. And what have they done about it? They've done some smoke-and-mirrors stuff along the way but nothing that has changed things for women seeking to return to work and maintain and develop their place in the workforce in the long-term—nothing. Nor does the budget announcement last night do anything in the long term.

Let's look at the history a little bit. We heard from the Prime Minister about the once-in-a-generation reform of child care in the lead-up to the 2016 election. This government has a pattern of cutting in the first two years of a term and then spending big in the last year of a term—spending big in the year before an election but cutting in the first two years of a term. In the year before the 2016 election, they announced a major childcare reform. Prime Minister Morrison was the minister then. They didn't actually do it in 2016. They talked about it a bit more and made a few iterations. They introduced the legislation in 2017, two years later, and in 2018, in the year before an election, they introduced a once-in-a-generation reform of child care for the women of Australia—and men, by the way, because both parents have to wear the responsibility of looking after children.

It took the government three years to deliver it. They announced it just before an election and delivered it before the next election—and, 2½ years after they delivered it, this once-in-a-generation reform has made no difference to ongoing childcare costs. In fact, women are worse off now than they were then because childcare fees are rising much, much higher than CPI or wages. And the government's own predictions for the years following this budget say exactly that. Documents from the Department of Education predict that childcare fees will increase by an average of 4.1 per cent every year for the next four years but they are only indexed to CPI.

So there we go, the promises that the government are promising now are still temporary—and they're very, very, very narrow. You have to have more than one child in child care, and you get the increase for your second child—your second child, not the first one—and you lose the increase for your second child when your first child goes to school. The day they go to school, you lose it completely. And it doesn't come into effect for another year anyway. It doesn't come into effect for another year. So, if you have a five-year-old and a three-year-old now, forget it. By the time it comes in—zip, zero. If you have a three-year-old and a two-year-old, you'll get it maybe for a year and a half or two, if you're lucky. That's it. Then it's gone. Again, because it's indexed at CPI and fees are going up, it's a bit like bracket creep; it's going to wipe out the benefit for every parent in just a few years, just like the government's last childcare announcement did.

There is nothing long term about this government. It also does absolutely nothing—nothing—for workplace participation. I have a person in my electorate who told me that they pay more on childcare fees than they do on their mortgage. It does nothing for parents once the child goes to school. Yet any of us that know people who have children of school age know how difficult after-school-hour and vacation care is and how expensive it is, and how complex the lives of working parents are if their children are in the childcare system. as the vast majority are.

We also know, because woman after woman after woman is telling us, that they lose money if they go to work on their fourth day. We the taxpayers contribute to their education, we help them go to university, we invest all that money in their training, and then they have children and suddenly it costs them money to go to work. So their work is maybe three days but not four or five. It halts their career, it's a waste of their investment and ours. It doesn't allow them to flourish.

This announcement by this government is a sham. Protecting child care? They should protect it from themselves, quite frankly.

11:21 am

Photo of Melissa McIntoshMelissa McIntosh (Lindsay, Liberal Party) Share this | | Hansard source

As a mum who has three children who went through child care before school, I know how important it is for working families and also for early years learning and school readiness. That's why I'm so pleased that, as we emerge from the coronavirus pandemic and look ahead, we're further supporting families, including families in my electorate of Lindsay, through our childcare initiatives in the 2021 budget. From childcare investments to more funding for preschool education, we the Morrison government are investing in families and our kids.

I am, as I said, passionate about this. But it's not just me saying this. I have childcare centres contacting me, and parents as well. Denise from Meek's Preschool & Early Learning Centre in Berkshire Park told me that this is a win-win for parents and their children, who will continue to receive great preschool learning opportunities in a safe and nurturing environment, whilst also helping hundreds of parents who would otherwise have to not work. So it's a win for families and a win for the economy. These reforms will enable around 40,000 parents to work an extra day each week and will boost GDP by up to $1.5 billion per year.

We also know that this will particularly support women in work. When I worked at the US Studies Centre, heading up a women in leadership initiative, women's workforce participation was one of the key things that we looked at and had issues with, and a lot of it came down to the availability and the affordability of child care as women had to leave the workforce to have children and then re-enter the workforce and continue their career paths. We have marked a record-high women's workforce participation of 61.5 per cent, and, by removing those disincentives, those barriers, we're further supporting women returning to work or taking those additional hours.

I know that these hours are so important as someone in an outer-metro seat, where people have to travel into work an hour each day. Over 300,000 people travel out of Western Sydney each day. Having affordable and accessible child care is so important for families in Lindsay. Denise said it best, I think: it is a win-win for all of us. We're also removing the $10,560 annual cap on the childcare subsidy, which will benefit around 18,000 families.

Our investment in this budget to further support parents to get back into work or increase their hours is focused on low- and middle-income-earning families. Around half of the families set to benefit will have a household income of under $130,000.

Our budget is building on the existing support we are providing for women to enter the workforce, including the $9.7 billion in annual childcare support and $2.3 billion in annual paid parental leave. These childcare initiatives are delivering targeted support where it's needed most. Already the average out-of-pocket cost is less than $4 an hour, and more than a quarter of families pay less than $2 an hour. When I speak with childcare centres and parents across my community, they feel this is absolutely reasonable and they support it. When you speak to people, you find out the truth. The hourly fee cap we introduced is working to keep downward pressure on fees, with 87.5 per cent of centre based day care services charging under the hourly rate cap.

Our preschool package will see more than $2 billion invested over the next four years. That will provide long-term stability and certainty for the early education sector, because we know that preschool learning leads to better educational outcomes later in life and helps children succeed before they begin school. I really do know the importance of this preschool education, having been employed by a play group, over a number years, many years ago when my children were young. This funding commitment will support access for all children to at least 15 hours a week of quality learning in the year before school. All children should have access to high quality early childhood education, regardless of their circumstances.

As the Prime Minister and the Minister for Women have said, this budget statement provides a $3.4 billion investment towards promoting values so that women right across our country can be economically secure. This is absolutely what this budget does. It reflects the responsibility we have towards the social and cultural diversity of Australian women and ensures that opportunities and protections are available to all women.

11:26 am

Photo of Kate ThwaitesKate Thwaites (Jagajaga, Australian Labor Party) Share this | | Hansard source

Access to affordable and quality child care is certainly something that Australian families rightly expect, and it is something that I will continue to advocate for in this place. To hear members opposite allege that last year, during the pandemic, the Morrison government backed the early education sector just could not be further from the truth. I know this because I was in contact with early education providers, educators and parents throughout both of the lockdowns in Victoria last year. The overwhelming message I received from them was one of uncertainty and feeling like they had been hung out to dry by this government.

Let's not forget, early childhood educators were in the one sector that this government removed JobKeeper from early. This was from a government that says it gets it now, that it understands women. Let's remember that 96 per cent of early educators are women. Removing JobKeeper payments from this sector, singling out this profession that predominantly employs women, when this pandemic was already hitting them hardest, was just cruel. The early education sector was and is an essential service. It is these educators who are looking after our children. They are on the front lines.

During COVID and the lockdowns, I spent a lot of time talking with them. I must say, I'm so surprised to hear this motion praising the Morrison government for its efforts with this sector, in COVID, moved by a fellow member from Melbourne. Who was the member for Higgins talking to during lockdown? It certainly was not the early childhood educators who'd had their payments ripped away from them. It's really disappointing to hear that fellow members from Melbourne are so out of touch with their communities and so out of touch with the needs of these vital workers, our early childhood educators.

I've just come from meeting with early childhood educators, and they are devastated about last night's budget. They are worried about the future of their sector. The reality is that their pay and conditions, the pay of this largely female workforce, is nowhere near enough to match their skill level and the demands that are put upon them. There was nothing in this Morrison government budget to fix that. There was nothing to lift the wages of these vital workers, to lift the wages of early childhood educators. That means that too many of these workers will leave the sector. That means that families lose out, and that means that our children lose out.

So, what did the government announce in this budget? Well, the first and perhaps most important point to note is that what they did announce around child care won't be implemented until July 2022. Australian families—families in my community—are looking for support now. They need support now, to reduce the unacceptably high cost of childcare fees. If we are genuine about supporting women to get back into the workforce as part of this COVID recovery, we need this relief from childcare fees now. The other big issue with what was announced by the Morrison government is that it benefits only families that have two children in child care. This is a subsidy for some families but not for others. Families right across the country, families right across my community, are struggling with the cost of child care, whether they've got two children or one child. It is just so expensive.

During this debate we've heard a lot about personal experiences. Well, I have one child who is in child care and another child who will soon enter child care. I have a lot of what I call 'swing conversations'. These are conversations you have in the playground while you're pushing your kid on the swing and you chat to the mum who is pushing her kid on the swing next to you. I can tell you, time and time again those women pushing their children on the swings explain to me how they can't afford to go back to work because the cost of child care just doesn't make it worth it for them. And this package does nothing to change that. It means they won't be able to go back to work and know they can securely pay for child care for their children. It means they might not be able to pick up that extra couple of days. They will be the ones continuing to work part-time, to pick up the extra care, because this package does not solve the underlying problems of the cost of child care in our country.

Australian families want better. Families in my community—those mums I'm talking to at the swings—want better. They want a well-funded early education sector. They want the workers in the sector to be paid as they should be. They want to know, when they send their kids to child care, that they can afford it, that the workers who are looking after them are supported and that there's a secure future for everyone there. That's not what we're getting from this government. What we're getting is a sham.

11:31 am

Photo of Gladys LiuGladys Liu (Chisholm, Liberal Party) Share this | | Hansard source

As a woman who worked while raising two wonderful children, I understand the burden of juggling both professional life and family. I understand how it must have been for many Victorian women who had to juggle work responsibilities and home schooling during the height of the COVID pandemic. Thankfully, though, many of our frontline working mothers—the doctors, nurses, police and carers—were still able to access the key childcare support they needed in order to keep Australia safe. The Morrison government invested $3 billion into early childhood support and care during COVID-19 so that the families who needed care the most could get it.

And it worked. We saw child care attendance rebound by mid-December, with a seven per cent increase from pre-COVID levels and a 3.5 per cent increase from 2019 figures; 93 per cent of surveyed parents could access all the child care they needed in November 2020. And now quality, affordable child care is available for families because of the continued efforts of the Morrison government. The government that I'm proud to be a part of has a proven track record of delivering affordable child care year in, year out. The average out-of-pocket cost is less than $4 an hour, bringing the cost down considerably. More than a quarter of families also pay less than $2 an hour out of pocket. Our child care has become more accessible for those who need it, bringing the families of an additional 280,000 children some sorely needed financial relief.

The Morrison government recognises the tangible link between affordable child care and women's workforce participation. The Morrison government's childcare subsidy is supporting women's workforce participation to a record 61.8 per cent. This government's commitment to families extends into the 2021-22 budget, too. As part of the Treasurer's budget announcement last night, our government will deliver an additional $1.7 billion to help Australian families with the cost of child care and further encourage workforce participation. This budget will put more money back in families' pockets and lower disincentives for parents to return to work or take on additional hours, particularly for women. Treasury estimates this measure will boost the level of GDP by up to $1.5 billion a year, ensuring Australia remains on track to continue delivering a stronger post-COVID economy in a time where many other countries are struggling to do the same. We are doing this by increasing the subsidy for second and subsequent children aged five and under attending child care.

With the Morrison government's new measure in place, around three-quarters of subsidies will go to families earning under $150,000 in 2022-23. Labor's bloated, inefficient policy doesn't hold a bar to the targeted and measured support plan the Morrison government has delivered in the past and is committed to delivering throughout the future. When Labor was in government, child care fees went up by 53 per cent, including a one-year spike of 14.5 per cent. During this time, women's workforce participation was still lower than what our government has been able to deliver. The Morrison government understands the needs of families, and we are delivering. Thank you.

11:37 am

Photo of Milton DickMilton Dick (Oxley, Australian Labor Party) Share this | | Hansard source

I don't know what Orwellian universe members opposite are living in when coming into this place and somehow wanting to be congratulated with these ridiculous motions coming into this parliament and trying to talk about what is right and what is wrong or what is black and what is white. It is bizarre. Do any of these people ever actually visit early educators and sit down with them? Do they ever actually go to centres and talk to parents, or is it all just made up in their own minds? Let's look at the facts. At the height of the COVID pandemic, child care was—and it remains—essential work. Cheaper child care remains in my community and across Australia for many Australians the No. 1 priority. But I want to look at the government's childcare support plan, because it shows they are out of step and out of touch.

Families, child care and early educators are worse off under the Prime Minister's botched system, and it's not good enough. We know during COVID that we saw families and workers discriminated. It locked people out of child care. This nonsense of 'free child care to everyone with a job' was an absolute con. Families in my electorate were denied places, and, shamefully, healthcare workers on maternity leave who were called back to work through the pandemic missed out. Meanwhile, non-essential workers who were told to keep their kids at home for the health and safety of the community were still charged gap fees by centres. When the minister gave a commitment to grant exemptions on these fees, it was overruled by the Prime Minister's office.

Families are still being let down right across Australia. We have the most expensive childcare fees in the OECD. I repeat: we have the most expensive childcare fees in the OECD. I'm not having any lectures from the member for Higgins, the member for Chisholm or the member for Lindsay, who are so out of touch with their own communities that they think we've got a good system in place. I suggest to those members: get out of your Canberra bubble and actually talk to your constituents; actually listen to what they've got to say.

The government also failed childcare centres themselves, putting enormous financial pressure on them. I challenge any of them to say that during the pandemic they went to their centres and the centres said: 'This is great. We've never had it so good.' They didn't. They all struggled. All the owners and all the providers were saying, 'This is a botched system.' A third of the childcare businesses were barred from accessing JobKeeper, even though they were obligated to stay open and carry out their essential work. And let's not forget that childcare centres were the first that the government targeted to rip away JobKeeper—the very first.

Workers in my electorate lived from pay cheque to pay cheque before the pandemic. I remember, back in 2019, speaking to locals who sent their kids to an early learning centre in the suburb if Bellbird Park, and they were already sounding the alarm. That business was struggling to pay its workers, and they were struggling to make ends me. Fast forward to 2020 and the work of carers was more important than ever. While they risked their own health to take care of other essential workers' children, the government passed the financial burden on to the sector, which was already struggling. There was no free child care for those people. It is false and misleading for this government to come to this place and say so.

Last night's budget proved that throwing money at the government's childcare plan will not fix it. Labor understands that a broken system needs to be overhauled, not just patched up, especially since families won't receive a dollar of relief from the Morrison government until July 2022, which is—what a coincidence!—after the federal election. I bet the member for Lindsay is not putting that on her glossy brochures. I bet the member for Higgins is not telling everyone, 'Ts and Cs apply.' I bet they're not saying that. I bet they're saying, 'We're reforming the childcare sector—by the way, not till 2022, after we get re-elected.' We know what this government is about. What about the families—the majority of families—that only have one child in child care? What do they get? They get a big fat zero from this government.

This government has proven that it has no idea how to stop families, particularly women, from losing money or losing work to childcare fees. An Albanese Labor government will support women by reforming the sector so that the majority of people—97 per cent—will be better off. That is the truth of our policy. The member for Chisholm may call that bloated. I call it a government that's going to be on the side of the people.

Photo of Mike FreelanderMike Freelander (Macarthur, Australian Labor Party) Share this | | Hansard source

I thank the member for Oxley. The time allotted for this debate has expired. The debate is adjourned, and the resumption of the debate will be made an order of the day for the next sitting.