Angie Bell (Moncrieff, Liberal National Party, Shadow Minister for Early Childhood Education) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I move:

That this House:

(1) recognises that:

(a) the Government's Cheaper Child Care policy has driven up the cost of early childhood education and care for families across Australia since it was implemented on 1 July 2023;

(b) families are reporting increases to the cost of their daily fees in excess of $20 per day;

(c) the Government's inability to manage the cost of living crisis in Australia is driving up the cost of rent, mortgages, groceries and everyday bills, like early childhood education and care bills, for Australian families;

(d) the Government's inaction to address workforce shortages is limiting access to early childhood education and care for families; and

(e) families continue to be unable to access early childhood education and care, particularly in regional and rural areas; and

(2) calls on the Government to deliver:

(a) more access to early childhood education and care places to support Australians to return to the workforce; and

(b) real cost of living relief to families.

For the past 12 months the Albanese government has been spruiking its 'cheaper child care' policy. They promised that out-of-pocket costs would be lower and fees would not increase. When we asked about lack of access and the overworked and burnt-out educators, they basically shrugged their shoulders and said: 'Don't worry. We've got a plan.' Well, it's a plan that we're yet to actually see, and 1 July hit like a ticking time bomb for Australian families. My office has been inundated with emails from families who are further out of pocket now than they were before 1 July. Their fees have increased, eating most or all of their subsidy. Sarah in Jamisontown had her fees increased by $18 a day, and Naomi in Rothwell is now paying $45 more a day for her two children.

According to the Parenthood, 90 per cent of families have watched their childcare fees increase in recent weeks. The Prime Minister promised families they would be better off. But what I've been hearing is that families are struggling to pay their rent, their mortgage, their bills and their early learning fees. Many families were hoping to have extra money to pay for electricity bills, petrol for their car and other expenses. Instead they've been left under further economic stress. The last time Labor was in government fees skyrocketed by 53 per cent in just six years. They've already increased by eight per cent in the past nine months alone. And while Labor says fees will go down, it's pretty clear you can't trust a thing that comes out of this Prime Minister's mouth. Labor lied to the Australian people at the last election. They've broken promise after promise, and they'll continue to do so to stay in power.

In the last month I travelled to South Australia, to Victoria and to Tassie, visiting regional and rural communities, many of whom have no access to any care or are stuck on waiting lists as far as the eye can see. I spoke with highly educated, capable women and men who want to return to the workforce as teachers, nurses, GPs and even small-business owners. But there's no local centre, there's no local family day care, the closest provider is 40 minutes away, and the waiting list already has 50 families on it.

I'd had high hopes that the government would do something meaningful with the Community Child Care Fund, a program established by the coalition to support regional and rural communities. Yet when the government announced the $19 million grant round earlier this year I scanned the list of eligible communities and was severely disappointed. Many of the communities I've been to or heard from were not on that list and therefore were not eligible to apply—communities like Tumby Bay, Cummins, Augusta, Charlton, Biggenden, Wilmington, Ardrossan, and the list goes on. Labor spent $4.7 billion on childcare subsidies, and not $1 of that went to increase access. And none of it's going to regional, rural or remote communities, who have zero access. Labor have left these communities behind, and it's disgraceful.

We also warned the government that their policy would put further demand on a sector already under great pressure. I've spoken to hundreds of educators who are stressed, burning out, unsure how much longer they can stay in their jobs. They're working all day on the floor, and then they've got after-hours staff meetings, professional development and paperwork up to their eyeballs that they need to complete. They don't feel respected or valued, but they should be, because they care for and educate our youngest Australians.

When we ask about the plan for workforce, Labor simply rabbit on about their fee-free TAFE and University places. But what they fail to mention is that while Australians may enrol in early learning courses at TAFE at university many of them simply don't complete those courses and enter the sector. Those free places also won't support educators who have already completed their education and have been in the sector for many years. While we want to see more Australians at TAFE and university, there's no real plan to increase the number of educators in the pipeline and help retain them. It's become very clear that the Albanese government has no idea what it's doing. They have no plan to increase access, no plan to address rising fees and no plan to fix workforce concerns. With out-of-pocket costs rising yet again under Labor, Australian families deserve to know why they always pay much more under Labor.

Mike Freelander (Macarthur, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Is the motion seconded?

Darren Chester (Gippsland, National Party, Shadow Minister for Regional Education) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I second the motion and reserve my right to speak.

Sally Sitou (Reid, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I am grateful to the member for Moncrieff for bringing on this very important debate. It's just a shame that she seems to be the only member on the benches opposite who cares about this issue. We didn't hear a word about child care during the federal election, and we didn't really hear a word about child care during the nine years the previous government was in office.

We know that many of the issues the member for Moncrieff spoke about—the rising cost of child care, the workforce shortages and the waiting lists—are issues of real concern, but they are issues that have been around for many years. In fact, under the watch of those opposite, childcare costs increased by 41 per cent. What was their action? What was their plan to reduce the cost of child care? Nothing.

We know that in 2021, 73,000 people who wanted to work didn't look for work, because of the prohibitive cost of early childhood education and the impact that had on household budgets. As the member for Moncrieff said, child care was eating into a significant portion of household budgets. People were having to decide between paying for child care and choosing to work extra days, or choosing to work at all. That was a difficult decision they had to make when those opposite were in power.

We also know that wages for early childhood educators stagnated. If people are considering a career in a particular industry, one of the main things they will ask is, 'What are the wages and conditions like in that industry?' Under those opposite, wages for early childhood educators flatlined; they stagnated. How do you attract someone to a profession when you do not give them a proper wage increase? That's what we saw for nine long years under those opposite.

With the Albanese Labor government, we've seen a real sense of purpose. In the very first budget, one of the signature pieces was around child care and making it more affordable for families. That goes to the heart of what we are trying to do as a government. We are getting more people in the workforce, particularly women—whilst there have been big gains when it comes to parenting and both parents stepping up, we know that it is often women who are left to bear the burden of caregiving. We're making it more affordable for families to send their kids to child care. This is an important measure that will help children, with all the rich learning that they experience in child care. It is also a good productivity step. Having more people in the workforce is good for our economy and good for productivity.

The then Leader of the Opposition knew that at the time. That is why he made child care a signature policy that he campaigned on, and now we have delivered it. This is a significant policy decision of more than $4 billion injected into the early education sector that will benefit 1.2 million families. It is the biggest increase the sector has seen in a number of years, and it will have a tangible benefit for so many families. It means that, yes, they will see relief in their household budgets, but also we know that more kids are able to pick up days at school.

I will finish by sharing an anecdote from my own son's experience at child care. He came home and told me that he knew about the solar system because he learnt about it at child care. We went through it together, and then he stopped before he got to Pluto. I reminded him that Pluto is a planet. He said 'No, Mummy, Pluto is not a planet.' And that is what child care does. It teaches kids things that even their parents have failed to learn.

Mike Freelander (Macarthur, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

He sounds like a star! The question is that the motion be agreed to.

Darren Chester (Gippsland, National Party, Shadow Minister for Regional Education) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

This motion on child care moved by the member for Moncrieff, the shadow minister, is an important one because it recognises that the Albanese government's cheaper child care policy has actually driven up the cost of early childhood education and care for families across Australia since it was implemented in July this year and that families across Australia continue to be unable to access early childhood education and care, particularly in regional and rural areas, which this side of the Houses, obviously, is particularly focused on.

In contrast to the comments of the previous speaker, the member for Reid, I note that the previous coalition government actually almost doubled childcare investment, to nearly $11 billion in 2022-23, and locked in ongoing funding for preschools and kindergartens. In fact, we made the biggest reforms of the childcare system in over 40 years. An ACCC report found that the average out-of-pocket cost to households had decreased since 2018, thanks to reforms undertaken by the coalition, which, as I said, were the biggest in 40 years.

It goes without saying that raising children is the most important responsibility for adults and parents in our country. The conversation occurring right now across Australia for those with young children—in their lounge rooms and in coffee shops and playgroups—is how does our family manage its budget with the cost-of-living challenges? Tough decision are being made by families every day.

We on this side of the House respect the need for choice and flexibility when it comes to the childcare and early childhood education system. We endeavour to have a light touch from government where we make it easier for families and parents and respect the choices they need to make. I fear that, in this place, we have become obsessed with a government sanctioned model of child care to the exclusion of all others, one that doesn't necessarily reflect the reality of life, particularly in rural and regional communities. We have become obsessed with long day child care at the expense of other models which families are seeking to explore to better fit their responsibilities and the way they manage their own family budgets.

I challenge those opposite to work with the opposition in this case and work with the shadow minister, who is leading the way in having conversations with families around the country about how different models of child care may suit the modern Australian family. Right now, we have families making the tough choice about whether they can afford to have another child. That's a very sad decision for a family to have to make if they're desiring to have another member of their family—to start a family or expand their family. I believe the government has a responsibility to make sure that parents are respected in that decision and given the opportunity to make a decisions which is right for their own family.

From my own experience and the countless conversations I've had in my community, most families have quite a hybrid model approach to the way they're managing their family budget and the way they're managing their care arrangements. The hybrid model involves parental care; kinship care, with a lot of grandparents being brought back into the unpaid workforce to assist in that regard; family day care models; and childcare centres. I don't think we should be casting any judgement on any family or any parent that has to make a decision that enables them to properly care for that No. 1 responsibility in their family. There should be no judgement whatsoever if a parent—primarily it tends to be a mother in modern Australian society—decides they want to spend more time at home and be a stay-at-home mum for an extended period. That shouldn't be the subject of judgement from the rest of the community. It's a reasonable choice to make, particularly if they believe they can make a more substantial contribution to their child's upbringing by being home more often. Likewise, a family, or a mother or a father, demanding longer hours in a childcare centre because of their own individual circumstances shouldn't be judged either. It's a reasonable choice to make. We should respect the choices that Australian families have to make. We need to move to a model that respects all those choices and offers greater flexibility for Australian families.

In making those comments, I want to acknowledge the work of the shadow minister and the tireless advocacy she has put into her role in terms of meeting with people, particularly in rural and regional communities, where we have childcare deserts families would like to pick up more shifts and to return to the paid workforce but simply don't have the option of formalised child care available to them. I don't want this to be a debate where we just sling arrows back and forth across the chamber. I want this to be a debate where we recognise that Australian families charged with the incredible responsibility of raising children want to see the government work with them, offer them choice and flexibility, but, most importantly, offer those rural and regional members access to centres that are required to address their cost-of-living pressures but also give their children the absolute best opportunities to achieve their full potential in the Australia community. I thank the House.

Fiona Phillips (Gilmore, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Recently we celebrated Early Learning Matters Week. To celebrate our early learning educators and how important early learning is, I accepted an invitation to visit the Jerry Bailey Early Education and Care Service at Shoalhaven Heads. I was greeted by the friendly team of early learning educators and the very inquisitive children at Jerry Bailey's children's service. It was very easy to see the wide variety of educational and fun activities that the children were working on, which they got me to help them with. I particularly liked one of their most recent activities, a game with Indigenous words and pictures they proudly told me was made by a local Aboriginal woman. The children had been artistic before my visit, too, making a giant welcome and 'Thank you for visiting' card, complete with colourful painted children's handprints and artwork.

I asked how the Albanese government's cheaper child care had been received by parents. I was told that it was a very welcome relief indeed. Our cheaper child care is helping provide cost-of-living relief for around 4,800 families in Gilmore. It's also good because we know that the early years of a child's life are a critical window in a child's development. It is about investing in the early years, which will deliver long-term benefits for children, families, and our communities.

A few weeks ago, after the Albanese Labor government's cheaper childcare measures began to take effect, I met with local mum Lisa from Gerringong. Lisa told me that our cheaper childcare measures were great for her family. Lisa told me that cheaper child care means she doesn't have to choose between progressing her career as a health professional and being a mum. That's a huge win. I don't want to see a situation where people must choose between having a family and progressing in their careers. In Lisa's case, the Albanese Labor government's cheaper childcare measures are helping her have both. But cheaper child care isn't just good for Lisa's family, because Lisa works in health care and she works with children. Cheaper child care allowed Lisa to do another day at work per week. As part of her work, she could then help other families whose children needed her specialised services. Cheaper child care is about letting people make the choices they need and allowing them to do what is best for their family.

We know that after a decade of inaction by the Liberal government and their deliberate design strategy to keep wages low, there are many challenges in the early learning sector, including low wages of early learning educators and the dire shortage of early learning places—it's a vicious cycle. I was recently contacted by a local mum due to go back to work as a teacher but was unable to secure a childcare place. Sadly, after years of neglect by the former government, this is common, but we are tackling the issues head on. Our cheaper child care is one important part of that, but we are also doing so much more.

The work of our early childhood educators is essential to the successful development of our children and our nation. It should be valued on its own merits, free of discriminatory assumptions based on the gender of the people who perform the work. As a result, last year, we passed the secure jobs, better pay bill, which allows for greater access to bargaining for lower paid and feminised sectors through the supported bargaining system, which will help workers negotiate better pay and conditions. We did this because we know that we have to do more to help lift early learning educators' pay and close the gender pay gap. It's why we have also implemented fee-free TAFE in industry skills shortage areas, like child care, and funded university places for early education teachers.

We also have a comprehensive Productivity Commission inquiry into Australia's childhood education and care system to help us chart a course for a universal and affordable early learning system in the great tradition of universal Medicare and universal superannuation. The inquiry will make recommendations to support affordable, accessible, equitable and high-quality early childhood education that reduces barriers to workforce participation and supports children's learning and development.

There is a lot to do to support early learning educators and our early learning centres. We are getting on with the job. We know just how crucial the first five years are for children and their families.

Colin Boyce (Flynn, Liberal National Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I rise to support the member for Moncrieff's motion as families in the Flynn electorate need child care that is available and accessible, as well as affordable. However, in many communities, families cannot find a childcare place for their child, which is preventing parents from returning to work. At the last election, the Prime Minister promised Australian families lower out-of-pocket costs for early childhood education, yet 12 months since the Labor government has come to power, it's clear that its cheaper childcare policy will not deliver on that promise. Instead, we've seen fees and out-of-pocket costs increase and no additional places created for families. Early learning providers are increasing their fees—some twice in the last 12 months—and families are watching as their new subsidy is completely eaten up by those new fees. The last time Labor was in government, childcare fees skyrocketed by 53 per cent in just six years. They've increased by eight per cent in the last nine months. Labor has no plan to address increasing fees, no plan to increase access, no plans to address current workforce pressures faced by educators and no plans to address thin markets and childcare deserts.

The Albanese government said their policy would get thousands of women back into the workforce. The reality is that families are stuck on waiting lists and centres are capping enrolments because they don't have the workforce to cater for the additional families and extra days. Parents who want to return to work or take up extra hours can't because this government didn't do the work to make that happen. There are currently more than nine million Australians living in a childcare desert with little access to early learning education or none at all. Many families are struggling to access a spot for their children, especially those under 18 months and especially in rural and regional Australia.

Earlier this year my office conducted research on child care in the Flynn electorate. The research found that there are 36 childcare providers in Flynn offering a maximum of 2,419 places. There are no childcare vacancies in Boyne Island, Gayndah, Mount Morgan, Mundubbera or Wondai. There are also childcare centres in Agnes Water, Emerald and Gladstone that do not have any childcare places either. Since this research, the kindergartens in Mount Morgan and Biloela have announced they will be closing, all because of lack of funding and bureaucratic red tape. Labor's plan states that Indigenous children will be able to access 36 hours of subsidised child care a fortnight from July 2023. Woorabinda and Eidsvold, with large First Nations populations, do not have those childcare places available. How can every Indigenous child be given 36 hours per fortnight when there are no places to be had?

The Labor government is doing nothing to support families, nothing to increase access for families who need it most and, on top of this, nothing to ease the cost-of-living pressures. Cost-of-living indexes released by the Bureau of Statistics lay bare the rising cost of living under the Albanese government, especially for working Australians. Working households experienced the highest annual rise on record, or 9.6 per cent, based on mortgage rate increases. Mortgage interest expenses blew out by 91.6 per cent—another record. In the last quarter, indexes for all five household types measured by cost-of-living indexes rose by up to 1.5 per cent. Insurance and financial services are the leading component, again driven by mortgage interest rate increases and larger insurance premiums. The data confirms that all Australians have experienced significant—and sometimes record—cost-of-living increases on Labor's watch. Families are reporting an increased cost of their daily fees in excess of $20 a day. The cost-of-living crisis in Australia is driving up the cost of rent, mortgages, groceries and everyday bills, like early childhood education and care bills for Australian families. On top of this, the government's inaction to address workforce shortages is limiting access to early childhood education and care for families.

The member for Moncrieff is correct. This government must deliver more access to early childhood education and care places to support Australians to return to the workforce, particularly in rural and regional Australia.

Gordon Reid (Robertson, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I rise to highlight the work that the Albanese Labor government has undertaken to make child care cheaper, as well as its targeted cost-of-living measures that are being provided to Australians.

In my electorate of Robertson on the Central Coast there are many young parents and families benefiting from our government's cheaper childcare policy. From the month of July this year, 6,900 families in Robertson received an increase to their childcare subsidy. What this means is that an average family on a combined income of around $120,000 with one child in care will save around $1,700 in the first year of our policy coming into effect. That is $1,700 kept in the pockets of families living on the Central Coast and right across Australia.

Unfortunately, under the former Liberal government, we saw childcare fees rise by 49 per cent with no plan to help Australian families with these rising costs. I am proud to be part of a Labor federal government that continues to waste no time and is getting on with the job of supporting Australian families with cost of living. Across Australia there are now 1.2 million families benefiting from cheaper child care, which means more Australian families accessing affordable early childhood education and care across the country.

The Albanese Labor government knows the importance of early childhood education and care and how critical those first five years are for the development of a young mind. Research supports the powerful role that early childhood education and care provides. Our government will continue to work on ways to make child care more accessible and more affordable for more Australian families.

I want to take the opportunity to thank all the early childhood educators on the Central Coast and right across this country that provide outstanding education and care. The work that you do is so important, and you have a federal government that is on your side. But there is more work to do, and I am confident in the leadership of the Minister for Education and the Minister for Early Childhood Education who are steering our government's approach towards making early childhood education and care more equitable and more accessible.

The Albanese Labor government's targeted cost-of-living relief does not stop at cheaper child care. This government has a suite of targeted cost-of-living measures that are helping Australians across the nation, and an area that I am particularly pleased to see investment in is Medicare. Australians know that it was the Australian Labor Party who built Medicare. It's only the Labor Party who will strengthen it and it is only the Labor Party that will continue to protect it. In the 2023-24 federal budget it was great to see the Treasurer announce an investment of $3.5 billion to triple the bulk-billing incentive. This injection supports patients and general practitioners and will strengthen what is the heart of Medicare, and that is bulk-billing. This is the largest ever increase to the bulk-billing incentive in the history of Medicare. I'm pleased to report that this investment will benefit 73,130 people living in the electorate of Robertson on the New South Wales Central Coast, which means more equitable access to a doctor and targeted cost-of-living relief for Australians.

On the Central Coast, the Albanese Labor government is progressing with our commitment to deliver two Medicare urgent care clinics, with one to be established in the north in Dobell and one in the south in my electorate of Robertson. Medicare urgent care clinics are game changers. They have been seen to be quite effective in other countries, like Canada, New Zealand and the United Kingdom. They will be bulk-billed, and they will be open seven days a week, with extended operating hours. After nine long years of cuts and nine long years of neglect, the Albanese government is making Medicare stronger for all Australians, providing relief for Australians accessing health care and providing equitable access to general practice.

Lastly, another area where our government is easing the cost-of-living is energy bill assistance. In New South Wales 320,000 eligible small businesses will receive a $650 rebate towards their electricity bill, and we will continue to develop measures to ease the cost-of-living for all Australians.

Rowan Ramsey (Grey, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I am indebted to the Stock Journal in South Australia for an article that they printed last week on the lack of child care in the regions. In fact, it came on the back of a report by the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission, which found that in the major cities there was an average of 400 childcare places per thousand children, but the numbers steadily decline as you head towards the country. In inner regional Australia we have 332 places per thousand; in outer regional areas we have 295 places per thousand; in remote, 212; and in very remote Australia we have 166 places per thousand children. Eighty-five per cent of my electorate is either outer regional, remote or very remote, and the remaining 15 per cent is inner regional. In none of those areas do we have the kind of levels that people enjoy in the city.

The former South Australian Premier, Jay Weatherill, is a Thrive by Five director. He says that poor access to child care in the regions had been accepted as a universal experience and it was unacceptable. The article goes on to say that this would be one of the single biggest things that we cannot afford to have as a universality. It would improve the outcomes for a whole host of industries and people living in regional Australia. In fact, while the number of childcare places across Australia grew by 17 per cent in the past four years, it is primarily in the larger population areas.

I am indebted to our shadow minister, the member for Moncrieff. Angie Bell has been in my electorate twice in the last few months. We've met with over eight communities, all desperate for more child care. Where they have it, they don't have enough; and in the smaller centres, towns with typically less than a couple of thousand people, they don't have any child care at all. It's leading to people recruiting new workers, and then when they roll up they say, 'I can't stay here, because there's no child care;' people not accepting the job; and people leaving communities because they cannot juggle their career and child care.

It is of great concern to me that the government has chosen to put $4.7 billion into child care. This is not creating one new place. The privilege of these people who live in underserviced areas is to pay more tax so that other people in overserviced areas or better serviced areas can access a service which they cannot. There is a serious inequity here. I make the point that people would have cheered about the extra money the government is ploughing into child care, only to find now that their childcare centre is raising its rates by virtually as much as the increased subsidy—a $20 a day extra, in some cases, which is soaking up most of it.

The member for Reid has just been on his feet and said the coalition government presided over a 49 per cent increase over the nine years we were in government. The problem for the member for Reid is that I've been here a bit longer than him. I can remember the previous Labor period of government, if he wants to go back and look at history. It was a six-year period where prices went up by 53 per cent, around nine per cent per annum. It's interesting that in the last nine months alone childcare fees in Australia have gone up by eight per cent. There is certainly no control over the price that parents are paying to access this service.

For my communities that I am petitioning for, we have a system in South Australia called Rural Care. It's run by the state government through the education department, and they are able to access the subsidy. They are intently opposed to expanding it, but it's limited to three staff maximum. So in a town that's got a couple of thousand people, it's simply inadequate. It's a good service, though; it works quite well. In my mind, in these populations that are subcommercial, the obvious players to come into that space are the state based education departments. State governments may not want to go down this pathway, but I think it's imperative that we reach an agreement with them from the Commonwealth government to say: 'These are communities that are missing out. We need to reach a mutual agreement.'

Mike Freelander (Macarthur, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

The time allotted for this debate has expired. The debate is therefore adjourned and the resumption of the debate will be made an order of the day for the next setting.