Sarah Hanson-Young (SA, Australian Greens) Share this | Hansard source

Thank you, Mr Deputy President. It is extremely disappointing that the government is refusing to acknowledge that we have a crisis in the childcare sector, that families are struggling with the fee increases around the country, that places are simply not available and that the best way of ensuring that we have good, quality care for our children is to fund it properly.

Currently the government has done nothing to increase the funding of childcare services to deliver those good, quality outcomes. Unless we underpin those quality outcomes by proper government funding, we will not deliver good, quality care that is accessible, flexible and affordable for families. It is time the government stopped putting their head in the sand on this issue and acknowledge that it needs to be fixed. If you do not have the answers yourself, it is about time you asked somebody else to enquire into it for you.