Senate debates

Thursday, 8 September 2022

Questions without Notice: Additional Answers

Child Care

3:14 pm

Photo of Murray WattMurray Watt (Queensland, Australian Labor Party, Minister for Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry) Share this | | Hansard source

I'd like to provide answers to the questions I took on notice from Senator Hughes today. I'm advised that a family with one child earning $60,000 a year currently faces out-of-pocket costs of $2,430 a year. Under Labor's cheaper childcare plan they will pay only $1,620 out of pocket per year. A family earning $400,000 a year with one child faces current out-of-pocket costs of $16,000, and under the Albanese government's plan they will pay about $12,000. Under the government's plan, 96 per cent of Australian families with children in child care will be better off. This is a cost-of-living measure with an economic dividend. It will help get women back into the workforce, unlocking an army of skilled workers our economy is crying out for. It's good for kids, it's good for families and it's good for the economy.