Tanya Plibersek (Sydney, Australian Labor Party, Shadow Minister for Childcare) Share this | Hansard source

to move:

That this House:

(1)

notes:

(a)

the spiralling cost of child care in many parts of Australia;

(b)

that a large number of families cannot either find or afford high quality, local child care;

(c)

the low labour force participation rates of women with dependant children in Australia, relative to many other OECD nations; and

(d)

that families cannot claim the child care tax offset until after the end of the financial year following the year when child care fees had been paid, even though the Government has all the details necessary to process the offset earlier; and

(2)

calls on the Government to:

(a)

develop policies to create more places for children in high quality care in areas where more places are needed;

(b)

recognise that planning is needed in the long day care market to correct market failures, and make it possible for parents with young children to participate in the workforce; and

(c)

implement Labor’s proposals to allow families to benefit from the child care tax offset at least a year earlier than the Government’s scheme allows.

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