Darren Cheeseman (Corangamite, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Hansard source

I thank the member for McMillan, but the reality is that we had been working with state and territory governments to put in place additional funding. This was an area that was and should be the responsibility of the Victorian government, and they have announced that they will be axing this program from 1 January next year. That will hurt an enormous number of facilities and entities within my electorate providing this program, particularly the Anglesea and District Community House, the Apollo Bay Children's Centre, the Deans Marsh Community Cottage, the Forrest Preschool, the Haddon and District Community House, the Inverlea Occasional Care, the Lorne Figtree Community House, the Meredith Community Centre, the Rokewood Occasional Care Facility, the Torquay Children's Services Hub and the Winchelsea Community House in Winchelsea.

These facilities and the services that have historically been delivered from these areas have made a very substantial contribution to those communities, and it is an absolute shame that the Baillieu government has axed this important funding. On the one hand, federal Labor—the Gillard government—is putting record investment into this space. On the other hand, the Baillieu government is taking money out of these services. Over the next four years the Commonwealth government will be providing some $9.2 billion and around $7.2 billion in the childcare rebate area. The Commonwealth government, under the leadership of the Prime Minister, have directed a lot more funding into these areas and we have a very proud history of doing this. We want to give every young person under the age of four every opportunity in life and we are putting real money into this space to ensure that that can happen, but we are also doing it in a way that makes sense and that is based on the successful negotiations that we undertook, by and large, at the COAG early childhood roundtable.

This government is also putting in $399 million through child care benefit; $291 million though the childcare rebate, which pays for 50 per cent of out-of-pocket costs for families; $21.3 million for childcare services and support; $16.95 million for children's and family centres; and $17.4 million in new early learning and care centres. We will continue to invest in this important policy area. We have put in a lot more money in the first four years of the Gillard government than the Howard government did in their last four years. We have a proud history in this space and we will continue to contribute in every way that we can to ensure that working families have every opportunity to educate and care for their children.

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