Kate Ellis (Adelaide, Australian Labor Party, Minister for Early Childhood and Childcare) Share this | Hansard source

I thank the member for Greenway, who I know has a keen interest in this area as a new mother. I also know that she is a member who is determined, like us, that we be a government with a plan for a modern Australia. We are a government that has recognised that Australia's workforce has changed significantly in the past decade. In fact, we have seen over a 25 per cent increase in the number of women participating in the workforce, and we have seen a big growth in diversity in the roles which women are taking up. We also know that there are more Australian children in early childhood education and care than at any time in this nation's history. We know that that means parents need flexible options. Parents need a government with real policies, real programs and a plan for modern Australia.

We understand that no two families are the same, that no two families will rely on exactly the same programs when it comes to managing their work and family balances. That is why we introduced changes to the Fair Work Act, to make sure that working parents have the right to request part-time work. It is also why we have introduced a range of flexibility trials at over 50 sites around Australia, in partnership with industry, with business and with childcare operators, to provide parents with more flexible childcare hours. We have also announced that the government will expand on these trials at 50 sites by establishing a $1.3 million Child Care Flexibility Fund. This will all form part of our $11 million plan to improve the accessibility and flexibility of Australian child care.

The competitive grants program will build on the trials that have already been announced and that the Prime Minister referred to earlier question time. These trials will be working with family day carers partnering up with police officers, with nurses and with paramedics so that they can ensure that there is care available to match their rosters. There will be partnerships with long day care centres trialling an extension of hours for those parents who are doing the mad rush through peak hour traffic desperately trying to get there to collect their children before the centre closes. There will be a partnership with out-of-school-hours care, because we know that work does not always stop the moment the school bell rings and that parents need some assistance after hours. We want to add to that with even more partners, with even more innovative new ideas going forward so that we can ensure that Australian child care remains affordable, accessible, of high quality and flexible.

All of these trials will be backed up by independent evaluation so that we can look at what can be rolled out as a more permanent measure and a wider rollout to assist more Australian parents. Ultimately we have real plans, real policies and we are getting on with the job of delivering for modern Australia and working parents. (Time expired)

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