Michael McCormack (Riverina, National Party) Share this | Hansard source

Quality childcare services and facilities are an integral component to modern Australian families. As the requirement of more families grows to have a dual income stream in order to keep pace with the cost of living, so too does the need for childcare centres. The cost of child care is high and it is increasing. Many families have to make savings in other areas of the household budget in order to afford care for their children. With the cost of living rising and quality child care becoming more and more unaffordable for families, the Early Years Quality Fund Special Account Bill 2013 is set to pass yet another cost on to families.

This bill is seeking to establish the Early Years Quality Fund Special Account. This account will provide wage increases to long day care workers, costing some $300 million over two years. It is important that our childcare centres, particularly those in rural and regional areas, remain well staffed with highly trained and skilled professionals and have the resources they need to carry out their work. But, in typical Labor style, this bill is seeking to achieve that by caving in to the demands of unions and adding caveats to funding which require childcare centres to increase their levels of union membership.

There is nothing wrong with being in a union. I was a member of the Australian Journalists Association and later the Media Entertainment and Arts Alliance for more than 20 years.

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