Sussan Ley (Farrer, Liberal Party, Assistant Minister for Education) Share this | Hansard source

Thank you to the member for Barton, in whose electorate I spent some time last week—at the Kogarah RSL, having a round table discussion with childcare providers and services. From the member for Barton's electorate I heard the same things I have been hearing from members on this side of the House for a long time now. We know that the new framework under which the childcare sector operates contains more than 1,000 pages of regulation and more than 1,000 pages of guidelines and is often described by those who have to comply with it as 'overwhelming', 'terrifying', and 'drowning in regulation'.

The Labor Party always comes back to us with the same line. They say that regulation and red tape keep children safe. Well, I have news for the Labor Party—red tape does not keep children safe. In fact, it may well do the opposite. Every day I speak to educators who say things like this: 'Why did we become educators in the child care system? Because we love children, because we connect with them, we have a bond with them, and we want to care for and nurture them.' What we do not want to do—

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