Ann Sudmalis (Gilmore, Liberal Party) Share this | Hansard source

I would imagine every parent in Australia would agree that quality child care is best when they have to work or study. It is critically important. The only care available while studying for my degree, with no extended family around, was family day care.

There is an absolute necessity for government support to continue family day-are services well into the future. At the moment, that could be a risk. It is so typical of Labor to shout out their throwaway lines about funding cuts. Just where do they think the money is coming from? Is it well targeted? Does it meet the criteria of community need for remote and regional child care?

The purpose of the Community Support Program is to assist with operational expenses for eligible child-care services and improve access in areas where it is difficult to meet the needs of that community—not as family day-care financial income. Family day-care funding has not been available for parents' own children for many years. This is not new, and Labor is spreading falsehoods that the current changes have introduced this. This program can set up assistance for new family day care, ongoing support for day-to-day expenses, and grants to help the coordinators support the educators and actually achieve the outcomes of better care. This, of course, is an investment in the future of our children and must be done in a thorough, ethical and businesslike manner. After all, it is taxpayers' dollars that are being spent.

In 2012 the Australian National Audit Office recommended that the CSP be targeted because family day care accounted for 71 per cent of the total expenditure but only 10 per cent of the children in approved care. This is a red-flag statistic and should have alerted the previous government that there was a problem. Labor say the problems in this sector are for the current government. Have they no idea about legacy debt? It just shows their lack of financial understanding. Childcare costs increased by more than 50 per cent under the last government, and this did not translate into more parents in the workforce or in study. Something is seriously wrong, and it must be addressed, especially as the current figures show a still increasing demand yet not increasing work participation.

Yes, the eligibility criteria for family day care will be tighter, and this is aimed towards better assistance availability for regional and remote areas and areas of socioeconomic disadvantage, where this service may not otherwise be viable. That is the aim of the program. This is the most logical solution, and it will truly assist parents in affected areas like Gilmore to return to study or find work. That is the aim—assisting parents in areas where child care is difficult to get. It should also be noted that family day care providers already receiving the sustainability assistance will not be affected by the proposed changes due to the different payment and calculation methods for this funding.

The Australian government is determined to have a sustainable system of child care that is flexible to help shift-workers or people with unusual study patterns; affordable so parents really feel it is an economic choice to return to work; and accessible, particularly in regional areas where there is not a day care centre just around the corner. We must make sure our child care operates in a system that is sustainable, and it is reassuring to see the recommendations of the Productivity Commission and how they too may add to the formula to assist families and children in our community. The cap in funding will at least give free-of-charge coordinators a fixed budget. Their planning can be more directed and they can provide the care that is so essential to communities just like those in Gilmore.

The business development package is an essential part of this application of eligibility assessment. While I know the family day care service in the Shoalhaven is one that could be used as an example of a well-run community service business, there are others without that systemised approach, and the development package should be a tremendous asset for their ongoing future. We have a model of educator excellence, and this can be repeated in many other areas. It is essential that this funding is specifically directed to families and children in regional areas rather than in urban areas. Family day care is an essential part of the Community Support Program. We on this side absolutely recognise the importance of it. We want it to go forward to the future. We want it to be affordable. We want it to be available. At the current levels it is actually sucking dollars out of the budget. In a couple of years it will be gone and that particular program will not be available to parents.

Debate adjourned.

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