Christian Porter (Pearce, Liberal Party, Minister for Social Services) Share this | Hansard source

I thank the member for the question. Perhaps I can answer it in summary fashion by saying that the bill placed before the parliament this morning pays for four critical initiatives. First, as the Treasurer has noted, it will pay for the childcare reform package. For the electorate of Robertson that represents 7,580 families. It will pay for measures that make the childcare system simpler, fairer and less inflationary. It will provide most families with $30 more per week. It encourages 240,000 families, including 38,000 jobless families, to work or work more. Indeed, as the Treasurer pointed out, this is the 'somehow' as to how we pay for child care. In fact, I debated with the Treasurer whether we should actually call it the 'somehow bill'. I favoured the 'Social Services Legislation Amendment (the Finding the Way Somehow to Responsibly Pay for Childcare Reform) Bill 2015'. Unfortunately, that did not happen.

I might just take this opportunity, Mr Speaker, through you, to put to the member for Jagajaga that, if the grandparent carer cohort is the primary or only concern that Labor have, let's have a cup of tea about that. It is a very, very small cohort. As you would know, it is about 3,000—

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