Bruce Billson (Dunkley, Liberal Party) Share this | Hansard source

I rise to add a few thoughts about the Social Services Legislation Amendment (Family Payments Structural Reform and Participation Measures) Bill 2015 and to put on the record my disappointment that Labor has chosen, in its so-called year of big ideas, to oppose a very important reform package—a range of measures that seek to support families, to support and underwrite early childhood support and to give families the best prospect to be their best selves, by providing targeted assistance and encouragement to take advantage of opportunities that may be within their reach. This is what the bill is all about. You have heard the Labor members in the year of big ideas not able to produce one idea about the important public policy area that we are discussing. This is about families, child care, ambitions for the future and getting the policy settings and programs in place so that they can pursue their goals, improve their circumstances and know that there is predictable and reliable support to accompany them on their way as the government also seeks to repair the budget damage and hardship that Labor inflicted on this government. It seeks to do that in a number of ways, and I will come back to the specific parts in a moment.

You would remember, notwithstanding what an absolute standout the small business package was in the budget and how well that was received, another key part of the budget was the Jobs for Families childcare package. Senior figures from Labor, including Jenny Macklin and others that have thought about child care and advocated on it for some time, mouth welcome words about the need for reform of child care. We know the former Minister for Early Childhood, Childcare and Youth, who is at the table, had money to encourage union recruitment through United Voice, and that was a poor substitute for childcare reform. It did not do anything for families.

It is well understood that there is a need to bring about change. To bring about change is to provide the right financial incentives and support for people to be able to access child care as they pursue employment opportunities. They improve their own skills through training and the like. It is understood that this is an area that needs to be fixed. Like other members in this place, I constantly hear people describing how bewildered they are about the current childcare support arrangements and how those arrangements can vary, depending on where people enter the system and what their incomes are and the like.

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