Luke Hartsuyker (Cowper, National Party, Deputy Leader of the House) Share this | Hansard source

I thank the member for her question, and I must say that this government understands the importance of child care. We are committed to high-quality child care for Australian families, and we certainly understand the importance of the contribution that is made by grandparents to fulfilling important childcare needs. That is why this government is investing heavily in child care—almost $40 billion over the next four years, including an additional $3 billion in funding. This is the single-largest investment in early learning and child care that this country has ever seen. We are targeting to support parents. It is vitally important that child care is accessible, that child care is affordable and that child care is sufficiently flexible to meet the needs of parents. We want to ensure that child care can meet the needs of Australians in the 21st century, particularly those families who are seeking to transition off income support and into the world of work. It is very difficult to get back into the workforce if you cannot have the childcare support that you need to do that.

From 1 July 2017 a single childcare subsidy will make it easier for parents to navigate. Child care will be more affordable. Families will be better off. Those families who are on incomes of between $65,000 and $170,000 a year will, on average, be $30 a week better off; that is $1,500 a year. And child care will be more flexible. We on this side of the House understand the importance of flexibility. That is why we have the new nanny pilot program that is going to help particularly workers who work unusual hours, such as shiftworkers, particularly people in remote and regional locations where they do not have easy access to childcare facilities. We have the $869 million childcare safety net, which recognises that vulnerable children and families need extra support. We are a government that understands the needs of this nation's families in relation to child care. That is why we are putting in place the sorts of policies that are going to provide flexible, affordable child care for parents and grandparents.

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