Luke Howarth (Petrie, Liberal Party) Share this | Hansard source

It is great to rise and talk on this MPI today. I have never seen as many paternalists in the one place as I see on the other side of this chamber today in the Labor Party. I am trying hard to understand how they justify the merits of taking such an overtly oppressive position on reform which supports choice and a better life for families. This 'hold'em back, keep'em down' approach that they cling to is concerning, to say the very least. We heard from the member for Adelaide, the shadow minister for early childhood education and development, who was the minister in this space for many years under the previous government. Well, you had your turn, and you failed. You failed. Under your term, childcare costs went through the roof.

Ms Kate Ellis interjecting—

If she wants to bring her quotes in here, then the shadow minister opposite should quote mothers in my electorate who go to work, earn $60,000 a year and pay $15,000 a year in childcare costs—$300 a week for one child.

Ms Kate Ellis interjecting—

You have no idea, and under your term as minister you failed. You failed big time. So, if you want to quote someone, quote them.

On hours cut back for some children—well, that is true. There may be some mothers who do not work full-time in the workforce. Obviously, they are parents and they work. Some of their children's hours of child care might be reduced, and I will come back to that in a moment.

I would also say to the member for McPherson that she is absolutely right when she says the coalition's childcare reform package supports families. Yes, it does. It supports women. Yes, it does. It increases female workforce participation. Yes, it does. It was good to hear from the member for Indi, opposite, who spoke about regional families and women. I know that she cares very much about her community and obviously wants to get the minister out there to address some issues.

I have enormous respect for families who consciously choose for one parent to stay at home and care for their children. I also support parents who both need to go to work. I understand the frustrations of parents who put in a full day's work and knock off, pay cheque in hand, and pass that cheque to the childcare centre in return for their child. We want families to choose their child care around their work, rather than limit their work hours to suit their child care.

We must take every opportunity to incentivise people who want to work. Our demographics are such that maximum workforce participation is paramount. At the moment, we have four or five people of working age for every person over 65. In the not-too-distant future, that ratio will halve to two or three people of working age for every Australian aged 65 or over. Our demographics present significant known challenges for our nation. The time to act is now, Member for Adelaide, and it is a battle that we need to fight on all fronts—from tax cuts for business to stimulate growth, investment, and employment opportunities, and a health system that is not only effective but also sustainable, to utilities that are not only reliable but that Australians can afford. Those opposite have no idea when it comes to business and how we pay for all these reforms that we make.

It is estimated that these reforms will encourage more than 230,000 families to increase their involvement in paid employment. Can I just read that again for those opposite: it is estimated that these reforms will encourage more than 230,000 families to increase their involvement in paid employment. As we all know, the larger the workforce, the more capacity we as a nation have to invest in those things that make Australia great—our healthcare, our public schooling, our age based pension, our strong Defence Force, our Australian Federal Police. All of these things, we can do.

In terms of sustainable solutions, these childcare reforms are an absolute no-brainer. The package will deliver the highest rate of subsidy to those who most need it and benefit almost one million families—another point the member for Adelaide forgot to mention. The reforms offer support to families who most depend upon child care in order to work, or to work more.

When access to child care is so expensive that it is beyond the reach of working parents, when it is cheaper to stay home and take a welfare cheque than it is to go to work, then it is time for reform. What we need is a system that supports choice. As a parliament we have an opportunity to support working families— (Time expired)

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