Michael Keenan (Stirling, Liberal Party, Minister Assisting the Prime Minister for Digital Transformation) Share this | Hansard source

The members opposite are interjecting, but of course they won't know anything about this. They'll know absolutely nothing about it and they'll just throw out all this nonsense, the sort of nonsense that we see from the Labor Party—completely removed from the truth, a completely fact-free zone. So these are the sorts of improvements that we're making to the system, and they are already yielding results.

I'm very proud of what we've been able to achieve in the Department of Human Services. We of course have taken responsibility for fixing up the shambles that we inherited from the Labor Party. It's very hard to make up for 4,800 staff being ripped out of a system. It's very hard to make up for call wait times that, when the Labor Party were in office, blew out to 10 times what they had been. But we have methodically and gradually made improvements to the system, and the Australian people will see the results of those improvements. They're already seeing the results of those improvements, and over time, of course, they will continue to get better.

The member for Boothby asked me about the transition to the new childcare subsidy arrangements. This is an extra $2½ billion dollars into the system, which means that the people who need it most will be able to access more childcare subsidy and those working the most will be able to access more childcare subsidy, and, like all the reforms that we're making, it benefits low- and middle-income Australians.

I'm very pleased to say that that transition is going exceptionally well. I've worked very closely with Minister Birmingham to ensure that, on 2 July, when the new system comes into place, the sector is ready for the new arrangements and Australians can transition to the new arrangements. We've already had 925,000 families register their new arrangements with us. It's a very simple process. You can do it through the Centrelink online app. It shouldn't take more than a couple of minutes. You're asked four easy questions. I would encourage those who haven't yet registered their new details with us to do so. But the program remains on track for a very successful transition. I thank the member for Boothby for asking me a relevant and sensible question. (Time expired)

Proposed expenditure agreed to.

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