David Gillespie (Lyne, National Party, Assistant Minister for Children and Families) Share this | Hansard source

Every child deserves to have the best start in life. We're in furious agreement with the honourable member. But the evidence and the runs on the board from across the many portfolios that look after the children of Australia, from the coalition government, are outstanding. Whether it's the education and childcare package; the preschool funding, which I'll talk about shortly; interconnected programs, like Connected Beginnings, with health and education; or in my portfolio of social services, it's outstanding.

Just to correct all of the errors in the honourable member's speech, we do agree that preschool is important. The federal coalition government has locked in $870 million for 2018 and 2019. That's benefitting 340,000 children each year. Preschool funding is locked in until January 2020. Minister Birmingham has told members of the other side repeatedly that he is negotiating with the states, as the states run most of these preschools. That funding can't be, as he mentioned, a blank cheque.

It's not a blank cheque, but there is a problem. The states get the money even if the children don't turn up. Some of the figures are astounding. The children who need the most help at preschool, in some of the most disadvantaged areas, aren't even attending. From the figures for the Northern Territory, there was only 36 per cent attendance. In South Australia, it was 38 per cent. That's amongst the most vulnerable Indigenous cohort. Of all the children in Western Australia, only 60 per cent are turning up. But the states are happy to take the money and run. We are trying to put responsibility back onto the states. Money won't help them, but children turning up at preschool will. We have no argument with those opposite about that: going to preschool before you go to school delivers enormous benefits. But we have a responsibility to the taxpayers and we have a responsibility to the children. We've got to put the states on the sticky paper and make them get children into preschool.

If those opposite are so concerned about it, how come Labor didn't commit to long-term preschool funding in their last budget? They didn't commit to preschool funding in their 2016 election plan. They're complaining today, but did they do anything in their most important document, the budget reply? There was no mention of it, despite our budget commitment of an extra $440 million in 2019.

In the Department of Social Services, we commit a billion dollars around the country—$225 million through parenting and early childhood intervention each year. There are prevention programs that try to support parents to build parenting capacity. There are 2.1 million individuals and families each year that benefit from these parenting programs, community playgroups and family relationship services. We're working on the fourth iteration of the National Framework for Protecting Australia's Children. The third action plan, underway at the moment, is putting particular focus on the first thousand days of a child's life, because, if a child is thriving by five, they are set on a totally different trajectory for the rest of their life. The Connected Beginnings program is a holistic integrated early childhood initiative that is focused on remote-area Indigenous children, trying to get their health and their early childhood development correct so that they do get to preschool and then they go on to school.

But our changes to child care are probably the greatest changes to child care for a generation. There is a better-off fiscal outcome for the average family of $1,300 each year. Some children and families get much more benefit, and that's focused on children and families that work more and earn less. So it's targeted at those that need the help. We have removed the annual childcare rebate cap of $7,600 so that, if you are working and claiming, the subsidy goes straight to the childcare centre. For instance, families earning up to $187,000 will have an increased cap of $10,190. We've increased the subsidy for those earning the least, from 72 per cent to 85 per cent. That amounts to $2½ billion. That's extra money into child care. And that doesn't even take into account the safety net spend—because some children and vulnerable families do need extra support above that. The safety net ensures that grandparents with primary care of their grandchildren; foster parents; and parents undergoing medical treatment, for example, can get extra assistance, and that amounts to $1.2 billion. So, between the direct subsidy to the childcare centres and the safety net, that's $3.7 billion extra.

I know the other side won't be complaining, because I've got the figures here on the extra numbers of families, by electorate, that this will benefit. Among the electorates, the greatest beneficiary of these new changes is Lalor. The member for Lalor has 13,303 families. The next one is McEwen, another Labor seat, and then Greenway, with 9,967. Some of the other top beneficiaries are Fenner, Canberra, Kingston, Dobell, Oxley, Petrie and Rankin. So I know they won't be complaining when they actually get away from the cameras and look at the policy outcome. They'll see that this new childcare package is an absolute winner for families.

But there are also, we estimate, 230,000 families that will be able to work more. Under the old system, it was a zero-sum game for many families: you would go to work, but then your child care would take all the extra financial reward for the work. This package is making child care much more affordable, and if you are meeting the activity test you can get more support. It is such a good initiative. We've also addressed the incessant increase in childcare fees. We have capped the subsidy. In the old system, it was chewed up almost within three or four months for some people.

Ms Rishworth interjecting—

The first year before school is very important—no disagreement with you on that. We have allowed the system to work so the children can get that preschool funding through the existing childcare long-daycare centre. We've had amazing take-up of this system. Over a million families are eligible for it, and there's been huge take-up. You tried to set up a protest website, but there were so few people accessing it or complaining that you closed the site down. That's an amazing change—to roll out a whole new system like this in such an efficient manner and get so many people involved.

But it is so important that you understand that the coalition government, whether it's in social services, in health or in education, are committing extra billions of dollars to the development of Australia's greatest assets, which are our children. We have no argument with you about that, but we are actually doing it. We are putting the money on the table for the states, but we are insisting that they make the families get their children to the preschool, and then they will get the fiscal assistance. It's no good just giving money to the states and finding out that it's used in some other portfolio or in some admin role. It should be in the preschool working for the child's development. The best friend child care has ever had has been the changes we have made to this system.

Historically you might have had some runs on the board, but what's happening now is so much better than the old system. I've had children in preschools, in family day care and in group day care. It is much better now. Looking at what we had to go through when my children were little and now, it is so much better now. We are allowing working mums and dads to work so that they can save hard and get ahead. That is what we are trying to do—empowering families. Life is hard if you've got a big mortgage, if you've got a big commute or if you've got big fiscal responsibilities for your family, and working is essential, and this childcare system allows them to do that. (Time expired)

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