Dan Tehan (Wannon, Liberal Party, Minister for Education) Share this | Hansard source

I see the shadow minister. This is from the department: 'The Department cannot validate the claim that the Government is spending $400 million less this quarter.' That's pretty straightforward. It's pretty clear what the department is saying about your claims. What did the government do? What did we have to respond to? I mentioned this earlier in question time. The Early Childhood Education and Care Relief Package was designed to support the sector as we headed into the coronavirus pandemic. We were seeing mass withdrawal of children from the sector. In some instances it was forecast that we would see 30 per cent of the sector close. That would have not only led to the sector staring into the abyss about its future and how it was going to cope with this pandemic but also meant that the sector would not have been there to support Australian families and children as we began to emerge from the pandemic.

I thank the sector and the representatives of the sector who worked with the government incredibly cooperatively, collaboratively and discreetly, given the significance of what was being undertaken. The government had to design a new package which would carry the sector through the pandemic. I think it would be fair to say that at the time most people thought we were looking at six months at a minimum to carry the sector through the pandemic. Fortunately, with the way that we have been able to flatten the curve, literally less than two months on we are seeing our economy beginning to ease restrictions, which means that families are going to be able to get back to work and the sector is now looking at a very different picture to the one a couple of months ago. As a matter of fact, rather than seeing demand diminish, as we were, we are now seeing demand begin to increase. So literally five weeks after we announced our package we are now looking at how we can help the sector deal with increased demand.

When we put the package in place we announced that we would have a review after four weeks. That review has been undertaken by the department, and it landed on my desk yesterday. We are now, as a government, looking at that review. Obviously we will consult further with the sector and see what further actions we need to take to ensure that the sector can continue to thrive as we come out of the pandemic.

But I would say this to the shadow minister: rather than criticising a response that has meant that we have a sector ready to work with the government, ready to work with our economy to ensure that parents can get the care that they need, you should be taking a much more constructive approach. What the sector has done over the last couple of months is quite extraordinary. It has meant that while we were in the depths of dealing with the pandemic essential service workers were able to get their children cared for. We saw the sector respond to the government's initiative and remain open. As we stand here today, 98 per cent of services are open—quite a remarkable achievement. By staying open, not only have they been able to care for those essential service workers but also they've been able to maintain a relationship with parents who had withdrawn their children or who, due to unemployment caused by the pandemic, had said, 'Well, I don't know whether we'll be able to continue with that care.' So, they've been able to maintain that relationship, which is incredibly important.

Equally as important, they've been able to maintain care for vulnerable children throughout this pandemic. We know that stresses and pressures have been put on families right across the board, and the fact that we've had a sector that has been there for those vulnerable children right through these two months is, once again, extraordinarily important for what we were seeking to do by working with the sector to get this outcome. So, once again I thank those early-childhood workers, because by remaining open you have been able to achieve the three priorities that the government wanted achieved through this. If there had been those closures, the impact on essential services workers, on vulnerable children and on those parents who had withdrawn their children would have been completely different to what we are looking at now. We have been able to meet the objectives that we set out to achieve.

What does this mean now, going forward? The fact that 98 per cent of the sector is open, operating, fulfilling their roles means that we can now work with the sector as we come out of this pandemic, and that is what we will do. I am extremely confident that, working collaboratively with the sector, we'll be able to put the right decisions in place so the sector can meet the demand that will be required going forward, and that is what we want to achieve. We want to make sure that as people go back to work their children can get the care they need, that they can get the education they need.

As we monitor demand, we will monitor the system that we have in place. And we have to understand that demand varies across the economy at the moment. In some places we're seeing demand of around 45 to 65 per cent. In other areas we're seeing demand at much higher levels. And then in other areas, sadly, where the devastation of the pandemic is at its worst, we're seeing demand below 45 per cent in some instances. So, it is quite a complex situation that we are now looking at. And I will say once again: my view is that you work collaboratively with people, you look at the complex issues, you design your policy to make sure that is takes account of that, and we will ensure that our childcare sector grows with the Australian economy, provides that education and care that parents need as we come out of this pandemic.

I look forward to staying in touch with the shadow minister as we work through this. I look forward to advising her of the steps we're taking, the policies we're putting place. In the end, we want to make sure that we are providing the care and the education that our children need, and I'm sure everyone in this House wants to ensure that that care and that education is there for Australian children.

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