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

we've heard nothing on how we're going to pay for it. It's $16 billion just in those two policies. If Labor are spending, what does it mean? They're going to tax. If they're going to spend, we all know they're going to tax. With those two policies alone we're looking at about $16 billion of extra funding.

What have we been doing? The coalition is providing record funding for child care: $9.2 billion in 2020-21, growing to over $10 billion in the coming years. That's nearly double what Labor was spending when they were last in office.

Opposition members interjecting—

Our once-in-a-generation reforms—and I hear the shout from those opposite—have delivered a 3.2 per cent reduction in out-of-pocket costs to parents since our package was introduced. That is a decrease. That's two years after they were introduced. Around one million Australian families who are balancing work and parental responsibilities are benefiting from the package. 71.4 per cent pay no more than $5 per hour in day-care centres, and within that subset 24 per cent pay no more than $2 per hour. Ninety per cent of families using approved child care were entitled to a subsidy rate between 50 per cent and 85 per cent. Our childcare subsidy supported families during all-time high women's workforce participation. I'll just repeat that for the shadow minister because she doesn't seem to be able to hear this message: our childcare subsidy supported families during all-time-high women's workforce participation. It was 61.5 per cent in January 2020, up from 58.7 per cent in September 2013.

A recent parents survey suggests the subsidy has increased female activity levels. The proportion of female parents reporting more than 48 hours of activity per fortnight rose from 56 per cent prior to the introduction of the package to 63 per cent in November 2019. And, of course, what have we seen as we've come out of this COVID-19-induced recession? 61.8 per cent of the jobs created since May have been filled by women.

What else have we seen? Sadly, we don't see the recognition given to the sector that we should from those opposite. The sector worked and was supported right through this pandemic. There was $900 million of extra assistance given to the sector. And you know what that led to? It meant 99 per cent of providers were open and ready to go as we came out of this pandemic. And that is what's helped that 61.8 per cent of the jobs created being filled by women. We worked with the sector and those magnificent educators who were in there day-in, day-out, providing that care, to make sure that 99 per cent of the sector was open.

Now, it is worth stopping and examining what happened in other countries. Member for Corangamite, when you're finished here, go and Google it to see what happened to the sector in other countries. Rather than scoffing, you might actually learn something. What happened is that, because they didn't get the support and they didn't get the assistance they were provided here, those sectors were decimated in other countries. Yet here we made sure we worked with them to support them and protect them, and 99 per cent of providers remained open because of that support, because we worked cooperatively with them. They were ready to step in and help and assist as we came out of this. So we will continue to work with the sector. We will continue to support the sector. We've already seen record demand come back into the sector everywhere except Victoria. We're now seeing better demand than was there when we entered the pandemic in every state and territory other than Victoria. So we will continue to work with them and provide that support.

I'll finish on this point, because it is very important and it compares and contrasts what happens under our system to what would happen under a Labor system. A single parent working part time as a nurse or retail worker and earning $30,000 a year receives a taxpayer funded subsidy of 85 per cent of the cost of child care under our childcare subsidy. With average fees for centre based day care at $10.40 an hour based on the March 2020 data, that single parent would pay $1.56 per hour per care and the taxpayer the rest. If that single parent wanted to take on more shifts and double their income to $60,000 per year, they would still pay $1.56 per hour and the taxpayer would pay the rest. The Labor contrast, however, is that a family with a combined income of $360,000 with two children in centre based day care for 30 hours a week who currently receive no subsidy in our childcare package would receive an additional taxpayer subsidy of $212 a week, or $10,608 a year, under Labor's policy and not need to work any extra hours. Our policy is targeted; it's means tested. Those opposite have a dog's breakfast of a policy.

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