Katie Allen (Higgins, Liberal Party) Share this | Hansard source

Thank you, Mr Deputy Speaker. I am delighted to rise to speak about this MPI, because it's clear that the Morrison government continues to invest record amounts in child care, with another $9.2 billion in this financial year that will grow to $10.7 billion in the coming years. Labor is just good at talking down good investment. We are supporting around one million families with access to affordable childcare services. On top of this, the investment the Morrison government has provided through the COVID pandemic shows how much we care about the childcare sector. We invested $900 million to help this important sector ride the bumpy wave that has been COVID.

Our childcare sector is working and that's because we introduced a very important new set of childcare packages into 2018, which was a once-in-a generation set of reforms. This saw out-of-pocket costs absolutely plummet. Even two years later, thanks to our reforms, the cost of child care has plummeted by 3.2 per cent. This is in contrast to what happened with Labor where we saw a massive increase in childcare cost and that is because the funding that they provided went to increasing the cost through childcare services rather than into the hip pocket of taxpayers.

Our childcare system is targeted, so that those who earn the least receive the highest level of subsidy of 85 per cent. Importantly over 70 per cent of families do have out-of-pocket costs of less than $5 per hour per child and nearly a quarter are paying less $2 per hour per child for centre-based child care. I do hear mutterings from the other side and that's because when you look at the numbers that the shadow minister has given us, she tells us that there's going to be a cost of 12 times five, which is 60 hours a week. We're talking about parents who mostly use child care in the way which is not 60 hours a week. They're using it in ways of 30 to 40 hours a week. To be talking about an average cost of 60 hours per week is really an extreme example, which is not very helpful to the actual argument.

What's really important about childcare support is that we want it accessible, we want it safe—

Ms Rishworth interjecting—

and we want to make sure the sector is supported to provide the best care for the special people in our lives, which are our children. I know this. I know that when mothers want to send their children to child care, they want to know they have got quality, accessible child care and safe child care. I know this because I am a paediatrician who has worked with children my entire working life. I have four children myself and I know how hard it is sometimes for parents to juggle their child care and getting ahead in their career.

But our childcare package has supported families during a period which has resulted in the highest workforce participation by women in our history. It was 61.5 per cent in January 2020, up from 58.7 per cent in 2013. This is incredibly important because, as Australian women enter the workforce, we are going to see an uplift in productivity, participation and, therefore, in our economy. It is such an important thing to invest in. Under Labor, however, there were fee increases of 53 per cent, and sharp practice was rife.

Our childcare support package provides families with that extra support they need. As a family's income decreases, the amount the government provides increases, so there is a 95 per cent subsidy available to families who are transitioning to work. There is also a subsidy of up to 120 per cent for families who are experiencing financial hardship, meaning that, in most cases, child care for these vulnerable families is free. More and more families are using child care every year, and we are now seeing one million families benefiting from this policy. I will say that, in Victoria, unfortunately, the threat of COVID has had a bigger impact on our childcare situation, and I'm very pleased that the government has been providing extra support for Victoria through this very important time.

I would like to conclude by saying that, basically, the Morrison government not only has a childcare plan but also has an economic plan to deliver workforce participation, growth and female economic empowerment. The Morrison government is committed to child care. We're committed to affordable and accessible child care, and we were providing that before COVID, we're providing that during COVID and we have a plan for after COVID. This is something that Australians, and Australian women in particular, can feel very proud of.

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