Bridget Archer (Bass, Liberal Party) Share this | Hansard source

I thank the member for Macquarie for her motion raising the very important issue of child care in this chamber today. This is a policy area that I've spoken on a number of times in this place both from my own experience, as someone who has utilised the system for many, many years with my own five children, and also because of the challenges raised with me by constituents in my northern Tasmanian community.

As I've said before, while cost is important, a sole focus on the cost of child care is somewhat short-sighted, in my view. You can have the cheapest child care in the world, but you still need to be able to access it. From my discussions in the regional community which I represent, there is an accessibility issue particularly for parents who work shift work and single parents. In particular, I've heard from parents who wanted to take up work as seasonal fruit pickers but couldn't find suitable care to cover the early starts and the hours involved. I'm continuing to advocate for my community on this issue, and I'd like to thank Minister Tehan for his willingness to listen to me and a number of my colleagues who have raised similar childcare issues. These include my colleague who we've just heard from, the member for Higgins, Dr Katie Allen, who is exploring ways that families could opt for childcare arrangements that would better suit their family rather than standard day care, which can be limiting for many families, depending on where they work or live. As Dr Allen has said, every woman going to work should have the choice to access the type of care for their child that is right for them and their family. Whilst I certainly don't deny that child care can be a financial challenge for parents—and I speak from experience—it's a bit rich for those on that side to criticise the government, when fees increased by 53 per cent when they themselves were in government.

The Morrison government has delivered on changes targeting and assisting those families who need it most. We introduced a new, once-in-a-generation childcare package in 2018 with significant reforms that saw out-of-pocket costs fall. Thanks to these reforms, the ABS CPI data reports that costs to families remain 3.2 per cent lower than under the previous childcare package. The system designed by the government is targeted, assisting those who need it the most, with those who earn the least receiving the highest level of subsidy at 85 per cent. Over 70 per cent of families have out-of-pocket costs of less than $5 per hour per child, and nearly a quarter are paying less than $2 per hour per child for centre based care. The Morrison government continues to invest record amounts in child care, with another $9.2 billion in this financial year which will grow to $10.7 billion in coming years. The current subsidies have supported families during an all-time high in women's workforce participation: 61½ per cent in January 2020, up from 58.7 per cent in September 2013. Of course, I acknowledge that these numbers have dipped during the pandemic, but it is worth noting that 61.8 per cent of jobs created since May have been filled by women.

This brings me to another point: I note that the majority of the speakers on this motion are women. I think that reflects a part of the problem. I've stated in the past and it still holds true that the rhetoric around child care and parental leave measures is frustrating, given that these are measures that do not only impact women. I certainly understand, though, that this often does end up being a woman's responsibility. There are a number of statistics that indicate that child care disproportionately affects women, and likely a lot of anecdotal evidence as well. But I think we in the House have a duty of care to frame this issue as one that is shared by both parents. Child care is an incredibly complex issue and one that our government has spent a considerable amount of time and money on effectively addressing. It has resulted in significant positive change. However, our work lives are dynamic and changeable, and child care needs to be able to respond. There needs to be more to be done around flexibility, availability and equitable access, and I'm hopeful we can turn our minds to these issues rather than focusing solely on cost.

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