Rob Mitchell (McEwen, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Hansard source

I guess that 'empty vessels make the most noise' is what we've just heard. But let's talk about the member for Barker as he scurries out. I'll just remind him that he sits there and refers me but he seems to forget that I was elected as the Second Deputy Speaker of this parliament and, despite the claims that he made publicly that he was going to be a minister in his first or second term, he's still sitting on the last row because no-one wants to sit near him. I'll also remind him that if he talks about fairness and equality then he should ask why he deserves a $15,000 tax cut when someone earning $46,000 is going to get $400. That's the true Liberal Party.

But let's talk about child care, because child care is so important. It's so important that the first people that this bunch of Tories over there cut off the JobKeeper were childcare workers. In fact, they refused to support day care workers. We had police officers in our area who couldn't do extra shifts during the pandemic because they couldn't get access to child care. Why? Because there were no jobs. Why? Because the workers were put off and the day cares were closed, because this government, the Tories over there, decided that people who worked on the front line didn't deserve support for child care. That's what we've seen right across here. Fees have increased by 36 per cent since this lot over there were elected for their three terms.

We had the minister at the table in her faux support for vulnerable kids. She just happened to forget that she and her government cut the safety net for vulnerable kids. Then the member for Bowman came in here and said, 'Well, actually, they don't deserve child care; it should only be for working families.' We have to sit here and say, 'This is a government that is all at sea when it comes to child care.' That's because they don't believe in it and they don't support it. Families are paying an extra $4,000 a year for child care. The OECD has noted that Australian families contribute 37 per cent of early education and care costs compared to an OECD average of 18 per cent. This is the real truth of what's going on behind here. All the bluff and bluster from the member for Barker—he's a wit, you've got to admit; he's halfway there but he's getting there, so let's just keep encouraging him.

Child care has been an abject failure because of this government, and it has meant that families have not been able to reach their full potential. Underemployment for women is at 10 per cent—more than one woman in 10 is unemployed because of this government specifically. I want to talk about one of my local constituents, who went back to work eight weeks after having twins in 2012 because she wanted to provide for her family. She wanted to be part of the workforce, contribute to society and give her kids the best start. She worked part-time at McDonald's, on night shift, so she could mind her kids during the day—because she could not afford the day care. She was not able to put her kids to bed, because she was out earning a living at night. And then she had to give notice and accept a new job that is five days a week. What this means is that she now needs to use childcare services three days a week for three children. So she went to Centrelink to use their rate calculator and she worked out that, with her new salary, it was going to cost her $305 for three days of child care. She went through the bureaucracy of Centrelink on the phone for four hours, at which point they told her she was only entitled to 50 per cent of the total fee refund and they were only going to pay 35 per cent just in case she underestimated her income—and they won't pay the other 15 per cent until the end of the financial year. What does that mean? It means she has to find an extra $50 to $60 per week out of her pocket while raising three kids and trying to pay the bills.

The childcare system badly needs a government that is out there to help honest, hardworking parents and not rip money out of subsidies and not fail childcare workers. The way to do that is to elect an Albanese Labor government. People out in voter land can go to the childcarecalculator.com.au website. We heard those opposite saying, 'You're using Amazon. How bad's that!' Let's remind them. Amazon are the ones looking after the COVID app. We know that that app is Greg Hunt's specialty. The Minister for Health told us how great the COVID app was going to be. In fact, the COVID app found 17 cases. How good's that! That was the number of votes he received when he ran for election as deputy leader!

At the end of the day, Australian families need help and support and they can't get it through this government. All this government does is penalise women—through the budget and through their childcare packages. We need an Albanese Labor government to address this now.

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