Julian Leeser (Berowra, Liberal Party) Share this | Hansard source

As the father of a three-year-old, I know how important child care is to young families in my electorate. Child care provides quality early childhood education for children, and, most importantly, it leads to increased workforce participation, allowing parents to support their families. There was much that the member for Moreton said that I disagreed with, but what he did say that was right was that we need to increase workforce participation. I think we are doing that handsomely under the Morrison government. The wonderful unemployment rate that came down today had figures as low as 5.1 per cent. As the Treasurer said in question time, the economy is roaring back. People are coming back to work in the economy. Our childcare system is playing a part in ensuring that women in particular are able to rejoin the workforce.

I'm proud to be part of a government that has seen women's workforce participation increase. When Labor left office, it was at 58.7 per cent, and today's ABS data indicates that this has increased now to 61.7 per cent, despite the fact that we have had the great economic shock of the COVID-19 recession. Labor likes to lecture us on childcare fees and costs, but it's also to be remembered that childcare fees under Labor went up 53 per cent. By contrast, since we came to office, we've been spending much more on child care than the Labor Party, 77 per cent more—indeed, a record $10.3 billion this year, including $9 billion to subsidise the fees set by childcare services. There are an extraordinary number of children in child care now—over 280,000 more children in child care today.

When I talk to young families in my electorate, people are very pleased at the announcement we've made in the budget to provide $1.7 billion to Australian families to help them with child care. These are families that send their children to some of the many childcare centres in my electorate, whether it's Galston Early Learning, Greenwood Early Education, Kindilan, Kids in the Sky or Goodstart Early Learning. They are just a few of the many childcare centres that operate in my electorate. This particular measure will really be important because it will help families with their out-of-pocket costs, and that's the big issue in child care for families.

By increasing the subsidy for families with a second or third child under five years of age, a quarter of a million families will be better off. On average, families will be better off by $2,260 per year, and this will make a real difference. For example, a family typically in my electorate earning $180,000 a year with two children in four days a week child care will be $125 better off. In particular, the measure to remove the cap of $10,560 on the childcare subsidy is a big deal for families in my electorate and has been warmly welcomed. The measures in the government's childcare package will benefit 1,160 families across the Berowra electorate, and this is really important for those families.

This particular package has been welcomed by a whole range of stakeholders that perhaps don't always cheer on the government. Let me remind the House of what some of the different agencies and people that have engaged in childcare policy have said. UNICEF said:

The injection of $1.7b additional funds into the 2021-22 Budget is a welcome and important step in improving the affordability of early childhood education and care for Australian families. The Government has targeted these measures carefully to help increase access to early childhood education and care services for children in low and lower middle-income families. We are encouraged by this focus …

They're right. The Early Learning and Care Council of Australia said the budget:

… delivers for children, families and Australia’s early learning and care sector, increasing investment to support young children’s learning and women’s workforce participation.

Workforce participation is key to the Business Council of Australia. Jennifer Westacott, their CEO, said, 'This is good for mums and dads, good for business and good for the economy.' Early Childhood Australia boss, Sam Page, said, 'It's good for children, good for families and good for the economy.' Goodstart Early Learning CEO, Julia Davison, said:

The removal of the annual cap will also reduce stress of many families who run out of subsidy towards the end of the financial year and then need to scramble to make ends meet.

That's true of so many of the families in my electorate who depend on quality child care not just for the education of their children but also to allow both mum and dad to go to work to support their families and to provide for their families in the manner in which they would like, to deal with the costs of living that they face.

I commend the federal government's childcare policy package.

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