Aaron Violi (Casey, Liberal Party) Share this | Hansard source

We always have to be concerned about Labor's costings. We know that in MYEFO there was an $11 billion black hole. We saw that in MYEFO with the Public Service, so for the next four years there will be no increase in spending for the Public Service. The only problem with that is the government had agreed to an 11 per cent wage increase for the Public Service, which leaves us with two conclusions: they're either going to cut headcount, or there is an $11 billion black hole.

That's why with every piece of legislation and every commitment from this government we should understand what their costings are. They've estimated that this is going to cost $426.7 million over four years, but the true impact of removing the activity test for three days is not yet fully known. The department is unable to advise how many families are eligible for the childcare subsidy but not enrolling their children. So we've got a situation where Treasury have given an estimate—and I must say that after some of the estimates we've seen from departments in the last few weeks we should question those—but they don't know how many children are eligible. So we would love to know where that costing comes from.

At the same time the Productivity Commission said that removing the activity test would cost $2.3 billion per year—$2.3 billion. So, again, we have a big headline from this government that can't be delivered in my community. They can't guarantee access to child care in my community, because of that childcare desert, and now we see a massive black hole and misalignment in the funding. We do not know how much it's going to cost.

This is all part of the spin of this government, particularly and gallingly when it comes to child care. During question time we had two things happen. The Prime Minister talked about how much childcare prices have gone down and how much he's saved the Australian people, and how lucky families are. The problem for the Prime Minister is, out in the real world, in our communities, prices have not gone down. Childcare prices have increased by 22.3 per cent since the Albanese Labor government came to power in 2022, yet the Prime Minister talks about how he has supposedly reduced prices.

The spin, when it comes to child care, from this government continues even more. The Prime Minister, in question time today and all week, and the Treasurer and those opposite listed off these dot points of things they've supposedly done for the Australian people. They say that they've done all these things and that the opposition has opposed them all. The problem the Prime Minister's got with that line that he spins—and this is the really annoying thing for him—is that all votes are recorded in Hansard. The vote shows that the opposition supported the subsidy that the government brought forward. We raised complaints. I stood here and raised complaints and concerns that it was addressing demand, that it was a subsidy that wasn't increasing supply and that it would lead to—shock horror—higher prices, which we are seeing. We put our counsel forward to the government that it was a mistake, but we still supported it because we knew that the Australian people were struggling under this government, under the mismanagement of this Prime Minister and this Treasurer, and that we should do what we could to support them.

We supported that legislation. Yet member after member, and the Prime Minister and the Treasurer, continue to mislead the Australian people by saying that the opposition didn't support that legislation. The reason they do that, the reason the Prime Minister has to mislead the Australian people and the reason he is obsessed with the opposition and with the opposition leader, is that after 2½ years this Prime Minister has not delivered for the Australian people. There is no-one better off today than when Anthony Albanese was elected Prime Minister in 2022. He's institutionalised to opposition, and he is focused so much on the coalition that he's not actually solving the challenges the Australian people face at the root cause. We're seeing that when it comes to childcare costs—up 22.3 per cent since his government came to power.

You will also hear those opposite crow and talk about the worker retention payment, and how it is going to solve some of the challenges we face when it comes to workers in the childcare sector. This government promised that up to 200,000 early-childhood workers would be over $100 a week better off by Christmas 2024 under its Wage Justice for Early Childhood Education and Care Workers policy. They promised that to the Australian people. The Prime Minister and ministers opposite have crowed about that legislation and how they've helped people. But, again, when you leave the parliament—which the Prime Minister doesn't like to do; he's institutionalised to this House—and when you go to the real world and look at what's actually happening, the Department of Education's own data shows that just 15 per cent of early childhood educators are employed by services that are approved for the payment as of 20 January 2025. It's another example of the spin and the headlines from the Prime Minister and the government, but the reality on the ground is that 200,000 workers are not better off; it is less than that. The reason is that the deal they rushed through was so complex that businesses are not able to apply or understand whether they qualify. Labor have refused to reveal the formula to determine how much services will receive, so they're expecting businesses to apply for a grant with a blindfold on. They've also asked businesses to cap their prices, at a time when energy costs are through the roof, food costs are through the roof and insurance is through the roof for these community organisations in early childhood.

Again, the reason all these things are through the roof is the mismanagement of this Prime Minister and this Treasurer—a Prime Minister who promised 97 times before the last election that he would reduce power bills by $275. Instead, Australians are faced with power bills up over $1,000. So, the reason the Prime Minister has to continue to intervene and offer bandaid solutions is that he is not able to solve these challenges at the core. He's not able to treat the cause. He's focused on the symptoms. He continues to spin lines about worker retention, about child care being cheaper, about the opposition not supporting a subsidy that we clearly voted for.

This is a government that, after 2½ years, has run out of ideas. It didn't have many to start with, this term. Those that it has implemented have failed. There is not one Australian who is better off today than when this government was elected. The real question the Australian people have to ask themselves is, with so much damage done to Australian families after 2½ years, imagine how much worse off you will be if this Prime Minister gets another three years—of indecision, of weakness, of mismanagement of the economy. The Australian people cannot afford that. Australian families cannot afford that.

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