Louise Markus (Greenway, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

My question is addressed to the Minister for Families, Community Services and Indigenous Affairs. Would the minister advise the House how the government is improving Australian families’ access to quality child care? Is the minister aware of any alternative policies?

Mal Brough (Longman, Liberal Party, Minister Assisting the Prime Minister for Indigenous Affairs) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I thank the member for Greenway for her interest in the families of her electorate and the important issue of child care. I can inform the House that, since the Howard government came to power in 1996, we have doubled the number of child-care places, raised spending to some $9.5 billion over the forward estimates and taken the number of outside school hours places from some 72,000 to 285,000. We announced in the last budget that we would continue to roll out further outside school hours places and, in addition to that, we have of course introduced the 30 per cent child-care rebate.

I am asked by the member for Greenway what the alternative policies are. There are alternative policies that have been cobbled together in the last few days during the Commonwealth Games and announced by the Leader of the Opposition. After the rock show which was the member for Hotham’s preselection, we had all the disturbances in the Labor Party—that is an understatement—so the Leader of the Opposition rolled out a child-care policy. When confronted by Alan Jones as to how this policy came about, the Leader of the Opposition said, ‘Well, actually, Alan, you threw a challenge out a few days ago and we took up the challenge.’ So here is child care, this challenging issue which is fundamental to so many Australian families, and the Labor Party cobbles something together in two to three days. It sounds like the last election when, in response to 80,000 outside school hours places and a 30 per cent child-care rebate, the Labor Party’s answer was, ‘We’ll give them 8,000’—fewer than 10 per cent of the places was their response. An element of the Labor Party policy was to establish child-care places in state schools.

Tanya Plibersek (Sydney, Australian Labor Party, Shadow Minister for Childcare) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Ms Plibersek interjecting

Mal Brough (Longman, Liberal Party, Minister Assisting the Prime Minister for Indigenous Affairs) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

The member for Sydney, who is bleating away over there today, was asked on ABC radio in Brisbane about building a child-care centre in a primary school and acknowledged that there is not a lot of space in these schools. She was asked: ‘How are you going to deal with it?’ She said they will do that in areas that have fewer kids attending schools. She said they will go to an area where the number of children is starting to decline because the area is ageing—where there are no babies—and put a child-care centre there. What a great idea! That is what you get when you make policy on the run, when you are under pressure as the member for Brand has been.

With regard to the 30 per cent rebate—which they are all bleating about over there—you would think it would not be Labor Party policy, but it turns out, for once, that they are now singing from the same hymn sheet. The member for Sydney has said, ‘We don’t want to abolish it.’ That is because the parents need the money now. The opposition is agreeing, at last, with the 30 per cent rebate.

There has been some other comment on the Labor Party policy. Child Care New South Wales put out a press release—

Anthony Albanese (Grayndler, Australian Labor Party, Deputy Manager of Opposition Business in the House) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

What did Alan Jones say?

Mal Brough (Longman, Liberal Party, Minister Assisting the Prime Minister for Indigenous Affairs) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Mr Albanese asks what Mrs Connolly had to say.

Anthony Albanese (Grayndler, Australian Labor Party, Deputy Manager of Opposition Business in the House) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

No, I didn’t. You’re lying again!

David Hawker (Speaker) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Order! The member for Grayndler is warned.

John Howard (Bennelong, Liberal Party, Prime Minister) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Mr Speaker, I want that comment withdrawn.

David Hawker (Speaker) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

The member for Grayndler will withdraw.

Anthony Albanese (Grayndler, Australian Labor Party, Deputy Manager of Opposition Business in the House) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I withdraw and say that he did not tell the truth.

David Hawker (Speaker) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

The member for Grayndler will withdraw without reservation.

Anthony Albanese (Grayndler, Australian Labor Party, Deputy Manager of Opposition Business in the House) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

The minister said—

David Hawker (Speaker) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

The member for Grayndler will withdraw without reservation.

Anthony Albanese (Grayndler, Australian Labor Party, Deputy Manager of Opposition Business in the House) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I withdraw.

Mal Brough (Longman, Liberal Party, Minister Assisting the Prime Minister for Indigenous Affairs) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Mr Speaker, I will tell you what Mrs Connolly had to say.

Kim Beazley (Brand, Australian Labor Party, Leader of the Opposition) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Mr Beazley interjecting

Mal Brough (Longman, Liberal Party, Minister Assisting the Prime Minister for Indigenous Affairs) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

She had this to say about you; she had this to say about the Leader of the Opposition—

Opposition Members:

Opposition members interjecting—

David Hawker (Speaker) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Order! The level of noise is far too high. The minister has the call and deserves to be heard.

Mal Brough (Longman, Liberal Party, Minister Assisting the Prime Minister for Indigenous Affairs) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

It is quite clear that the Leader of the Opposition has read the press release from Child Care New South Wales and what the president had to say about him. Mrs Connolly said, ‘Mr Beazley’s proposals make me nervous.’ I can tell Mrs Connolly that she is not the only one who is nervous about the member for Brand, the Leader of the Opposition. It is not only their child-care policy. The member for Hotham is awfully nervous, as are many on the back bench, about the rantings and ravings of the member for Brand and his total lack of understanding of the issue of child care and leadership of any political party in this country.