Tony Abbott (Warringah, Liberal Party, Shadow Minister for Families, Community Services, Indigenous Affairs and the Voluntary Sector) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

My question is to the Prime Minister. I refer the Prime Minister to ABC Learning’s 11 per cent increase in childcare costs following the recent establishment of ‘childcare watch’ and I ask the Prime Minister: how will watching childcare prices keep the cost of child care down?

Kevin Rudd (Griffith, Australian Labor Party, Prime Minister) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I think one of the things about child care to understand is what happened with the increase in childcare costs over the period during which those opposite were in power. The average fee for a child in full-time long day care increased by almost 80 per cent. The government has a plan for investing in child care some $2.4 billion over the next four years. It includes the establishment of up to 260 additional childcare centres across the country; the childcare tax rebate going from 30 per cent to 50 per cent; universal access to 15 hours of affordable early learning for all children in the year before formal schooling, access that meets the needs of working parents; and also our commitment to act on this in the long term. No-one likes to see the cost of child care going up—this government does not like to see it going up either—but there are ways in which you can handle it. The government has responded in terms of its family support package, which is some $55 billion in the most recent budget; income tax cuts, which flow through from 1 July; as well as the increase in the childcare tax rebate.

I refer to the typical young family of a mother and father with one child at preschool and one at primary school. If you look at the overall flow-through effect for that family, it is some $52 a week. This does not solve all cost of living challenges at all but we believe on this side of the House that it is a responsible course of action to assist families and individuals under financial pressure at this time, including the pressure that occurs as a consequence of childcare cost increases.

I will add one further comment on the affordability of child care, and that is the matter of the input costs which childcare providers are now confronted with, as well as the cost of labour. We have had a gross shortage of qualified workers in this sector for a long period of time, which is why the government has been so keen to additionally invest in this part of the equation as well.

Joe Hockey (North Sydney, Liberal Party, Manager of Opposition Business in the House) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Mr Hockey interjecting

Kevin Rudd (Griffith, Australian Labor Party, Prime Minister) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

No, the objective is to actually increase the supply of qualified childcare workers to the sector. If you have an adverse balance of supply and demand in that sector, obviously it provides a further cost pressure for providers.

The other thing I would say to those opposite is: reflect on the history. When those opposite were first elected, they froze childcare assistance payments for two years, they removed operational and capital works subsidies for community based centres, which forced a number of centres to reduce in size or close completely, and they withdrew funding that was to support the construction of 5,500 new childcare places. When they finally introduced the childcare tax rebate in 2004, they made families wait two years before receiving their first payment. That is what those opposite did in their first few years. In the first six months of our government’s tenure, our action in terms of the childcare tax rebate, in addition to the input measures we have put in place for those working in this sector and those who need training in this sector, is a solid start, but there is still much more to do.