Michelle Rowland (Greenway, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

My question is to the Minister for Early Childhood and Childcare and Minister for Employment Participation. How is the government delivering more flexible child care and improving its quality to meet the needs of modern families?

Kate Ellis (Adelaide, Australian Labor Party, Minister for Early Childhood and Childcare) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I thank the member for Greenway, who I know has a keen interest in this area as a new mother. I also know that she is a member who is determined, like us, that we be a government with a plan for a modern Australia. We are a government that has recognised that Australia's workforce has changed significantly in the past decade. In fact, we have seen over a 25 per cent increase in the number of women participating in the workforce, and we have seen a big growth in diversity in the roles which women are taking up. We also know that there are more Australian children in early childhood education and care than at any time in this nation's history. We know that that means parents need flexible options. Parents need a government with real policies, real programs and a plan for modern Australia.

We understand that no two families are the same, that no two families will rely on exactly the same programs when it comes to managing their work and family balances. That is why we introduced changes to the Fair Work Act, to make sure that working parents have the right to request part-time work. It is also why we have introduced a range of flexibility trials at over 50 sites around Australia, in partnership with industry, with business and with childcare operators, to provide parents with more flexible childcare hours. We have also announced that the government will expand on these trials at 50 sites by establishing a $1.3 million Child Care Flexibility Fund. This will all form part of our $11 million plan to improve the accessibility and flexibility of Australian child care.

The competitive grants program will build on the trials that have already been announced and that the Prime Minister referred to earlier question time. These trials will be working with family day carers partnering up with police officers, with nurses and with paramedics so that they can ensure that there is care available to match their rosters. There will be partnerships with long day care centres trialling an extension of hours for those parents who are doing the mad rush through peak hour traffic desperately trying to get there to collect their children before the centre closes. There will be a partnership with out-of-school-hours care, because we know that work does not always stop the moment the school bell rings and that parents need some assistance after hours. We want to add to that with even more partners, with even more innovative new ideas going forward so that we can ensure that Australian child care remains affordable, accessible, of high quality and flexible.

All of these trials will be backed up by independent evaluation so that we can look at what can be rolled out as a more permanent measure and a wider rollout to assist more Australian parents. Ultimately we have real plans, real policies and we are getting on with the job of delivering for modern Australia and working parents. (Time expired)

Michelle Rowland (Greenway, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

On a supplementary, the minister has talked about supporting families with young children. How does this build on the government's other childcare policies, and how have they benefited families in my electorate?

Kate Ellis (Adelaide, Australian Labor Party, Minister for Early Childhood and Childcare) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Thank you again to the member for Greenway, who asked how this will impact on families in her electorate. I can inform the member that there are now more than 13,000 children in Greenway in child care. So it is important that we ensure that it is an affordable and it is quality. There are some 9,830 families in Greenway who are accessing child care. These families, I am delighted to be able to inform the House, are being provided with an additional $8.3 million in childcare assistance as a result of our government's decision to increase the childcare rebate from 30 to 50 per cent. We are proud that we are providing record levels of financial assistance. Over the next four years we will provide over $23 billion to the early childhood education and care sector, which I should let members know is over triple the funding that the previous Howard government provided to this sector in their last four years.

Jenny Macklin (Jagajaga, Australian Labor Party, Minister for Disability Reform) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Are you going to cut that?

Kate Ellis (Adelaide, Australian Labor Party, Minister for Early Childhood and Childcare) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

This is because we know how critically important it is. But, I am asked whether they are going to cut it. Sadly, those opposite have not actually put forward any policies whatsoever, except for a vague commitments to have an inquiry after the election. Australian parents, and those parents in Greenway, are relying on this assistance, assistance which our government has been proud to continue to provide, but there are big question marks over what those opposite would do if they got their hands on it. (Time expired)