Alex Hawke (Mitchell, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

My question is to the Assistant Minister for Education. Will the minister update the House on the findings of the independent PricewaterhouseCoopers report into the Early Years Quality Fund? What action is the government taking to deliver better outcomes for the early years childcare sector?

Sussan Ley (Farrer, Liberal Party, Assistant Minister for Education) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I am pleased to table my ministerial review of the Early Years Quality Fund—another sad chapter in Labor's narrative of union distortion and slush funds. The independent review has found that the Early Years Quality Fund was deeply flawed, deeply unfair and a front to boost union membership. Now, I want to make it very clear that we will honour our election commitments. We will pay the contracted funds. I have told the 16 service providers exactly that. However, I have invited them to participate in the coalition's professional development fund—a better way that looks after every educator, every centre and every child. It does what Labor's flawed fund could never achieve: it lifts the quality standards in the sector as a whole.

We know that Labor looks after their union mates, because that is just what they do. We know that every member of the Labor Party in this place owes their existence to a union. But never before has $300 million of taxpayers money being used in the pursuit of this disgraceful aim. It was dangled as a bribe in front of every childcare worker by the member for Adelaide in her position as minister at the time. Union members invaded the lunch rooms of workplaces across this country, insisting on signups. 'Sign up, because if you do, you'll get the money. Sign up, because, without being a member of our union, you won't have an opportunity to participate in this fund.' This was the minister at the time, desperately scrambling in the week before the election to sign these contracts. Why did she leave this fund open so long? Why didn't she administer it properly? You know why, Madam Speaker. Because every second it was open there was more opportunity for union sign-ups. There was more opportunity for members to be tricked into joining the union. This minister sat by and let it happen.

When the union that I talk about came to see me about 18 months ago, I said, 'Why not take this case to the Fair Work Commission, the independently constituted body that deals with wages, created by Julia Gillard.' Do you know why they did not to it? It was because they needed this process to sign up more union members. Members of the Labor Party and ministers in position at that time allowed this to happen, and they did not even have the decency to put a message on the website to say that the fund was exhausted in just 12 hours. And what should make us feel really sick is that this was never about the early years, this was never about quality, this was never about educators, this was never about the children. This was only ever about the union. Shame, Labor, shame!