Michael Sukkar (Deakin, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

My question is to the Assistant Minister for Education. Will the minister inform the House of the actions the government is taking to ensure children will have access to 15 hours of preschool a week in the year before they start school?

Kate Ellis (Adelaide, Australian Labor Party, Shadow Minister for Education) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

For one year!

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

It is a pleasure to take a question from the member for Deakin. I visited him recently and I am pleased to report that, after six years of neglect, he is continuing the great work of Phil Barresi, the previous coalition member for Deakin.

The Abbott government will commit $406 million to ensure that Australian families continue to access up to 15 hours of preschool per week in 2015.

Kate Ellis (Adelaide, Australian Labor Party, Shadow Minister for Education) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

For one year—and then what?

Mrs Bronwyn Bishop (Speaker) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

The member for Adelaide will desist!

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

The most important feature of this announcement was that we gave families, preschools and school communities certainty. Under Labor there was no certainty. But now they have certainty that they can plan their programs for 2015. The government's absolute commitment to early education in the preschool year will provide them with that certainty.

As we know, the Productivity Commission is looking at preschool. Its final report, due in October, will have more to say about the funding arrangements between the Commonwealth and the states when it comes to preschool. I reiterate that this is a very common-sense approach and $406 million has been allocated for the 2015 year. It gives us time to carefully consider future policy.

The member for Adelaide was screeching something about 'one more year' as I walked up to the dispatch box. I know 'breathtaking hypocrisy' is a bit of a cliche, but this really is breathtaking hypocrisy because if she had read the national partnership that she was the minister in charge of—she obviously never read it; I do not know how many of her briefs she did read—she would have seen that Labor committed not one dollar of funding post the end of 2014. So to criticise the government and ask what we are doing in 2016 when Labor was doing nothing in 2015 under its arrangements is, as I said, absolute, breathtaking hypocrisy. You see, Madam Speaker, Labor cannot accept the reality—

Ms Owens interjecting—

Mrs Bronwyn Bishop (Speaker) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

The member for Parramatta will desist.

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

which is that it is the Abbott government, not Labor, that committed the money to make sure that parents and preschools can plan with certainty for next year. It really is time that Labor stopped this nonsense of putting politics before parents, politics before preschools and politics before the national interest.