Angus Taylor (Hume, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

My question is to the Minister for Social Services. I refer the minister to the report in today's The Daily Telegraph about the previous government's Early Years Quality Fund. What action is the government taking to ensure affordable access to child care for Australian families?

Scott Morrison (Cook, Liberal Party, Minister for Social Services) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I thank the member for Hume for his question. I thank him for the work that he is doing to shed light on this through the Joint Committee of Public Accounts and Audit. The facts as we know them are these. Labor established a $3 million fund in government, opposed by the coalition, to pay childcare centres to top up the wages of workers where they entered into enterprise bargaining agreements. And, as a result of that arrangement—

Ms Plibersek interjecting—

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

The member for Sydney will leave under 94(a).

The member for Sydney then left the chamber.

Scott Morrison (Cook, Liberal Party, Minister for Social Services) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

the number of EBAs in the sector increased from 100 to over 400 in just four months. United Voice was the principal participant in signing up those EBAs—the former employer of the member for Port Adelaide, 'El Presidente' over there, Madam Speaker—and a first come, first served grant process was established which was described by the Auditor-General as unusual. When the department raised concerns about the process, Prime Minister Gillard's office said:

… with respect to prioritising applications on the basis of quality, the department was 'over thinking' the process.

They set up an advisory committee to guide the grant process, which had none other on it than, you guessed it, United Voice. United Voice were on the program. The funding agreement was shovelled out the door the day before the election, in the caretaker period, without the express consent of the opposition.

Mr Conroy interjecting—

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

The member for Charlton is warned.

Scott Morrison (Cook, Liberal Party, Minister for Social Services) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

It is interesting to note that, with all the funding agreements that were sent out the day before the election, all those centres had entered into agreements with, you guessed it, United Voice. At the 2013 federal election, United Voice donated $1.5 million to the ALP. It is not surprising that unions donate to the ALP, but this was twice the donation that they had provided at the 2010 election. But there is one other piece of information. Not only do we know about that funding—and significant support was provided to the member for Adelaide—but we also know that there were two ministers particularly responsible for the carriage of this program. One was the now member for Adelaide and the other one sits in the Leader of the Opposition's chair today.

The Australian people are not fools, and I think they can smell the same thing we can smell coming from that side of the chamber. They can smell the stench that is rising up—the same stench we saw with New South Wales Labor that saw the end of that government in New South Wales. They can smell it and they are onto you. What are we doing about it? We are not doing grubby deals with unions. What we are doing is spending $3½ billion to support families—not unions.