Rowan Ramsey (Grey, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

This morning, I attended a briefing on the proposal by Thrive By Five to legislate universal access to early childhood development. One of their aims is to legislate that childhood education and care, maternal and child health services, playgroups, child-focused community programs, paid parenting leave, and family tax benefits should be available to all. I applaud their aim, but I was driven to make the comment that in the two years or so since this government came to power they have invested more than $8 billion forward and beyond into child care, yet I am responsible—not personally responsible, but my electorate of Grey is listed as the worst childcare desert in Australia.

All this extra money, this $8 billion, is not going to my centres that do not have child care. There are no extra places for the small communities that have populations under 3,000 to 5000. There are no extra places in communities that have 1,000 people. There has been a clampdown on regulations which has virtually shut down new entrants to the family day care system, where people are just scared off by the regulation and the rigmarole that surrounds it. All I'm asking is that they make it top of their aim to address the childcare deserts before we lavish more on the rest of Australia. (Time expired)