Angie Bell (Moncrieff, Liberal National Party, Shadow Minister for Early Childhood Education) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I move:

That this House:

(1) notes that:

(a) it has been almost three years since the Government was elected and the cost of child care has increased by a whopping 22.3 per cent;

(b) since the Government introduced its cheaper childcare policy, out of pocket costs for families have sky rocketed by 12.7 per cent;

(c) almost 30 per cent of child care services are charging over the hourly rate cap under the current Government, compared to 21 per cent under the previous Government; and

(d) this is just another broken promise from the Government, that continues to leave Australian families behind; and

(2) calls on the Government to deliver:

(a) more access to early childhood education and care places to support Australians to return to the workforce; and

(b) real cost of living relief to families.

Over three years ago, those opposite promised Australians that life would be cheaper under Labor and, in those three years: interest rates have increased a massive 12 times; energy bills, not down by $275 but up by $1,000; living standards for Australians have collapsed by almost nine per cent; 27,000 businesses have gone insolvent—the most ever; and a family with a typical mortgage has spent an additional $50,000 on their interest payments. Under Labor's economic mismanagement, Australians have experienced the longest sustained period of inflation since the 1980s, the government have left a litany of broken promises and policy failures in their wake, and Australians are the ones paying for it.

Let's take cheaper child care, for example. If I had a dollar for every time the Prime Minister said that Labor will deliver cheaper child care for Australians, I could retire today. But sadly, for those Australian families, cheaper child care has become another one of Labor's broken promises. And don't just take my word for it; let's have a look at the data. According to the Department of Education's own data, childcare costs have increased by 22.3 per cent since June 2022, and, according to the ABS data, out-of-pocket costs for families have increased by 12.7 per cent since Labor's cheaper childcare policy came into effect in 2023.

But Australian families already know their childcare costs are increasing and they are not fooled. They are not fooled when the Prime Minister holds a press conference, usually using a childcare centre as a political backdrop, telling them they are saving money. He keeps telling Australians they are saving money and that they are better off under Albanese but the reality is they are not and they know it. They are not mugs. The Prime Minister and his government continue to treat Australians like mugs, but they know better.

Last week I received an email from Naomi, who is currently paying $16,000 a year for child care after the childcare subsidy for one child. That's set to increase by another $10,000 when her youngest child attends care from October. That is a lot of money—$36,000 a year for two children to attend childcare. What does the Prime Minister have to say to that? There's nothing cheap about that child care.

Where is the cost-of-living relief for Naomi's family and families like hers—families who are paying more at the supermarket, more at the bowser, more for their utility bills, their rents, their mortgages and their education costs; families who are working multiple jobs just to keep the lights on and food on their table? When will this Prime Minister finally admit to those families that he has failed them? He has failed you.

And, while we're talking about people the Prime Minister has failed—and it's a long list—I want to talk about regional Australia. I don't think the Prime Minister knows where the regions are—unless, of course, there's a photo opportunity.

Late last year Labor announced plans to build 160 new services in regional and outer suburban areas if they win government—another promise. To regional Australians and to those groups who think that this is a fabulous idea—understandably; I get that—I want to ask you just one thing. If Labor cared so much about you—like they pretend they do right now, in the lead-up to an election—why didn't they do anything during the last three years? Don't be fooled by this shiny announcement and don't be fooled by the promise of funding for services in the regions. They've already been caught out taking money from the regions through the Community Child Care Fund—which was designed for the regions—and giving it to inner-metro seats. They cannot be trusted. Services in regional areas have been forced to close their doors because they've missed out on much-needed funding—funding that was redistributed to metro areas, including to services in the Prime Minister's own electorate of Grayndler. It was funding that was designed for regional, rural and remote communities, and Labor are already robbing those Australians to give them more inner-city votes.

So, if you think this Building Early Education Fund will be any different, I think you'll be sorely disappointed. The only thing you're getting from the beef is a bad taste in your mouth when you realise that Labor only cares about—well, Labor. This train-wreck of a government doesn't deserve three more years of your trust. You cannot trust it, because all that three more years will bring is more years of pain for Australian families.

Mike Freelander (Macarthur, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Is the motion seconded?

Jenny Ware (Hughes, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

It is, Deputy Speaker, and I reserve my right to speak.

Sharon Claydon (Newcastle, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Any opportunity to discuss child care in this House is a great day. Affordable and accessible child care is not just a policy issue; it's a fundamental matter for equity and fairness. It's about ensuring that every child, no matter their background, has the opportunity to thrive, and it's about supporting families so they can balance their careers, their aspirations and their responsibilities at home. It's also about strengthening our economy, because, when you give people access to child care, they are able to participate fully in the workforce. It's great for productivity. That's why the Albanese Labor government's cheaper childcare policy is so vital.

The member for Moncrieff's motion before us today frankly raises more questions than answers.

Mike Freelander (Macarthur, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Order! The member for Moncrieff, you were heard in silence.

Sharon Claydon (Newcastle, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

The member is asking the government to deliver more access to early childhood education and care places, to support Australians to return to the workforce and as cost-of-living relief for families. Well, the good news for the member for Moncrieff is that we do have a whole lot of answers to her concerns. She need only look at Labor's cheaper childcare policies in order to understand the benefits.

I've spoken to so many families in Newcastle who have struggled to find childcare spots for their kids and who are struggling with the cost of child care. That is precisely why the Albanese Labor government is taking action and investing $1 billion, to ensure that all children have access to the transformational benefits of early learning and to reduce costs for families, too. Our cheaper childcare policy is delivering cost-of-living relief to more than one million families by cutting those out-of-pocket costs. As a result, the average family is approximately $2,768 better off. This is in stark contrast to the last four years of the Liberal government, where prices went up twice as much as the OECD average.

Since coming to government there are now 1,083 new early education and childcare services, with nearly 30 per cent of those outside of the major cities. We've now got almost 42,000 more educators in the system and around 97,000 more children in early education. Today there are more than 125,000 educators in the pipeline, training up, because we're investing in TAFE as well. These figures are the result of the Albanese Labor government's investments into serious reform in the childcare and early education sector.

We know there is more work to do cleaning up the mess left behind for this government by those opposite. Remember, the Liberals introduced the activity test, which families have long told me is a big barrier for so many women and families to access the childcare subsidy. As part of our reforms, Labor's going to be abolishing that activity test. We'll be introducing a three-day guarantee instead. Under Labor's three-day guarantee more families will be guaranteed three days of that childcare subsidy. These reforms are set to cast a really wide net, benefiting thousands of women and families who were previously excluded from the subsidy. For example, child care will now be available for parents who are looking for work or are beginning their studies. They need support. They were previously excluded by the Liberals' activity test. That's why we're getting rid it; it was bad policy.

In addition to all of those reforms, Labor is delivering a really important 15 per cent wage increase for early childhood education workers. That is providing a terrific incentive needed to attract more educators to the workforce. In fact, Goodstart, the biggest employer in the country, says their job applications have increased by 35 per cent and expressions of interest are up 50 to 60 per cent. Labor is also establishing the $1 billion Building Early Education Fund, which will build and expand more centres in areas of need, including in my electorate of Newcastle. Sadly, those opposite have described our efforts to fix the childcare mess they left behind as smoke and mirrors. This is not smoke and mirrors; this is evidence based reform. I know it's an anathema for many members opposite, but that's how we work in government.

Only a Labor government will deliver fairer and decent wage increases, build capacity in the system and provide cost-of-living relief for Australian families.

Jenny Ware (Hughes, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

It's a pleasure for me to stand here to second and support the motion brought by the honourable member for Moncrieff in relation to, particularly, the government's failure on the cost of child care. I also commend the honourable member for the work that she has done as our shadow minister in the portfolio of early child care, early childhood education and youth services.

After two years and nine months of this Albanese Labor government, the cost of child care has increased by a whopping 22.3 per cent. During the last election campaign, Anthony Albanese promised cheaper child care. What have we seen instead? Yet another broken Labor promise. The data is out, and it clearly shows that this is not the case. Australians do not have cheaper child care at all. I hear this when I'm going around my electorate, whether it's doorknocking, at mobile offices or going out to the kindergartens and childcare centres. Parents and the directors of these centres tell me that child care is not cheaper.

I was recently at Connect Preschool at Sutherland, for example, and parents are now pulling their children out of this preschool due to the cost. Where they were before averaging three to four days a week, they're now down to two days a week. I heard the member for Newcastle standing there spruiking cheaper child care over and over again, but the reality is completely different. Do we need cheaper child care? We need cheaper child care, but we also need better quality child care. Parents need to be assured, when they are going to work, that their children are being looked after and quality education is being provided.

The other thing that Labor has completely failed to do in the area of early child care is to look at the preschool and kindergarten model. Instead, this is a return to the Rudd era of trying to subsidise early child care without the benefits actually reaching the hip pockets of parents. I particularly remember those failed reforms of the Rudd era because my children were at that age at the time. They were at a community preschool, and there was absolutely no assistance for the many families in my electorate that used the community preschool model. This government policy also fails to deliver for those parents. Why would the Albanese Labor Government reinvent a failed policy from Rudd? I would have thought that this government would have run as far as they could from those policies of the Rudd era, but it seems that Labor will never learn its lesson. It's all about the big headlines but there is a total failure of policy delivery. We are seeing total failure yet again in early child care.

I've just heard the honourable member for Newcastle and various others from Labor talk about the three-day childcare guarantee. This will totally fail, because I am hearing evidence from those in my electorate that, even with these subsidies, they cannot afford to send their kids to day care three days a week. They are having to either pull out of work to look after their children or look at other options. Having options and choices is again at the heart of the way that Labor brings out policy. The coalition introduced the activity test which gave parents some choice as to how they looked after their children before they went to school, and this is what it is all about.

In this upcoming election, if the Liberals are returned to government, we will look after families. We will reduce the cost of living. We understand what this cost-of-living crisis has done to Middle Australia particularly and to those now in my electorate who say to me, 'I can no longer afford to send my children to child care.' If we are re-elected, we will listen to the Australian people. We have listened to the Australian people, and our policies will reflect that we will bring down inflation. That will enable the RBA to look at interest rates, and we will certainly work with families to bring about cheaper, better-quality child care.

Susan Templeman (Macquarie, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

It's a real privilege to speak on this motion. I'm really pleased to hear the opposition talking about early learning and education because in government they were silent on it. They saw it as childcare, and we heard barely a peep out of them, so I'm glad it's got on their radar, but let's get some facts on the table.

We know that early education is a place where we can make some of the biggest inroads in development that flow through to society for decades to come. That's because the work of early educators is transformative for children and their families. We're working to build a universal early education and care system that's accessible for all families, no matter their circumstances or background. We've already taken some critical first steps, including to make early childhood education more affordable for over a million families through our cheaper childcare reforms. We commissioned the ACCC and the Productivity Commission to each do a review so that we'd get guidance on how we can achieve our vision of making early education affordable and available, and what we're doing is evidence based.

We've started with our policy to deliver cost-of-living relief for more than a million Australian families by cutting out-of-pocket costs, and we've seen that it's cut the cost of early learning by more than 17 per cent from when it was first introduced. An Australian family on an income of $120,000 a year, paying the average quarterly fee for 30 hours of child care a week, is approximately $2,768 better off since September 2023. This is real cost-of-living relief. It's money going back into the pockets of Australian families. By contrast in the last four years of the previous Liberal government, childcare prices went up by twice as much as the OECD average. It was double what we've seen in other places.

There is more to do on cost, but we've also had to work on building up the early education and care workforce. That's crucial. The Productivity Commission stated that we had to prioritise that workforce before any major reforms, and that's why it has been a priority. Since coming to office more than a thousand new services have commenced operating, with nearly 30 per cent outside major cities, including in Macquarie. There are 41,900 more educators. There are more than 90,000 additional places. And today there are more than 125,000 educators in the pipeline we created, because that pipeline was down to a trickle. Data released by Jobs and Skills Australia just last month showed workforce vacancy rates in the early education and care sector plummeted over the last 12 months, with internet vacancy rates down 22 per cent since December 2023. That means that there are more workers picking up jobs, that jobs are advertised for less time and that we're filling those spots. Our decision to provide a 15 per cent wage increase for early childhood workers to retain and attract the workforce is as an example of what is helping many centres in my community, although I acknowledge it hasn't been the simplest way forward for some. We know there's more to do. Our three-day guarantee is one more of those steps.

When the Liberals introduced the childcare subsidy activity test in 2018 they stated that it was designed to encourage workforce participation. Well, the effect it has had, though, is to shut out many families, especially single parents, from access to subsidised care. As Thrive by Five's Jay Weatherill stated: 'The activity test was intended to encourage parents into work, but in fact it has done the opposite. It has limited choices and made it harder for parents, especially single parents, to make an income.' We believe that every child has the right to go to early education—whether you're the child of a single mum, an unemployed parent or someone who's studying—and we know that that helps make sure they don't start school behind. Every child in their first school classroom benefits from this investment, and our Labor government are going to make this possible.

Another of the missing pieces is access. We especially see this in Macquarie, with the Blue Mountains and sections of the Hawkesbury both identified as childcare deserts. That puts pressure on centres in the better served areas like Emu Plains, Windsor and surrounds. Supply is a barrier to access. That's why a re-elected Albanese Labor government will establish a $1 billion Building Early Education Fund—building and expanding more centres in areas of need, including peri-urban areas like mine. And I thank every childhood educator for the work that you continue to do.

Carina Garland (Chisholm, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I thank the member for Moncrieff for putting this motion to the House because I relish any opportunity to speak on early childhood education and care. It is disappointing that those opposite, who in fact put this motion to the House, don't have enough speakers to speak on the topic. However, I'm happy to jump in early and speak on this very important issue.

I know how important this issue is to my electorate of Chisholm. I speak to my constituents about this issue all the time and I absolutely love visiting early education and care centres in my electorate. It was a real pleasure to bring the Prime Minister to Mount Waverley to visit the Goodstart centre there and to meet and play with the children and hear from the educators. I recently conducted a survey within my community of Chisholm around early child education and care, and I used the responses from that survey to make a submission on behalf of my community to the Productivity Commission. I've held forums and information centres with the Minister for Early Childhood Education, and I've been struck by the generosity of families in my community in sharing their experiences and acknowledging that the Albanese government recognises the transformative benefits of early childhood education and care for children and families.

We are working to build a universal early childhood education and care system that's accessible for all families, no matter their circumstances or background. Our government has already taken some critical first steps here, including to make early childhood education more affordable for over a million families through our Cheaper Child Care reforms. We've also commissioned the ACCC and, as I mentioned earlier, the Productivity Commission to each do a review, providing guidance on how we can achieve our vision of universal early learning. We know the first five years of a child's life are incredibly important for brain development, and that's why we're investing in their future and our nation's future.

Our government also recognises that early learning educators and teachers do an incredible job, a vital job, and we absolutely value our early educators. The work they do isn't babysitting; it's early childhood education. And they make it possible for millions of other Australians to do their jobs too. Every single day, educators help our children learn and grow, and their important work should be recognised for the value it brings Australian children and their families. I want to acknowledge their work and their love and care, and I want those educators to know that, yes, of course they deserve our thanks, and they also deserve their 15 per cent wage increase for the work that they do.

Just over the weekend, my team and I were out in my community of Chisholm, knocking on doors and speaking to residents about the issues that matter to them. My team and I spoke to a number of families who are better off under our government when it comes to affordable early childhood education and care. Our Cheaper Child Care policy is delivering cost-of-living relief for more than one million Australian families by cutting out-of-pocket costs. We've cut the cost of early learning by more than 17 per cent from when it was first introduced. What this means is that an Australian family on an income of $120,000 a year, paying the average quarterly fee for 30 hours of child care per week, is approximately $2,768 better off, and that's since September 2023. We know this is real and meaningful cost-of-living relief going back into the pockets of Australian families. We compare that to what we saw when those opposite last had the honour of being in government. What we saw was that childcare prices went up twice as much as the OECD average, by a whopping 49 per cent.

We're fixing this. We're making child care cheaper, and we're also working to build up the early education and care workforce, which was neglected under those opposite. Since coming to office, we have enabled over 1,000 new services, with nearly 30 per cent of those new services outside major cities. There are over 41,000 more educators, which means we're able to have more children in education services—almost 100,000 more children—with more than 90,000 additional places. I could speak for at least twice as long on our government's commitment and our reforms in this space, but I'm almost out of time. I commend our government's work to the House.

Mike Freelander (Macarthur, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

There being no further speakers, the debate is adjourned and the resumption of the debate will be made an order of the day for a later hour.