Rod Kemp (Victoria, Liberal Party, Minister for the Arts and Sport) Share this | Hansard source

Senator McLucas has at least conceded the substance of my arguments and the public will make a judgment. Senator McLucas says places should remain idle for 12 months; I say they should not. I say that places should be given to areas of need and they should not be idle for 12 months in areas where there is not the demand. It is a very straightforward argument. Some places attract overhead funding. In those cases, the ALP amendment serves to spend taxpayer money on some places that are not only unfilled but that, I regret to say, entrench potential waste for periods of over 12 months. The government’s measure is a simple mechanism to better utilise all available child-care places. The ALP amendment does the opposite; therefore, in good conscience, the government cannot accept the amendments that have been moved by the Labor Party.