Fiona Nash (NSW, National Party, Shadow Parliamentary Secretary for Regional Education) Share this | Hansard source

I have two final questions that follow on from Senator Xenophon's question. Parliamentary Secretary, you mentioned that in the view of the government this is going to have a limited impact. The Australian Childcare Alliance, which is obviously a very well-respected organisation, did research in 2010 which said that the rising cost of child care was going to force 38 per cent of families to consider reducing their hours. I have no reason to dispute that figure. Are you aware of that? Is that something that the minister or you have discussed with the Australian Childcare Alliance? If that is correct it would be extremely worrisome for not only those of us in the chamber but also those out in the broader community. Earlier you made the point that 50 per cent of the increase in childcare fees is covered by the childcare benefit.