Helen Polley (Tasmania, Australian Labor Party, Shadow Parliamentary Secretary for Aged Care) Share this | Hansard source

I to rise today to make a contribution on the Family Assistance Legislation Amendment (Child Care Measures) Bill 2014. I rise because, once again, those on the opposite side of this chamber are attacking families. We get a new surprise in this place every week—that is, one of broken promises, not the sort of surprise that the Australian community deserves. This government will be remembered for being a government of broken promises, a government which attacks low- and middle-income families, and a government that destroys the principal of egalitarianism—a principle that makes this country the greatest country in the world.

The Assistant Minister for Education, Sussan Ley, bragged last week that this bill would only affect families on $41,902 and above. She stated in the other place:

The CCB measure will not impact families with incomes below $41,902

According to this government, it is okay. But I say that those people on the government benches in this place and the other place should hang their heads in shame. This government's own department has admitted that over 500,000 Australian families on low incomes of just $42,000 per annum will be hit by this measure. We know that many of them will be hit the hardest because this is not the only measure in this heartless budget that will affect these low-income families.

Early Childhood Australia modelling suggests that some of the lowest-income families will need to pay between $3,000 and $5,000 extra next year because of these cuts. Those on the other side may think, 'Oh well, what is $3,000 or what is $5,000?' But, on top of the cuts that this government has made that will impact on Australian families, that is a lot of money. Let us not forget that they are going to have to pay—unless we are able to stop it in this chamber—$7 extra when they go to their family doctor. They are going to have to pay more for their medicines—that is, if they bother to go to the pharmacy to fill their prescription. That is more money they are going to have to spend when they go and have a pathology test—that is, if they bother to go. Because those on low incomes and those families with only one income or even with two low incomes will have to think twice now about whether they can afford child care, whether they can afford to go to the doctor when they are sick, whether they can fill their prescriptions at the pharmacy. These are the things that are confronting Australian families today and into the future because of this heartless budget by this government. The Abbott government continues to make attacks aimed squarely at the low- and middle-income families of this country, and this bill will do exactly that.

Senator Bilyk here in the chamber worked in this sector for 12 years. She knows that sector inside and out. She knows not only about the impost it is on Australian families to be able to afford child care, particularly when the mother of the family returns to work, but she also knows that the workers in the early childhood sector have not had the recognition in the past that they deserve.

As I said, this is an election commitment that was delivered not by just a minister but by Tony Abbott himself. He promised that there would be a fair go for families. He has not delivered that. More than 970,000 families across Australia rely on early education care and support on a daily basis. They could all stand to lose support under this bill. Before the election, this government promised more affordable child care and early education. If they were serious, they would not have cut almost a billion dollars since coming to office. What did low-income families do to deserve this? That is what people are asking themselves in the community. These are unprecedented measures. This is a vindictive government and Tony Abbott has broken his word. It is very simple; he has broken his word. Labor will not support the Abbott government's chaotic, contradictory and, frankly, warped approach to women's workforce participation put forward in this bill.

This is a government which engages in misleading and deceptive conduct, a government which strives to hurt working families. Further, in an unprecedented move, the Abbott government is seeking to freeze indexation, not just the non-means tested childcare rebate but also on the income thresholds of means tested childcare benefits. This bill cuts $336 million of childcare support from low- and middle-income families who rely heavily on this assistance. Australians across the country rely on this assistance. This government is doing this. I cannot believe that, once again, they are attacking those that need the assistance most.

At the very same time, this government is pursuing a multi-billion dollar Paid Parental Leave scheme accessible for those millionaires who do not need that support. But, no, those on the opposite side and the Prime Minister himself talk about a 'rolled gold roll out' of the Paid Parental Leave scheme. Well the Paid Parental Leave scheme that the opposition, when in government, delivered to the Australian people has been supported. It is already helping the men and women of this country to be able to take parental leave. Who is given a benefit from the government's scheme? The top end of town. That is what those on the government benches are renowned for—helping their millionaire mates. That has always been their mantra, and that is what they are still doing.

Tony Abbott's scheme is extravagant and unfair. Labor does not support providing multimillionaires with tens of thousands of dollars of taxpayers' money when families are battling to make ends meet. It is not right that when pensioners are battling to make ends meet, when families raising children with disabilities are battling to make ends meet, that $22 billion—not million, $22 billion—of taxpayers' money is being paid to millionaires. We need money to go to the right priorities—low income families and families struggling with the cost of living. This bill attacks that very notion. This government needs to scrap its Paid Parental Leave scheme; it needs to go back to cabinet and it needs to reflect on struggling families and families which are struggling to live from pay cheque to pay cheque. This bill moves to cut modest, targeted and means tested child-care support for families earning as little as $42,000 a year. It is an extraordinary demonstration of this government's wrong priorities. Are we really surprised? Unfortunately, we are not, because this government has broken promises left, right and centre since being elected to government. How out of touch those on the opposite side of this chamber are with the Australian people beggars belief.

The education department estimates the change to the CCB alone will leave over 500,000 families worse off, but that is where the information stops. We all know that this government is attempting to rush changes through this place without reflecting on how they will affect Australian families across the country. This is a policy on the run. It is a policy which does not take into account the burden imposed on families struggling to make ends meet—struggling to pay for child care in this country, when we know how expensive early childhood education and child care already is and how difficult it is to get a child-care placement. This bill is deceptive—it has been rushed through in a very sly manner. I note that this is the very first time that the means tested child-care benefit is to be frozen. This bill specifically targets those families who may otherwise leave the workforce. These cuts are aimed squarely at those who can least afford it. This government today seeks to undermine its own Productivity Commission review into child care by attempting to make these drastic cuts just weeks before parliament views a draft report on child care in Australia. This is hypocrisy by those opposite and the Prime Minister of the highest order. A responsible government would not even pursue these wide-reaching CCB changes without understanding the full impact, without receiving its own Productivity Commission's review report and without letting families have their say. This government must stop simply making up policies affecting families and recognise that these ill-conceived cuts will have a massive impact on family budgets and decisions about returning to work.

The opposition cannot support the Family Assistance Legislation Amendment (Child Care Measures) Bill 2014 because, first, the government has failed to provide sufficient information about the impact on families of the changes to the child-care benefit; second, the government has not completed an assessment of the impact on workforce participation of the changes to the child care benefit; third, the changes to the child-care benefit should not be legislated just weeks before the Productivity Commission inquiry into child care and early childhood learning provides its interim report; and, fourth, families have had no chance to have their say on these changes. For these reasons this government should hang its head in shame. It should cease this continual attack on Australian families. Never before have moves to cap the CCR come before the parliament without savings being reinvested directly into early education and care. Because of this freeze, 74,000 families will reach the CCR cap in 2014-15, and 150,000 will reach the CCR cap in 2016-17—a total of around 15 per cent of families. The government knows the impact of this cap will grow in time through bracket creep, but the savings put forward on the CCR alone, through freezing the cap until 2016-17, will see over $160 million cut from child-care assistance for Australian families.

Before the election Tony Abbott gave a commitment to the people that there would be no change to pensions. What happened there? Of course there are going to be changes. He also said there would be no changes to aged care. Once again, that is another broken promise. He also said there were no plans to change child care. In fact, he was going to put more money into child care. Clearly that is another broken promise. It is quite clear that this government has no plans when it comes to early childhood education and child care. As I said only last week when I spoke about aged-care, my area of responsibility, it is clear that this government has no plans for aged care except, once again, they are ripping $1 billion out of the aged-care budget that was going to ensure that those working in the sector would receive some further remuneration for the work that they do. As I have said from the outset, this is a heartless budget—a budget that is affecting those in our community who can least afford it. It is an attack on Australian families at a time when we should be supporting those women who want to return to the workforce. We should be supporting those women who are already on very low incomes when they do get back into the workforce. Shame on those opposite, because that is not what this government plans. The government campaigned on making childcare more affordable, yet every act they have taken will do nothing but reverse that, stripping away a billion dollars from early education and care, $450 million from out-of-school-hours care—gone; $157 million for family day care services—gone; programs to increase childcare places—gone; Indigenous child and family centres funding—gone; $300 million to support educators' wages—gone. And now an attack on the backbone of the childcare system—the CCR and the CCB cut.

This government have no vision. They have no plans in relation to health, but we do know the plans they have for education—more cuts to education. If you can afford to go to university, you will come out with a mortgage. So those young people starting out their lives in a new family will not only have a mortgage from their university studies and the opportunities they took to gain gainful employment, but if they are lucky enough to be able to buy a home, they will have a second mortgage as well. This is a government that is clearly out of touch. It is an arrogant government that will not consult with the community; it is an arrogant government that will not acknowledge that those who are on the opposite side of the chamber have something to contribute.

As a Labor government, mistakes were made. But when it came to the fundamental principle of fairness and equity, we were there as a government. We gave the Australian pensioners the biggest increase they have ever received, because we recognised how hard it is for them to make ends meet. We know that they are the people who have helped to create the Australia that we have today. We know the importance and the value of having women in the workforce, so we introduced a paid parental leave scheme. We also did the back-breaking work of introducing policy when it came to the aged care sector—we were the ones who took the challenge and created a decent aged care sector. We wanted to ensure that those who work in the sector are respected, but those opposite are about tearing it down. They are not supporting older Australians. Those on the opposite side may laugh, but I am really quite surprised that those government senators who are in the chamber today would snigger at those sorts of comments, because I thought that at least they were two women who had a heart in this country. But no; they have stood by and supported a government that is heartless, and attacking those who can least afford it in this place.

I am really disappointed to have to be here today in this chamber criticising the government for yet another attack. It is not something you naturally want to do when you come into this chamber, because I am quite happy to give credit where credit is due. I always do that. But I will always speak up for the Australian community, and it is my own state of Tasmania that is going to be hit hardest by the cruel and callous lack of proper priority from this government's budget. We also have an ageing population, and that sector is going to be hit hard by this government. I also know that when it comes to early childhood education and childcare, Tasmanian families are going to be hit very hard. I took the opportunity when I was invited to walk in the shoes of an early childhood educator—and I doubt that anyone on that side of the chamber did that. Having been a mother of two myself, I already knew what it was like to take responsibility for caring for and raising children. But I take my hat off to those men and women who work in the early childhood sector, because they do a fantastic job. The government should be putting more money into that sector, because they are shaping the adults of the future—those who are going to pick up the mantle and continue to build this great country of ours.

I am very saddened to have to speak on this bill in this chamber today, but I urge the government to change its position and to support those in our community who need it most, and to stop attacking Australian families.