Simon Birmingham (SA, Liberal Party, Minister for Education and Training) Share this | Hansard source

The short answer to that question is no. I occasionally hear criticism from those opposite in terms of the government's policy but they offer no alternative in the childcare space. They have no alternative to our policy, which is to fundamentally reform the childcare system to simplify it, to make it easier for parents and to ensure that parents get the support and the encouragement they need to increase their participation in the workforce.

According to the Productivity Commission, Labor's 2008 changes to the childcare rebate, without any check on what it would do for pricing, led to a dramatic escalation in fees in the childcare sector. It of course created yet more budget pressure, which we are dealing with today, which our childcare reforms seek to address by putting in place efficient pricing mechanisms that will in future seek to put downward pressure on price rises to stop the type of escalation we have seen from the policies of those opposite, which have cost families and the taxpayer a vast amount.