Marise Payne (NSW, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

My question is to Senator Scullion, the Minister representing the Minister for Families, Community Services and Indigenous Affairs. The Australian government has a history of strong economic management, and, following the measures announced in the federal budget, millions of Australian families will be entitled to an increase in a range of payments, which include the family tax benefit and the childcare benefit. Will the minister inform the Senate of the government’s commitment to deliver greater financial assistance to Australian families and in particular to those families who use child care?

Nigel Scullion (NT, Country Liberal Party, Minister for Community Services) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I thank the senator for her question. I recognise her longstanding interest in and contribution to the welfare of families in Australia. I know that the senator would welcome, as other Australians would welcome, the fact that since coming to office this government has increased the total assistance to families to $6 billion per year—2.2 million families with 4.3 million children benefit from the family tax benefit. Eighty per cent of Australian families with children under 16 receive the family tax benefit, and the introduction of this benefit has meant that working families on lower incomes have experienced greater proportional increases in disposable incomes than those in higher income groups.

From 1 July 2007 there will be no withdrawal of family tax benefit part A until a family income reaches $41,318. Between that sum and $91,542, no family loses more than 20c of family tax benefit part A for each dollar they earn. Some families receive more in family tax benefit than they actually pay in tax. In the next financial year a single-income family with two children receiving family tax benefit will pay no net tax until their income reaches $50,813. Expenditure on family tax benefit for the next financial year is estimated to be $16.9 billion—that is, $14.7 billion through the offices of FaCSIA and $2.1 billion returned through the taxation system. The ABS tax figures released yesterday support this record and, despite the protestations from those opposite, show that under this system only 40 per cent of Australian households pay tax. This result by the government reflects a proud record of supporting all Australian families, especially those on lower incomes raising children.

I know that child care was part of the senator’s question and that she has always displayed a keen interest in child care. It is very important to allow as many families as possible, when they choose, to participate in the workforce. We have an extremely strong workforce. As my colleague Senator Brandis indicated just yesterday in question time, some 2,000 jobs per week were created in May, a magnificent outcome from this government. Child care is a fundamental part of ensuring that every Australian family gets access to the workforce.

Opposition Senators:

Opposition senators interjecting—

Nigel Scullion (NT, Country Liberal Party, Minister for Community Services) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

There is a bit of squabbling from the other side and I do not want to raise my voice, but while they are trying to interject I make the point that the Howard government has tripled the spending on child care compared with Labor. We now invest three times as much as they decided to invest in child care, which is estimated at around $11 billion to be spent over the next four years. The number of approved childcare places has doubled from 300,000 in 1996 to 615,000 today. The facts of the matter are that childcare fees rose at twice the rate under Labor as they have under us, Labor provided only half the level of funding and places that are provided currently, Labor did not release a childcare benefit and they did not provide the childcare tax rebate. Under Labor, mothers did not get too many options for returning to work or getting support for child care. There were record levels of unemployment, people were paying 17 per cent on their mortgage and it was extremely difficult even to have a job.