David Johnston (WA, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

My question is to the Minister for Education and Training, Senator Birmingham.

Senator Cameron interjecting —

Senator Jacinta Collins interjecting —

Stephen Parry (President) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Just a moment, Senator Johnston. Order! Senator Cameron and Senator Collins, there is no need to talk across the chamber. You can leave and do that in the lounges outside of the chamber, if you wish.

David Johnston (WA, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

My question is to the Minister for Education and Training, Senator Birmingham. How is the government helping reform the childcare system to help families balance their work and family responsibilities?

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

I thank Senator Johnston for that question. The Turnbull government is determined to do everything we possibly can to help Australian families to balance their work and family obligations and to ensure that our childcare system is geared in a way that helps every Australian family that wants to maximise their workforce participation. That is why our plan is to invest around $40 billion in childcare support and subsidies over the next four years through a streamlined, simpler and more affordable system for Australian families. In total, this constitutes an additional investment in the order some $3.5 billion in support for child care as a result of the types of reforms that the Turnbull government proposes. Our intention is to take a multiplicity of current subsidies and rebates and arrangements and turn them into a single childcare subsidy that will apply from 1 July 2017—a simpler system that will be simpler for families to navigate and simpler for childcare providers to navigate as well. We want to make sure that it is a more affordable system. We are putting in place measures to ensure the growth in cost of child care is constrained by having benchmark pricing that keeps growth in prices under control and, in terms of supporting families, by making sure that those who are most reliant on child care for support to juggle work and family opportunities receive the greatest support.

As a result, our proposed childcare subsidy model will ensure that families earning between $65,000 and $170,000 per annum will be around $30 a week better off in terms of meeting their childcare bills. That is more than $1,500 per annum in additional support for hardworking Australian families seeking to juggle work and family obligations. We are equally seeking to make the system more flexible by removing red tape on providers and trialling new systems such as the nannies pilot—all of which ensures we deliver for both vulnerable and working Australians.

David Johnston (WA, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Mr President, I ask a supplementary question. Are there any threats to the government's plans to balance these work and family responsibilities?

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

There are indeed threats because, like any reform, especially reforms that this government undertakes, they have to be paid for. As I have indicated, we are proposing an additional $3½ billion in investment in child care over the next four years, but we have also proposed savings that will offset that investment.

Unfortunately, today the Australian Labor Party have said that they will oppose many of those savings. The savings that the Labor Party propose to block constitute around 85 per cent of the $3½ billion that we need. I welcome their support for the 15 per cent of savings, but, by blocking this, they are putting at risk increased support to Australian families to juggle their work and family obligations. How will the Labor Party propose to pay for increased childcare support to families earning up to $170,000? How will they make sure that we deliver the childcare safety net? How would they support $3½ billion of extra funding in child care? (Time expired)

David Johnston (WA, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Mr President, I ask a further supplementary question. I ask the minister: are there any alternative policies that would help families to balance their work and family responsibilities?

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

Prior to today, Ms Macklin, the opposition's families spokesman, had acknowledged that the increased support for child care from this government 'had to be paid for somehow'—they were Ms Macklin's words: 'somehow'. Of course, what we see today, though, is that the Labor Party have no plan for how to pay for it and no alternative plan for child care. They do not have their own policy and now they are blocking the bulk of the funding measures required to implement the government's policy. This is an irresponsible approach from the Labor Party that is putting at risk the opportunity for Australian families to choose to maximise their workforce participation. It will make it harder for mums in particular to return to work or to increase their hours because they will be blocking, if they go down this path, the opportunity to provide greater support for child care to those who need it most. The determination of our government through our policies is to ensure that child care supports the families who need it most to balance their work and family obligations.

Honourable Senators:

Honourable senators interjecting—

Stephen Parry (President) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Order! Senator Bernardi. Senator Polley and Senator Brown, you have a colleague waiting to ask a question.