Press Conference, Croydon South, Victoria
E&OE
MINISTER MORRISON:
It is great to be here with Michael Sukkar, the Member for Deakin in his electorate here in Croydon South and where we are out continuing to consult – talking to families and service providers and others in the childcare and early childhood sector about the Government’s forth coming families package which will focus on the childcare and early childhood learning needs of families across the country. Today also I’m pleased to announce while we’re here in Victoria that the Commonwealth Government will be providing $4.7 million which will be put together with State Government funding to have $8.6 million to support occasional care places throughout Victoria in some 117 centres around the State. This fulfils an election commitment of the Abbott Government to ensure we restored that funding support for occasional care. Occasional care provides the opportunity for families in less certain environments where they will need occasionally that requirement to have their children placed in care while they might be attending an important doctor’s appointment or other things that life demands from time to time and to have that occasional care support there. So we’re pleased to be working with the State Government to provide that support and as I said it is an election commitment acted upon by the Abbott Government. As we continue now to work towards the Budget we’ll be making further announcements on the childcare package. The childcare package is all about supporting families who need to be in work and are choosing to be in paid employment to ensure that they are able to do that to have the choices that they need for their family. We have an increasing number of families, whether they are two parent or single parents, who are all required to be in work to support the cost of living pressures that they face as families and the best way for them to do that, they are voting with their feet, is to be in paid employment. These subsidies through childcare are all about supporting those families making those decisions. Now it is true that activity tests that the Government are considering, will be increasing the requirement for families, whether they are in paid work, whether they are looking for paid work, whether they are in study or in some formal voluntary capacity, committed during the course of the week, the subsidy programs that we will be continuing to seek to provide will require that level of activity to engage that sort of support. But at the same time we understand the need for a safety net for families on low incomes as currently exists to be able to access a regular period of early childhood learning and we will certainly ensure that that continues. So these are the things we are continuing to work on it’s great to be here with Michael, who I know is very focused on the needs of families in his electorate, particularly those who are making ends meet, and for whom being able to access affordable and quality childcare is incredibly important and I really appreciate the work Michael has put in to input into the package the needs of families in his local area and I ask him to make a few comments.
MICHAEL SUKKAR:
Well look thanks very much Minister; it’s wonderful that you can be out here at Goodstart Early Learning Centre in Croydon South. I thank the team here for hosting us today. Obviously Deakin families want access to affordable and obviously accessible childcare services it’s so important for the productivity of our community but also the way that families operate so Minister it’s wonderful that you could be out here to speak to families in Deakin to hear about the issues that are important to them with respect to the upcoming children’s package in the Budget and again can I thank the team here for hosting us. This is an example of the great work that our early learning providers give to families not only in Deakin but throughout the country. So whenever we are here in centres such as Goodstart Early Learning it’s wonderful to see the work they are doing. So again Minister thank you for your commitment to families and particularly to the families in Deakin.
MINISTER MORRISON:
Questions?
JOURNALIST:
Minister Morrison, following the Opposition’s comments today are you still confident or are you confident of getting bipartisan support?
MINISTER MORRISON:
The needs for childcare support for families who are in paid work is very important and the government intends to invest more in this area, but like in any area where the government seeks to spend more then we need to ensure we have the savings that can pay for that. I think it’s unreasonable to expect taxpayers to pay more and more and more in return for more investment. So what we will put forward in this Budget is a package of savings measures which remains unlegislated from the last Budget and that will pay for the increased investment that we want to put into early childhood learning and into childcare. So the only thing really standing in the way of increased investment in the sorts of new initiatives that we’re keen to put in place as a result of this new package is whether we can get the support for those savings measures to make that investment possible.
JOURNALIST:
What will be the threshold for these low income earners? How much can they expect to receive?
MINISTER MORRISON:
We’ll be announcing the full details of this package before the Budget, that’s according to schedule. I note the comments from the Opposition about these matters today. It is the normal practice to announce Budget measures in the Budget and on this occasion we have made it very clear that we will be announcing our package of measures on childcare and early childhood learning before the Budget and that’s still the timeframe and there has been no change to that. We made the announcement in relation to our nannies pilot earlier this week and we’ll be making further announcements on that package over the next week or so before the Budget.
JOURNALIST:
So you don’t believe low or middle income families will be disadvantaged by this, taking money out of what they may be receiving now?
MINISTER MORRISON:
No, and I’d say the contrary. What the Government is doing is planning to invest more in childcare support and early childhood learning. We’re going to invest more not less. Everything we were investing before and to go further. In doing so we will ensure that a safety net remains in place for families particularly in disadvantaged areas and face other forms of disadvantage, but the subsidy support will be targeted more and more to families on low to middle incomes. They will be the biggest beneficiaries of the programme we are seeking to put in place because we know from the consultation that we have had, just like consultation we’ll have further today here in Croydon South, we know that it is families on middle to low incomes that are really struggling with that question, of being able to go back to work and stay in work. We want to make sure that the financial equation around the kitchen that – they discuss around the kitchen table adds up for them and we believe this package will add up for them.
JOURNALIST:
Isn’t there a danger that this will encourage parents to work longer hours and see less of their children?
MINISTER MORRISON:
How long parents work is a matter for families. The decisions they make about work, and whether they chose to stay at home while they raise their children – one parent, or go to work is a matter for those families. But for those families who decide to go into work and for so many families need to go back to work to deal with the rising costs of living and the many pressures that they face, and not be dependent on welfare, well we’re giving those families that support. The more people choose to be engaged in paid employment and the other activities I’ve mentioned, looking for work, training and studying, as well as being involved in formal volunteering capacities, well this package will be there to support them. As will there be support for those to access a basic level of early childhood learning for those on low incomes.
JOURNALIST:
You said this morning you had concerns about the childcare rebate, because it covers 50 per cent of whatever price is charged and you thought it was a big weakness in the system. Should there be top limit or a cap on the rebate?
MINISTER MORRISON:
Well the Productivity Commission has recommended a benchmark price process and we think that process has great virtues. The idea that the taxpayer should be asked to pay for top line services that extend to gourmet cooking classes and zumba classes and things like that, which are the anecdotes that have come out from the past, I think the tax payers have sent a very clear message on that. But there are a core level of services that need to be supported to enable families to be in work. I know things were different 20 – 30 years ago when these sorts of subsides weren’t in place back then and I know many families, particularly older Australians who never had the support of that but times have changed since then. Today we have two thirds of two parent families who are now two income families. We now thankfully have the majority of single parent families who are working, paid employment single parent families. When you put that together these subsides actually help families to put themselves in a better position to support themselves. We all know that mums work harder than anybody else whether they’re in paid employment or not, that’s certainly my experience but many and an increasing number of mums and dads who are in this situation are working because their families need them to work and we want to support them in that choice. Ok, thanks very much for your time.