Karen McNamara (Dobell, Liberal Party) Share this | Hansard source

I am proud to be speaking against this MPI motion today because I feel that in my role as not only a politician but also as a supporter, a mother and a previous user of childcare services, it is my responsibility to address the incorrect and irresponsible statements made by those members opposite. Both sides of this House acknowledge and deeply care about child care. This issue is not about cutting funding to family day care; it is about being a fiscally responsible and sustainable government while providing help and services to those people who make our community what it is.

I know the value of childcare providers, especially family day care services, because I have utilised these services. As a working mother of two boys, my sons were cared for from the age of six months until they went to school—not by a private nanny, but by quality childcare centres and family day care providers. Then they went on to attend before and after school care services. I was like most working women who rely on these services. I have nothing but respect and admiration for our childcare providers. I deeply admire the dedication, patience and enthusiasm of childcare staff. Their genuine love for their chosen profession meant that I knew my children were in safe hands. And this is all that parents want. When you are away working, you need to know that your child is safe and in a nurturing environment, and that is what these dedicated providers of child care provide to us working mothers and fathers.

I am a strong advocate and supporter of family day care in my electorate of Dobell and on the Central Coast, where we have more than 30,000 commuters leaving the region for work every day. I understand the need for reputable and reliable childcare services and family day care networks. It is the family day care network that makes up a huge part of these services. The intent of the Community Support Program funding is to provide operational support to organisations to assist them to establish or maintain services in areas where the requirements of the community are unable to be met. It was never designed to be used as an income stream to prop up unsustainable services. The changes meant that equity and fairness for all providers is experienced across Australia. A 2012 audit showed that more than 70 per cent of Community Support Program funding was going to family day care services, despite them caring for only 10 per cent of the children in approved care. Some may say this is unfair. What it is not is a level playing field for operators, especially since funding was developed for operators in regional and remote areas and the majority of family day care services are in metropolitan regions and not in regional areas such as Dobell, which has experienced, since 2011, a decline in the operators who provide this type of service.

Families can still apply for childcare benefit and the childcare rebate when using approved family day care providers. Users of approved family day care will also continue to receive childcare benefit assistance, and these parents actually receive one-third more than those using other care. This change in funding does not impact a service operator's ability to open or expand a family day care service, nor does it impact on the ability for a service to provide care for families. This funding is not received by the educators or the parents, but by the operators of the services. Funding is still available; however, it is capped to ensure fairness. It also aligns the family day care sector with other service types such as long day care and outside hours' school care, which are required to adhere to more stringent and rigid regulations.

As usual, it is up to the coalition to come in and fix the mess left behind by the previous Labor government, in turn impacting on my local community. I recently met with Child and Family Services Wyong Shire, who informed me of the impacts that the changes in this federal funding would mean to their business. This is an organisation that provides an important service to my electorate of Dobell. This business is well supported, diligently operated and proactive in ensuring its financial sustainability. To ensure that they continue to be sustainable following the changes to the Community Support Program, they have been proactive and they have been assertive in making hard choices and making changes to their organisation to ensure their continued success, and for that I commend them. In my role as their elected representative I aim to do as much as I can to support them with these new changes and be a voice for them when needed and provide practical solutions for the way forward.

This is about accountability, and once again it is left to this government to explain to the community that all of this has come about due to the incompetence of the former Labor government. In this instance, it ignored an Australian National Audit Office report in 2012 that highlighted this growing problem. This certainly was not a wise choice, nor was failing to review the eligibility guidelines to ensure that the areas that needed the funding most were receiving it. It is essential that we have a strong robust family day care sector if we are to successfully deliver a childcare service. Family day care is an essential service that I will continue to support, especially for my electorate of Dobell.

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