Sarah Henderson (Corangamite, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

My question is to the Assistant Minister for Education. Will the minister explain what recent ABS data tells us about women's participation in the paid workforce; and why is it critical for Australian families to have affordable, flexible and accessible child care?

Sussan Ley (Farrer, Liberal Party, Assistant Minister for Education) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

It is a pleasure to take a question from the member for Corangamite, who had a distinguished career in media, law, journalism and management before coming into this place, and we welcome her contribution; we really do. Recent ABS data reveal that just 57½ per cent of mothers with children under five are participating in the labour force, compared to 94 per cent of men with children of the same age. Now, up to a point, that is unsurprising, given that it is usually women who have the role of caring for children in those early years. But, when we consider that that figure rises sharply to 78 per cent of women once their children hit school age, we realise that this is quite concerning. The Productivity Commission's draft report found that the affordability of child care is the really big barrier to women's participation in the workforce, particularly for women with children under five. Labor made the problem worse by allowing fees to go up so massively during their six years in power. Out-of-pocket costs for parents went up 40 per cent, and Labor's bandaid solutions only made the problem worse.

The member for Sydney cried her latest instalment of crocodile tears in the House earlier this question time, talking about low-income superannuation and women's participation. I just would like to make this point: what is the single biggest factor that affects women's superannuation balances? It is time spent in the workforce—participation in the workforce. And what is the single biggest barrier to participation to the workforce? It is unaffordable and inaccessible child care. By the way, the other thing is a paid parental leave system that looks after superannuation.

So don't come in here with your grandstanding about the gender pay gap and your crocodile tears about low-income women, failing to recognise that—as your own response to the budget told us, found by your own agencies, just a six per cent increase in women's participation would add $25 billion to the economy—that is the very thing that your policy held back for six years. You spent that time putting politics before parents. It is parents, it is mothers, who are now paying the price. It is 700,000 parents unable to access the child care they need that need the response that this government will provide to solve the childcare crisis left by Labor.