FIONA SCOTT MP:
Good morning. It’s wonderful to be here today in the beautiful suburb of Jordan Springs which is one of the newest suburbs here in Western Sydney. It’s particularly exciting to have the Prime Minister here with me today as well as the Minister for Education, Christopher Pyne, and of course Senator Scott Ryan.
Lindsay is one of the youngest electorates in Australia and when I talk to families all across this electorate the concerns of childcare affordability, of flexibility of childcare, but then also early childhood learning is really important to parents here in Lindsay. And that’s why it’s wonderful to have the Prime Minister and the Minister for Education and Scott Ryan here today.
So, it’s very exciting Prime Minister that we’re going to announce some exciting work in regard to preschools and early childhood learning. So, thank you, Prime Minister.
PRIME MINISTER:
Fiona, it is great to be here with so many young families on this Sunday morning – a little bit soggy, but otherwise beautiful Sunday morning – here in Western Sydney in the new suburb of Jordan Springs, part of the Penrith area. I want to thank Fiona and the other local people for making myself, Minister Pyne and Parliamentary Secretary Ryan so welcome.
This is an important announcement – $840 million over two years – to ensure that the guarantee of universal preschool access continues. It’s very important that as many young Australians as possible don't just go to childcare but they have preschool as well and that’s what this money is guaranteeing.
This is a Government which is committed to families. It is a Government which is committed to early learning. This is a Government that wants the best possible deal for young Australians. We want the strongest possible future for our country and that means trying to ensure that every Australian youngster has the best possible start in life.
I want to thank the Minister who has been extraordinarily dedicated in this area. I also particularly want to thank Parliamentary Secretary Ryan who has been a great advocate for preschool and has done very, very good work and I feel very pleased that this is a Government which is able to deliver on a commitment which was started by the former government – but never funded.
The former government said that all Australian four year olds should have access to preschool but they didn't put the money in the budget to make it happen. This money will be in the Budget under this Coalition Government.
Christopher?
EDUCATION MINISTER:
Thank you very much, Prime Minister. Thank you for the opportunity to say a few words to you to demonstrate your commitment to preschool, to early learning for children. Thank you for coming out to make this important announcement. I'd like to thank Scott Ryan as well who has been the driving force behind this policy development and Fiona Scott particularly as the local member for Lindsay.
One of the really important aspects of this announcement today is for the first time ever we will be indexing the funds for preschool in Australia. So, there's absolutely no excuse whatsoever for the states and territories to not provide a full 15 hours minimum of preschool for four year olds in Australia.
That is good news for families in particular. It's good news for children. The other aspect of the announcement that's very important to underline is it demonstrates the Abbott Government's very genuine commitment to early learning at the earliest stages, whether it is childcare or preschool in the case of this announcement, $840 million is a large amount of money for the next two years.
It is important for the states and territories to ensure that that money reaches every single child and I think parents will be watching that very closely, but most importantly, it underlines that at four years old we are expecting every Australian to be beginning their education in a formal sense, building on what they've learned from childcare in the previous three years. So, I look forward very much to implementing this policy with Scott Ryan as the Parliamentary Secretary.
PRIME MINISTER:
Scott?
PARLIAMENTARY SECRETARY TO THE MINISTER FOR EDUCATION AND TRAINING:
Thank you, Prime Minister; and thank you, Christopher, for the opportunity to work on this very important project and thank you, Fiona, for the opportunity to come out here today.
This announcement today demonstrate this Government's commitment – Prime Minister, your personal commitment, as well – to ensuring that we actually deliver preschool access for all Australian families. We don't just promise it; we're delivering the access through this announcement.
Importantly, as the Minister highlighted, for the first time ever, we are providing indexed funding to ensure there's no need for any pressure whatsoever on parents and families to ensure their children get access to the best possible start in their education.
We know that a good preschool programme makes a difference when children start school. We want every Australian child to start school and get the most out of it and this is our commitment – and Prime Minister, your commitment – to ensuring that happens for all Australian children.
PRIME MINISTER:
Thanks, Scott. Ok, do we have any questions?
QUESTION:
Prime Minister, why is the funding for preschools only for the next two years?
PRIME MINISTER:
Well, we want to ensure that there is certainty going forward. Obviously, we have a federation reform whitepaper and that will look at the question of who is going to take primary responsibility for preschool going forward. The important thing, as far as this Government is concerned, is that every Australian four year old should have access to preschool and we are ensuring that for the next two years, that will be the case, and the difference between this Government and our predecessor is that our predecessor government made the commitment that everyone should have access – but it didn't make the money available. It wasn't in the contingency reserve. The money wasn't in the forward estimates. We have provided the money to ensure that every Australian four year old will continue to get a guarantee of access to preschool.
QUESTION:
In terms of changes to the childcare subsidies, why is the Government moving to give the subsidies to childcare providers and how will that make families better off?
PRIME MINISTER:
Well, what we want to do is to ensure that childcare is affordable and accessible. We want to have a better childcare system. We’ve made this commitment to the Australian people at the election. We said that, first of all, we'd have a Productivity Commission report and then we would put the appropriate policy in place to implement the recommendations of the Productivity Commission. Now, we've taken those recommendations. We've subjected them to pretty fair consultation and scrutiny and we'll have some very good announcements to make in the Budget which I think the Australian people will welcome.
QUESTION:
Why do parents earning over $250,000 still qualify for a subsidy under this plan?
PRIME MINISTER:
Well, I'm not going to get into the detail of what will be in our package, but I do want to say that it is important that childcare is seen not as welfare but as a way of strengthening our economy, because the more people we can get who are contributing, well, the better for everyone. The more people that we can have participating in the economy, if that's their choice, the better for everyone because, obviously, there's the fulfilment which comes from being able to combine work and family, and then there's the general strengthening of the economy that you get when you have as many people as possible in the workforce. So, I think it is a very good announcement that we'll be making soon and it is going to enhance the quality of our society as well as the strength of our economy.
QUESTION:
In terms of the pension, why you have abandoned those changes to the pension indexation?
PRIME MINISTER:
I’m not going to comment on what is just speculation. You wouldn't expect me to comment on pre-Budget speculation, except to say that I’m absolutely determined that the measures in this Budget will be responsible and fair. That's the thing about this Budget: I am absolutely convinced that on Budget night it will be seen as responsible, measured and fair. It is a Budget which is going to deliver jobs, growth and opportunity. It's a Budget which is going to make Australians feel more optimistic and confident about their future. We are a great country. We have fundamental strengths. Yes, our economy was damaged by six years of debt and deficit under Labor and in some respects it is a long hard road back, but we are well and truly embarked on the road back. Our country is coming back. Our economy is strengthening and I think people will be more confident and optimistic on Budget night.
QUESTION:
On terrorism issues, the Victorian Government is setting up a taskforce against radicalisation. Is that a model that your Government would consider?
PRIME MINISTER:
Look, I welcome the efforts of the states because obviously the states have a fair bit of experience in this area and I’m confident that we will continue to work constructively with the states, including with the Victorian Government. We’ve put all up about $30 million on the table for various forms of initiatives to counter violent extremism. We want to work with people who are at risk of succumbing to the lure of the death cult and try to bring them back. So many of them have been brainwashed and hypnotised online, we want to bring them back as well. So, I welcome the efforts of the states and I look forward to working with them.
QUESTION:
And just finally, there’s been a new princess born overnight. Have you got any comments?
PRIME MINISTER:
Well, obviously, it’s a moment of great joy for any family – of great joy for any family – to welcome a new child. This is a joyous day for the Royal Family. It's also a great day for Australians because every member of the Royal Family has a respect, affection and enthusiasm for Australia. We’ve got Prince Harry serving with the Australian army just at the moment. That's part of a long tradition by the Royal Family of engagement with our country and I'm sure that the new Princess will be an enthusiastic participant in that great tradition.
QUESTION:
Prime Minister, is there anything in train to encourage childcare providers to be more flexible with their hours? Commuters from this electorate a six o’clock finish…
PRIME MINISTER:
As you know, there are a range of measures that are coming up from this Government, including a more flexible trial involving home care. So, there are a range of measures that you'll see from this Government. I'm not going to pre-empt specific announcements, but what you'll see from this Government is more affordable and more accessible childcare because that's what every Australian family with young children is looking for. People want to be able to combine work and family; people want to be economic participants as well as social and cultural participants and that’s what this Government wants to empower people to be. We want more empowered Australians and if people have the choice, a more readily graspable choice to be in the workforce, well, that's all the better for everyone.
Thank you.
[ends]