Aaron Violi
Casey · Liberal Party · Australia
“I think it's really important when we have this discussion, that we separate the intent versus the outcome. Now, it's clear the intent is to make sure all those under 16 do not have access to social media.”
“CFA volunteers give back so much to our community, and today I want to pay tribute to a good friend of mine, someone I've known for 20 years: Tim Mitchelson, better known to all of us as Loaf. He's stepping back from the BMT at the Wandin Fire Brigade, but he has served our community with distinction.”
“We see time and time again that the backbench has to follow orders. They can't get what they want on gambling reform. They have to take the sandwich from those. They have to follow the Prime Minister's lead on a bad budget, and they have to continue to follow the minister that is failing when it comes to social media.”
“You spend a lot of time rushing legislation through this House for political means, but doing your job is getting the legislation right. This legislation is not working. Young— A government member: How? How is it not working? I will explain to you if you stop interjecting and listen. Young children are still on social media.”
“The coalition is saying, 'Let's take the time to have an inquiry, to do the work, to understand why it has failed and why we can get it right the second time.' As the member for Berowra said, we don't want to be back here in six months' time having to amend it again. The detail was wrong the first time.”
“They weren't prepared to look at the detail and understand. Let's look at history. This legislation was introduced on Monday this week. This government wants to ram it through the house on Thursday. But let's look at December when the first legislation was brought in.”
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“One of the things I love about Casey is our amazing local environment. We are surrounded by rolling hills, lush forests and fertile farmland dotted with vineyards, orchards and crops. Our environment only exists today because it was cared for by generations before us, and it is so important that we continue to pass that knowledge on to the next generation. That's why I was so proud to join students at Wandin Yallock Primary School last Friday for their annual tree-planting day. We worked together to plant native and indigenous plants to help increase biodiversity in the school's Nature Play Forest. The vibe of the students at Wandin Yallock to learn about caring for our environment as part of the ongoing curriculum is thanks to farmer Jill's farm class.”
“It is using artificial intelligence to support radiologists to make sure they can look at scans; there are reports of AI technology finding tumours in lungs that the human eye cannot see. It also triages thousands and thousands of scans to make sure that the radiologists are spending their time looking at the high-risk patients. This is another example of improving outcomes for Australians, ensuring that the people using AI are not taken out of the loop but that their valuable skills and their valuable time are put towards delivering better outcomes for the Australian people. There is no other technology that exists today that can solve so many challenges that we face. We bring this motion because this government is completely missing on AI, except for the Treasurer putting a buzzword in a speech every second day.”
“That's just one example of many of how, with a dedicated strategy for our Public Service, we can deliver better value for the taxpayer and, most importantly, better value for those that rely on services like Services Australia, the NDIS and many others. Just last week, a survey of 2,300 people showed that AI in the workplace had an 88 per cent increase in ROI for those that were using that platform. Ninety-six per cent saved time, and 94 per cent increased productivity within their company. This is what businesses are doing in Australia today, with the government missing in action. Imagine what can be achieved for the Australian economy and for businesses with a bit of direction from this government. But it's not just about the economic benefits. Annalise.ai is an amazing AI company that I've spoken about previously.”
“Guardrails give that certainty to business so they can invest. Let's understand some of the opportunities. Let's look at the public sector. At a time when the budget, as the Treasury's leaked report has shown, has deficits as far as the eye can see, we need to make sure that we spend taxpayer money well. We need to make sure that the Public Service is delivering really well for our communities. The Public Service used Microsoft Copilot as a trial for artificial intelligence to see some of the benefits they could gain. The post-trial survey showed that 69 per cent of those who undertook that trial agreed that it improved the speed of completing tasks, and 61 per cent agreed that it improved work quality.”
“For three years this government has been silent when it comes to AI. They released the Supporting responsible AI: discussion paper . It took 18 months for that release to then become a next step. The next step was more consultation. We are three years in with no certainty. The then minister for industry and science has been knifed by, in his own words, 'factional assassins' of the Deputy Prime Minister, and we have a new minister for industry and science who is now trying to get up to speed, but days and weeks and months cost for our businesses. We need to have that clear direction. We need to acknowledge that there is risk, but we need to make sure we mitigate that risk with guardrails. We need to understand that, because of the speed at which it moves, we cannot outregulate and outlegislate technology.”
“In many ways, the private sector is leading when it comes to artificial intelligence. Artificial intelligence can solve many of these challenges, including productivity, which is down over five per cent since the Albanese Labor government came to power in 2022. If you want to deliver sustainable economic growth, sustainable wages growth and opportunities, you need to have strong productivity growth within our economy. Businesses want to invest and they are investing. However, I speak to so many in the tech sector and in all business, because AI impacts all through every business, and they need certainty. They want certainty. They are frustrated and they are angry because there is a government—the Albanese Labor government—missing in action. Business is not sure how to invest or where to invest without knowing the rules of engagement.”
“I move: That this House: (1) acknowledges the opportunities generative artificial intelligence (AI) will have on the Australian economy; (2) notes the AI driven productivity and innovation boosts already occurring in Australian businesses and households; (3) further acknowledges Australia's global AI competitive advantage and the risks associated with not grasping our AI opportunities; and (4) further notes the speed at which AI technology is developing, and that Government must keep up with community expectations by ensuring Australians have access to reliable AI technologies domestically and that their governments create efficiencies by embracing new technologies such as AI as they develop. This motion is an important one because technology has a core responsibility and opportunity to solve many of the challenges that we face.”
“That is why they have their friends marking their own homework. I'm proud to have spent 15 years working in and with small businesses. I've seen the innovation. I've seen the growth. I've seen the jobs that are created by small businesses in Casey. I'll make sure I take every opportunity in this House to hold the government to account for their failures when it comes to supporting small business. I will make sure we as a coalition put forward positive policies to make sure we can solve the challenges that small businesses face. They just want us to get out of the way and let them keep more of their own— (Time expired)”
“The workplace relations minister appointed the government's own people to mark their own homework—ignored the departmental advice. In a Senate hearing in February a workplace relations department first assistant secretary, Jody Anderson, said, 'They were chosen by the minister.' So, despite wanting to have an independent review of their IR laws, the government got their own people to mark their own homework. It's because they know—they've finally woken up—that the more regulation you add the more cost you add to business. And small business is not in a good place to manage that paperwork and regulation. Big businesses have huge departments that thrive on extra regulation. It makes it a lot harder for a small business to compete if you add regulation on. This government knows that.”
“The Prime Minister has said, 'It's about government doing less, clearing away unnecessary or outdated regulation.' This is the new modus operandi now: that abundance is what we're all reading on the government side. The problem with that is that the government's rhetoric does not align with its actions. In the last term, this government added 5,000 new regulations: 153 new regulations in employment and workplace relations; 199 in agriculture; and 82 in industry, science and resources. They talk about deregulation, but they've made it harder and harder for small business. They said, when they brought in all these new regulations around industrial relations, that they would have an independent review, that they would get an independent body of experts to look at the regulation. But we now know, through FOIs, that it was not independent.”
“An honourable member: What was it called? I've just been asked what it was called. It was called the Payment Times Reporting Amendment Bill 2024. It was actually a good bill. It was a good bill to make sure that big businesses were paying small businesses. And I'm not arguing with the quality of one bill; I'm arguing with the quantity: one bill for a whole term. We know those opposite are a little bit sensitive about that. We also know they have laid on regulation after regulation. The Prime Minister has finally woken up to it. The Treasurer is so devoid of economic ideas that he relies on two journalists from the United States for his inspiration, so it's all about deregulation now from this government.”
“It's good for the individual, it's good for the family, it's great for the community and it's great for our nation. Unfortunately, in this cost-of-business crisis that small business is under, with every cost going up, small businesses have been completely abandoned by the Albanese Labor government. We now have a new Minister for Small Business, and it's no wonder that there's a new one coming through, because in the last term the Minister for Small Business was completely absent. I asked the Parliamentary Library to do a bit of research to see how many bills were introduced to support and help small business in the last term—and there was one: one bill in three years from this government, from the Minister for Small Business, to support small business. They were completely abandoned by the Albanese Labor government.”
“It's a pleasure to rise and speak on the motion from the shadow minister for small business. As for so many in our community, small business plays a key role in Casey. I'm proud to represent the electorate that has the highest number of trades as a percentage of workforce, and many of those are small businesses, running their own business, working hard every day. Small businesses is at the core of community. I am fortunate to visit many sporting grounds, footy clubs and cricket clubs in my electorate, and all around the boundary you see those small businesses giving back to sporting clubs and the community infrastructure in Casey. That is why it is so important that we have strong and growing small businesses. A strong small business is a family business.”
“But it was lucky that their dinner was at the same location as my after-election event, so I could drop in and say hello to the team there and congratulate them on a wonderful year. We have so many volunteers in the CFA, who will, at the drop of a hat, leave their families, their loved ones and their businesses to keep our community safe. They volunteer; they do it for free. In the Yarra Valley and the Dandenong Ranges, we know how important the CFA are. We thank them today; we thank them every day. I'm looking forward to visiting many other CFA annual dinners, including Wonga Park, Montrose and many others, to say thank you for keeping our community safe.”
“It was an honour on Saturday night to attend the Chirnside Park CFA annual dinner to say thank you to those volunteers who give so much to keep our community safe. I want to congratulate the captain, Ben, on six years of service to our community. We were celebrating the 10th birthday of the Chirnside Park CFA. Six years is a significant impact, and I want to wish Paul Simpson all the best. I know the brigade is in good hands. I recently had the opportunity to attend the Mooroolbark CFA annual dinner. It was a great event. Again, it was to celebrate those that volunteer to give so much to keep us safe. Unfortunately, I could not attend the Lilydale CFA annual dinner. It was on 3 May, so we were all quite busy.”
“They give us a chance to come together, to celebrate and to network. Thank you to all those volunteers for the work that you do.”
“Well done to Miki and the team at Kallista Village on your work. I look forward to joining you all on Saturday. On Sunday, I'm looking forward to meeting the Easter bunny at the Cire Easter market in Chirnside Park. It's a great family event. There'll be a free scavenger hunt for the kids, food trucks, coffee, local produce and treats. I'll also be attending the community heroes market in Lilydale. For the first time the Victoria Road Primary School and Chirnside Park Preschool are having a joint fete. It's a celebration that will bring together local students, parents, teachers and the wider community to support the school and celebrate our community spirit, and I'm looking forward to attending and talking to the kids and to the volunteers. Community events really are the heart of our community.”
“It was a chance to support them, and I urge everyone to support local, particularly those Montrose traders who have had a tough 12 months. I enjoyed catching up with the Montrose Men's Shed, the Montrose fire brigade, the Montrose Township Group, the Community Bank Mt Evelyn and many local traders. This weekend, we have more important celebrations. We are celebrating 100 years since the hills village changed its name from South Sassafras to Kallista, meaning 'most beautiful'. In 1925 there was a gala event, a ribbon-cutting ceremony, games for kids and a celebration that went late into the night. This Saturday, the Kallista Village centenary committee will be holding a community-wide event to mark the occasion, with live music, old games, a family bush dance and so much more.”
“The Wandin North Harvest Market at Wandin North Primary School is a staple in our community. It's wonderful to be there every year to see the kids having fun. I think they were happy with the rain—the parents not so much. But, again, it's a fundraiser for the school to make sure they can get the support they need. Thanks to Megan, who is the key organiser, along with the other parents and volunteers, and also to Paul Bailey, the principal, and all the teachers for your work. Congratulations on another successful event. The Montrose community event last weekend was an opportunity to celebrate the opening of the Montrose intersection moving from a roundabout to traffic lights so traffic can flow. It has been a tough 12 months for all the traders.”
“Festivals and markets are an important part of our community in Casey. They are run by community groups and volunteers who put in so much time and effort to support those in our community. It was wonderful to attend the Millgrove Market recently, with its great local produce and local stallholders, and I want to thank the volunteers at MRAG, including Maureen, Kate, Pieter and the whole team, for their work in making sure that market continues to support local businesses. Despite the rain, it was fantastic to join great community events in Mooroolbark for the Celebrate Mooroolbark festival, which is a celebration of everything that is great about Mooroolbark. Thank you to the whole committee that plan the festival, putting so much time and effort into making sure it's a success, particularly Renae, the chairperson.”
“However, I have to note that it is disappointing that the bill has entered parliament on the eve of the election. Given this is a setting week that we weren't going to have—we all know the Prime Minister was planning to not have this week—it wouldn't have been introduced at all. The unfortunate reality is that it is unlikely to become law before the end of this parliamentary term.”
“So there are many challenges in my community when it comes to access to reliable communications. It is an area that has significant and ongoing disasters. Two-and-a-half weeks ago, we had a bushfire in our community. We have regular floods. Many people, including me, were impacted by the June storms of 2021, which left residents without power and communications for weeks and months in some cases. It is in an area that I spoke about in my first speech and I've advocated for. I've worked constructively with the minister over the last three years to make sure that we are doing everything we can to ensure reliable communications in my community. The coalition is supporting the Telecommunications Amendment (Enhancing Consumer Safeguards) Bill 2025.”
“It's always important. I rise to speak about communications and the challenges that we as a community face in Casey. I'm lucky to represent a beautiful part of the world. We've got the Yarra Valley. We've also got the Dandenong Ranges, which is beautiful national parks and bushland but it's in mountains. We've got all the way out to the upper Yarra, with the Yarra Valley and upper Yarra combined area. So we do have many challenges with communications. We know how important it is that they work every day. I was out recently talking to residents in Powelltown at a community meeting and it was raised with me the challenges that they have around their day-to-day communications but also the issues they have when the power goes out. After a few hours, they lose phone reception as well.”
“They're not feeling better today than there did three years ago when this Prime Minister promised that he could solve the cost-of-living crisis. We're not going to stand here and be lectured by those opposite who tell us that we've never had it better, that the plan is working and that we should be so lucky to have the Treasurer in control of the Treasury, making these decisions. These decisions are failing. If he spent some time talking to people in the community, he would stop the hubris. He would stop bragging about how successful he has been, lining himself up to challenge the Prime Minister after the election, and focus on structural changes to help the Australian people in this cost-of-living crisis, because he's failed time and time again. (Time expired)”
“Discovery Church in my community—an amazing organisation that does a lot through their foodbank—had a 400 per cent increase in demand last year. That increase came from what they dubbed 'the working poor'—those that have jobs, even two jobs, and with three or four in their family needing food support. But we get told by this Prime Minister, by this Treasurer and by those opposite that we've never had it better and that the plan is working. If the Treasurer's plan worked for the last three years, I would hate to see failure, because the community members in Casey that are having to go to Discovery Church to get free food to feed their family and the people that are struggling to pay bills don't feel a soft landing.”
“We saw that this Prime Minister had the opportunity and had the ability to make sure that $1,500 in one hit made a tangible difference—a policy that was a coalition policy that the former government implemented. They could have kept that policy going, because they backflipped on the stage 3 tax cuts. 'My word is my bond'—apparently not! They were prepared to backflip on stage 3, but they weren't prepared to backflip on the $1,500 in direct benefits to the Australian people. That says everything you want to know about this Prime Minister and this Treasurer. They've spent so long in this place that they think that spin and political headlines will make a difference for the Australian people, but they won't, because every Australian is struggling.”
“When the Treasurer and those opposite continue the political spin about how great the Australian people have it, how we've never had it better and everything they're doing, they like to give these big numbers about tax cuts and what they've supposedly done, but they always leave one number out. They never put one number into their calculations. They don't include the low- and middle-income offset that they let lapse under their watch—the $1,500 that the Australian people received in one go, in one hit, when they put in their tax return. Many people in my community and many people across the country were outraged when they didn't get that $1,500 they were expecting, because they'd received it in the previous years.”
“When we're talking about auditions, the member for Parramatta wouldn't get those facts wrong. He would make sure that those numbers were right, because he's ready to go if the Treasurer makes those mistakes. This Treasurer and this Prime Minister have delivered a budget in their true tradition. It is classic spin that sounds impressive with their cost-of-living plan—it's a headline—but it delivers nothing for the Australian people. It delivers 70c a day in 15 months. Congratulations to all those community members in Hawke that are struggling. You'll get 70c back in 15 months time. That'll help with the grocery bills this week. That'll help with the petrol when you have to fill up the car this week—70c a day in 15 months.”
“It's always great to follow the member for Hawke. It gives me an opportunity to fact-check some of the claims that he makes. Let's start with the first one, that inflation peaked under the former coalition government. He might want to check the ABS data. It would show that it actually peaked at 7.8 per cent in the December 2022 quarter. Last time I checked, the Albanese Labor government was in power in December 2022. Maybe fact-check that comment, Member for Hawke. He also said that they inherited $1 trillion of debt. The problem with that is there are budget papers and—I've said this to you before, so you know this—$517 billion was the actual number in the budget papers. Thirty-one per cent of that was under the Rudd-Gillard-Rudd government, which was a great success for the Australian people!”
“Those opposite don't want to support that policy that will make a tangible difference for the Australian people and for Australian farmers and which will bring prices down in a sustainable and structural way in the long term. It's all about political spin for this Prime Minister and this Treasurer, and it's the Australian people that pay the price.”
“If they do not act ethically, if they do not act in the best interests of consumers and if they do not act in the best interest of suppliers, food manufacturers and farmers, their stores could be sold and their market share could be broken with appropriate guardrails in place to ensure employment and to ensure that towns have the services they need. Losing their market share is the only thing that will scare Woolworths and Coles executives. I spent over a decade working for food suppliers that supplied Woolworths and Coles. I saw firsthand the predatory behaviour that they undertook, using their market power to pressure suppliers, small businesses and farmers. These laws will make them act in an ethical way, and, if they don't, they will lose their market share.”
“Looking to grocery bills, food is up 13.3 per cent. This government has done nothing to address the challenges of grocery prices. There are many factors, including energy, that drive up prices, but, when Woolworths and Coles control 67 per cent of the market, action needs to be taken to put pressure on them. This government has refused to take action. Their so-called mandatory code has not even come into effect and will make no difference on the ground. It's turning a voluntary code that wasn't working into a mandatory code that still won't work, and that's why the coalition has proposed divestiture laws. Divestiture laws are the policy. I thank those opposite for the interjection. Divestiture laws that sit as a private members bill in this house, which could be passed today, would put immediate pressure on Woolworths and Coles.”
“Well, here we sit in 2025, and power bills for the Australian people are up by over $1,000, food is up 13.3 percent, housing is up 14.5 per cent, rents are up over 18 per cent and gas is up 34.2 per cent. This Prime Minister has no solutions to the challenges the Australian people face. At best, he can treat the symptoms with a temporary measure that he's continuing to extend but that will eventually run out. They're not treating the causes of the challenges that we face. When we look at energy prices—as I said, gas is up 34.2 per cent—to bring prices down sustainably, to help households, to help community groups and to help businesses continue to thrive, you need to put more gas into the system. More gas will increase supply, keep demand at the same level, or, if it goes up, it can bring those prices down.”
“Parameter variations are important in a budget, because they're the upgrades and the downgrades that the government has no control over at all. The reason this Treasurer has delivered two surpluses in the budget papers themselves is because of these parameter variations. He has had nothing to do with it. He hasn't made the tough decisions for the Australian people. In fact, his decisions have made it worse for the Australian people. The reality is there is not one Australian that is doing better today than in May of 2022, when the Prime Minister promised he would solve the cost-of-living crisis for the Australian people. The Prime Minister promised, on 97 occasions, that he would reduce power bills by $275 in 2025.”
“This was the budget that wasn't going to be delivered. We all know that the Prime Minister and the Treasurer weren't planning to deliver this budget for a pretty straightforward reason—it was going to show a deficit, and it was going to show deficits as far as the eye could see. It was going to destroy that image that the Treasurer has tried to craft around his so-called responsible economic management. The reason that we're going to see deficits moving forward is that the good luck of the Treasurer has run out. It's an important part. I'll give credit to that well-known and respected economist, Chris Richardson. The table of truth—I see the member for Parramatta smiling. I think he knows where we're going here with this one. There was $252 billion in parameter variations in the budgets that this government has delivered.”
“I also want to thank the Montrose football club and the Kilsyth Cobras for opening up their stadiums and reserves as emergency hubs for residents. Luckily, we had a downpour on Sunday morning that helped to control the fire. Thank you and well done to captain of the Montrose CFA, Matt, and also his full team, including Liz, the communications officer who did an amazing job keeping the community updated. It was great to be with her and the team at the Montrose Community Festival on Sunday, where so many residents wanted to thank the CFA and the Montrose CFA and thank Liz for her work on telling them when there was an emergency and what to do. We're so lucky to have such amazing volunteers in our community. (Time expired)”
“On 15 and 16 March, the Montrose community was impacted by a devastating bushfire. Montrose CFA and other local crews were initially called at 2 pm on the Saturday to the Dr Ken Leversha Reserve. The fire quickly spread; however, the firefighters did an amazing job to get it under control. Unfortunately, at 10 pm that evening, the fire broke out again, breaking containment lines and sending embers down residential streets. Sadly, one house was lost and many were damaged. Over 200 firefighters fought the blaze long into the afternoon and the night. Firefighters came from all across our community to keep the Montrose community safe. They were supported by FRV, Forest Fire Management, SES, Victoria Police and Ambulance Victoria.”
“He's not able to treat the cause. He's focused on the symptoms. He continues to spin lines about worker retention, about child care being cheaper, about the opposition not supporting a subsidy that we clearly voted for. This is a government that, after 2½ years, has run out of ideas. It didn't have many to start with, this term. Those that it has implemented have failed. There is not one Australian who is better off today than when this government was elected. The real question the Australian people have to ask themselves is, with so much damage done to Australian families after 2½ years, imagine how much worse off you will be if this Prime Minister gets another three years—of indecision, of weakness, of mismanagement of the economy. The Australian people cannot afford that. Australian families cannot afford that.”
“Labor have refused to reveal the formula to determine how much services will receive, so they're expecting businesses to apply for a grant with a blindfold on. They've also asked businesses to cap their prices, at a time when energy costs are through the roof, food costs are through the roof and insurance is through the roof for these community organisations in early childhood. Again, the reason all these things are through the roof is the mismanagement of this Prime Minister and this Treasurer—a Prime Minister who promised 97 times before the last election that he would reduce power bills by $275. Instead, Australians are faced with power bills up over $1,000. So, the reason the Prime Minister has to continue to intervene and offer bandaid solutions is that he is not able to solve these challenges at the core.”
“The Prime Minister and ministers opposite have crowed about that legislation and how they've helped people. But, again, when you leave the parliament—which the Prime Minister doesn't like to do; he's institutionalised to this House—and when you go to the real world and look at what's actually happening, the Department of Education's own data shows that just 15 per cent of early childhood educators are employed by services that are approved for the payment as of 20 January 2025. It's another example of the spin and the headlines from the Prime Minister and the government, but the reality on the ground is that 200,000 workers are not better off; it is less than that. The reason is that the deal they rushed through was so complex that businesses are not able to apply or understand whether they qualify.”
“There is no-one better off today than when Anthony Albanese was elected Prime Minister in 2022. He's institutionalised to opposition, and he is focused so much on the coalition that he's not actually solving the challenges the Australian people face at the root cause. We're seeing that when it comes to childcare costs—up 22.3 per cent since his government came to power. You will also hear those opposite crow and talk about the worker retention payment, and how it is going to solve some of the challenges we face when it comes to workers in the childcare sector. This government promised that up to 200,000 early-childhood workers would be over $100 a week better off by Christmas 2024 under its Wage Justice for Early Childhood Education and Care Workers policy. They promised that to the Australian people.”
“We put our counsel forward to the government that it was a mistake, but we still supported it because we knew that the Australian people were struggling under this government, under the mismanagement of this Prime Minister and this Treasurer, and that we should do what we could to support them. We supported that legislation. Yet member after member, and the Prime Minister and the Treasurer, continue to mislead the Australian people by saying that the opposition didn't support that legislation. The reason they do that, the reason the Prime Minister has to mislead the Australian people and the reason he is obsessed with the opposition and with the opposition leader, is that after 2½ years this Prime Minister has not delivered for the Australian people.”
“The Prime Minister, in question time today and all week, and the Treasurer and those opposite listed off these dot points of things they've supposedly done for the Australian people. They say that they've done all these things and that the opposition has opposed them all. The problem the Prime Minister's got with that line that he spins—and this is the really annoying thing for him—is that all votes are recorded in Hansard . The vote shows that the opposition supported the subsidy that the government brought forward. We raised complaints. I stood here and raised complaints and concerns that it was addressing demand, that it was a subsidy that wasn't increasing supply and that it would lead to—shock horror—higher prices, which we are seeing.”
“This is all part of the spin of this government, particularly and gallingly when it comes to child care. During question time we had two things happen. The Prime Minister talked about how much childcare prices have gone down and how much he's saved the Australian people, and how lucky families are. The problem for the Prime Minister is, out in the real world, in our communities, prices have not gone down. Childcare prices have increased by 22.3 per cent since the Albanese Labor government came to power in 2022, yet the Prime Minister talks about how he has supposedly reduced prices. The spin, when it comes to child care, from this government continues even more.”
“The department is unable to advise how many families are eligible for the childcare subsidy but not enrolling their children. So we've got a situation where Treasury have given an estimate—and I must say that after some of the estimates we've seen from departments in the last few weeks we should question those—but they don't know how many children are eligible. So we would love to know where that costing comes from. At the same time the Productivity Commission said that removing the activity test would cost $2.3 billion per year—$2.3 billion. So, again, we have a big headline from this government that can't be delivered in my community. They can't guarantee access to child care in my community, because of that childcare desert, and now we see a massive black hole and misalignment in the funding. We do not know how much it's going to cost.”
“We always have to be concerned about Labor's costings. We know that in MYEFO there was an $11 billion black hole. We saw that in MYEFO with the Public Service, so for the next four years there will be no increase in spending for the Public Service. The only problem with that is the government had agreed to an 11 per cent wage increase for the Public Service, which leaves us with two conclusions: they're either going to cut headcount, or there is an $11 billion black hole. That's why with every piece of legislation and every commitment from this government we should understand what their costings are. They've estimated that this is going to cost $426.7 million over four years, but the true impact of removing the activity test for three days is not yet fully known.”
“This is despite the ACCC's final report into early childhood education finding: A single approach to government regulation and intervention ('one size fits all') is unlikely to deliver government objectives or meet community expectations across all childcare markets in Australia. Debate interrupted.”
“Belgrave, Warburton and the surrounding areas are also facing ongoing shortages in this access to child care. When families in my community are experiencing such difficulties, it's hard to support this legislation, because it does not guarantee or prioritise access for working families who need early childhood care so they can work. But those who are not working, studying or volunteering will also be subsidised, and, over the last three years, Labor has failed to meaningfully address supply-side constraints. Families in childcare deserts who have little to no access to childcare at all will be the most disadvantaged by this policy.”
“It's leaving parents to make that difficult compromise between career advancement, additional income for their family and their family obligations. According to data from the Mitchell Institute, in Coldstream there are still nine children for every one long day care place available. The towns of Silvan, Monbulk, Sassafras, Wandin and Seville have ratios ranging from 10 to over 50 children per childcare place, making placements highly competitive and leaving many parents without options. In Ferny Creek, there are between three and seven children per childcare place, and between seven and 18 children per long day care place. In Olinda, there are between two and five children per place, and between eight and 30 per long day care place.”
“Finding child care has become one of the biggest concerns for parents of young children in Casey, especially in this cost-of-living crisis. Families have been prevented from any attempts to provide additional income, at a time when interest rates and living costs are through the roof, due to their inability to find child care. For these parents, there is little point in having access to three days of care when there's no care available. Many residents in my community work outside our region, with an average commuting distance of 28 kilometres—significantly higher than the Victorian average of 16.7 kilometres. For these families, access to long day care hours is essential to account for their commute times, and limited access to long day care in my community is leaving families without adequate care for their children.”