A secret Turnbull Government hit-list has revealed 873 families in the electorate of Barker will be worse off under Turnbull’s new child care package from July 2.
These families are among 279,000 across Australia who will be worse off under the Liberals’ package.
This is extremely worrying news as most of the families who stand to be worse off are those in the lowest income cohort – that is, families who have a combined income of less than $65,710.
Under Malcolm Turnbull’s package, families will have to satisfy a complex set of rules to qualify for government assistance – with a work test and a means test set to hit vulnerable families hardest. The work test will require families to satisfy minimum levels of ‘approved activities’ each fortnight – which will knock thousands of low income families out of the system.
This new slug on families comes on top of the 18 per cent growth in child care fees (to March 2017) since the Liberals were elected – which means families are on average paying over $2,000 a year more.
The Liberals are seriously out of touch when they claim credit for an increase in fees, and for introducing a new child care package which leaves over 873 families in the electorate of Barker worse off.
If the Liberals were serious about supporting Australian families they wouldn’t be rubbing their unfair policies in the faces of those families who are already struggling to get by.
Labor has a proud record in early education and child care reform, including;
- Reducing the financial burden of child care on families, with increases to the child care rebate from 30 to 50 per cent of out of pocket costs;
- Increasing the child care subsidy to $7,500;
- Investing $970 million to create universal access to preschool for four-year–olds, in partnership with the states and territories.