The Morrison government is under pressure to revamp the child care system in next month’s budget to make it easier for women to return to work.
Big business, unions and the early childhood education industry say childcare should be a top priority for Josh Frydenberg on May 11.
The Business Council of Australia also wants the treasurer to set the paid parental leave scheme to allow for equal sharing of responsibilities between parents at the birth of a child.
BCA CEO Jennifer Westacott argues that with Australia’s population growing at its lowest rate since World War I, it is essential that women’s participation be lifted to make the most of local talent.
The Productivity Commission found that more than 90,000 people across Australia were not in the labor force last year, mainly due to the high cost of childcare.
“Our systems of child care and paid parental leave are a barrier for women who want to return to work and who are not working for modern families,” Ms. Westacott said.
On childcare, the business council wants the childcare subsidy to drop from 85 to 95 percent for low-income households, with a reduction for families earning more than $ 80,000. .
“For every dollar we invest in child care, we’ll get back two,” said Westacott.
“KPMG estimates that the cost of our child care program would be about $ 2.5 billion, but that it would boost the economy by about $ 4 billion to $ 5 billion.”
Federal Health Minister Greg Hunt said the government had taken “deep steps” on both child care and paid parental leave in recent years.
He said the difficult changes had been made possible by strong budget management.
“We were able to do it and it made a difference for Australian families,” he told reporters.
Labor Party spokesperson for early education Amanda Rishworth said the opposition had a similar plan at the Business Council of Australia, but the goal was the same.
“It’s about removing some of the barriers that prevent women from working on the fourth or fifth day of the week,” she said.
“It is essential for economic growth to free up this really important workforce, our female workforce, and to do that, we need to support them in child care.”
Thrive by Five campaign leader Jay Weatherill said reform of Australia’s outdated and expensive child care and early learning system must be addressed in the budget.
“In modern Australia, it takes two incomes for most families to buy a house, but it takes affordable child care to earn two incomes,” said the former South Australian Prime Minister.
With regard to paid parental leave, the works council is proposing a more flexible system which would encourage both parents to take on more equal care responsibilities.
“The current system encourages a parent, almost always a mom, to take the lion’s share of the working time,” Ms. Westacott said.
“Under our program, families could choose how they allocate their leave based on what works best for them.
The council estimates that the cost of transforming the paid parental leave system would be around $ 1 billion per year.
Australian Associated Press
