Coronavirus: Anthony Albanese says Scott Morrison ‘has done a reverse Titanic on childcare’

Labor says Scott Morrison has put women and children ‘last’ in ending free childcare.

Opposition Leader Anthony Albanese in question time on Wednesday. Picture: AAP

Anthony Albanese has accused Scott Morrison of putting women and children “last” after the government announced free childcare would end next month.

Labor used the resumption of federal parliament on Wednesday to highlight the looming recession, Treasury’s $60bn JobKeeper accounting error, the government’s decision to refund $720m so-called robodebts and Monday’s announcement that childcare workers would stop receiving JobKeeper payments in July.

The Prime Minister said only Labor would “take joy” in the fact that Australia was heading towards a recession and “seek to use it for political purposes”.

“What we have seen from this opposition is not a contribution but just constant whining, undermining the government at every turn as the government has sought to provide the support that Australians need,” Mr Morrison said.

“The opposition is failing.”

The Opposition Leader lambasted the government for leaving “people behind” three months after Australia first labelled the coronavirus a pandemic, singling out cas­uals, airport employees of the foreign-owned company Dnata, local government workers and the arts, university and childcare sectors. “Childcare workers, essential workers, three days after an absolute guarantee from this Prime Minister that JobKeeper would be in place at least until September, ripped out, ripped away from them,” Mr Albanese said.

“We know that 95 per cent of childcare workers are women. This is a reverse Titanic from this government — women and children put last by this government.”

The government’s childcare package, which included three months of free childcare, will end on July 12, as will JobKeeper for childcare employees from July 20.

Mr Morrison said the decision to transition the sector off JobKeeper was a “better way” of providing support, with families on the JobSeeker payment set to receive a 95 per cent rebate for childcare costs.

“The JobKeeper legislation does remain in place until the end of September but where there is a better way to do things, we won’t step aside from doing them in a better way,” he said.

“What the advice was, as we worked closely with the childcare sector … is when we moved back at their encouragement to the usual system to ensure that demand can be accommodated in the childcare sector, that the preference was that we move to a sustainment subsidy of 25 per cent of their fee base rather than the continuation of the JobKeeper arrangement.”