New attack claims $14bn ‘black hole’ in childcare wages vow

Simon Birmingham claims Labor’s childcare wages policy could have a $14bn ‘black hole’.

Liberal campaign spokesman Simon Birmingham. Picture: AAP

The Morrison government has launched an 11th-hour attack on Bill Shorten’s plan to increase wages of childcare workers, claiming the policy could have a $14 billion black hole.

A Labor spokesman labelled the Liberal Party analysis as “dishonest and dumb stuff” as campaign spokesman Simon Birmingham leapt on the figures to declare the Opposition Leader was “staring down the barrel of a huge costings blowout”.

Figures compiled by the Liberals claim there will be nearly 400,000 workers eligible for a 20 per cent taxpayer-funded rise under Labor’s policy. The Liberal Party has assumed — based on quotes from opposition treasury spokesman Chris Bowen — the policy will apply to long-day care workers with a certificate three qualification or higher. Preschool and kindergarten teachers will not receive a taxpayer-funded wage boost under Labor’s policy.

The analysis assumes the same growth in childcare workers eligible for Labor’s scheme as the census showed between 2013 and 2016, which was nearly 13 per cent a year.

This would bring the bill to $19.4bn over eight years, compared to Labor’s costing of nearly $10bn for 100,000 workers. The Liberals also said there could be an additional $4.8bn cost to taxpayers for superannuation, payroll tax, workers’ compensation insurance and leave loadings.

“Bill Shorten’s union-backed childcare wages policy continues to unravel by the day,” Senator Birmingham said. “Bill Shorten is still refusing to explain how his unprecedented multi-billion-dollar wage market intervention would work and now he’s staring down the barrel of a huge costings blowout. Labor need to come clean on the detail on how much their policy will actually cost.”

Labor — which has vowed to not go over its budget on the policy — rejected the analysis but would not outline the party’s assumptions on how many workers would be in the sector by 2030. The spokesman would also not say if super and leave loadings would be incorporated into the 20 per cent rise, which would average $11,000 a year for each worker.

“This is just more dishonest and dumb stuff from a prime minister who is a desperate liar spouting increasingly unhinged nonsense to distract voters,” the spokesman said.