By far the most significant projected savings in the government’s omnibus bill is the phasing out of end-of-year supplements for family tax benefit recipients.
Under new legislation, children from low-income families will receive just 12 hours of early learning support a week, adding to the risk of these children falling behind their peers at school.
Many of the Productivity Commission’s proposals derive from assumptions that the funding of these services should ensure minimal interference, with a classic, market-based model for meeting “demand”.
There are a lot of babies around, and the numbers are increasing. However, Australia does not have coherent policies that recognise the effect of parenting on workforce participation and vice versa. Parenting…