Children's Voucher Programs

Hansard ID: HANSARD-1323879322-132136

Hansard session: Fifty-Eighth Parliament, First Session (58-1)

Children's Voucher Programs

Mr MARK COURE (Oatley) (17:00:51):

I move:

That this House:

(1)Notes that from 1 January around 750,000 children across New South Wales will be ineligible for an Active Kids or Creative Kids voucher.

(2)Notes that from 1 January the twice yearly Active Kids $100 vouchers and the yearly Creative Kids $100 voucher will be replace by two $50 vouchers for those children who remain eligible.

(3)Notes that from 1 July the $100 First Lap voucher will be replaced by a $50 voucher.

Every member in this House knows how important Active Kids, Creative Kids and First Lap vouchers are to our local communities. Many of us who have kids will have used those vouchers to help cover the cost of our kids' sports. No-one can understand why this Labor Government has decided to cut those vouchers for hundreds of thousands of struggling families right across our State. Shame on each and every Labor member. The Active Kids, Creative Kids and First Lap vouchers are a brilliant initiative from the former Government. That government knew how to support hardworking families in this State. Under the former Government, every single family and child was eligible forward two $100 Active Kids vouchers, one $100 Creative Kids voucher, and one $100 First Lap voucher a year. Those vouchers were a lifeline for many families who are struggling with the cost of living. They ensured that their kids could run, kick, play and swim without financially burdening their families.

At the start of this year more than 4.85 million vouchers were redeemed, saving families $481 million while helping to relieve the pressure on many struggling families' budgets. The vouchers were not just to ease the cost of living. They helped to boost grassroots sport and promote healthy and more active lifestyles for our kids. According to the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare, 70 per cent of children fail to meet physical activity guidelines, leading to a poorer academic outcome and increased childhood obesity rates. We want to keep our kids off their iPads and Xboxes. We want them to get outside to enjoy the fresh air and teambuilding that comes with playing sport. Labor has gutted, slashed and cut this program. Under Labor, 750,000 families will now miss out on those crucial vouchers. Under Labor's plan the outlook is very bleak for the limited number of families who are still eligible, because they will not receive $300 worth of vouchers that other families did under the former Liberal-Nationals Government. Labor has created an insignificant package that will do nothing to help to alleviate the cost-of-living pressures that so many families are facing.

Under Labor, families who receive the Family Tax Benefit Part A will now receive only two $50 vouchers under the combined Active and Creative Kids vouchers scheme. The First Lap voucher also will be cut from $100 to $50. Under Labor, New South Wales families will always pay more and get less. The member for Bankstown and former member for Lakemba is a good guy. He is one of the good ones in Cabinet. On 10 June last year, the member for Bankstown said the price of everything is going up and we are in a cost-of-living crisis. I could not agree more with him. I think he needs to pick up the phone and speak to his Cabinet colleagues. We are still in a cost‑of‑living crisis, so why has the member for Bankstown endorsed a plan that will result in hundreds of thousands of families facing more financial pressure? At the next cost-of-living forum, the member for Canterbury and the member for Bankstown will have some very tough questions to answer from the many families in those electorates as well as those from right across south-west Sydney who have to pay more under Labor.

What makes this debacle even worse is that before the election the Premier assured the people of New South Wales that Labor would fund the Active Kids and Creative Kids programs. It seems that is not the case anymore. Labor is slashing the Active Kids, Creative Kids and First Lap vouchers. That is not a productivity savings; it is a brutal hit on the budgets of New South Wales families. Labor is not just crossing numbers off its broken budget spreadsheet. It is cutting a program that has helped hundreds of thousands of kids get active while enjoying their favourite sports. Why should families in New South Wales have to choose between having their kids play sport or putting food on the table? Opposition members on this side of the House know that Labor cannot manage a budget. When it runs out of its own money, it comes after ours.

My friend the member for Rockdale and Minister for Sport has struggled for months to give us a straight answer on whether he will keep the Active Kids, Creative Kids and First Lap vouchers. Are they in or are they out? In the Minister's electorate of Rockdale, one First Lap session for a three-year-old costs about $23 at the Sans Souci Leisure Centre. Under the Coalition Government, a family living in the Rockdale electorate could have received just over four free lessons. Now the Labor Government has cut that in half. When it comes to helping young kids to get active and remain active in local sports we are seeing cuts and more cuts.

Mr Matt Cross:

Think of the children.

Mr MARK COURE:

Absolutely—think of the children. Members on this side of the House will always keep up the fight to bring back the Active Kids vouchers for all families in New South Wales.

Mr GREG WARREN (Campbelltown) (17:07:14):

On behalf of the Government, I am delighted to participate in the Public Interest Debate introduced by the member for Oatley. I thank him for bringing this discussion to the House because it allows Government members to put some facts into the discussion. What Government members know is that the only active juveniles in this State are members of the New South Wales Liberal Party because they did not fund those programs. Not even the children of this State are immune or protected from the tyranny of the conservatives, otherwise known as the decaying carcass—the New South Wales Liberal Party.

How desperate are they? When we go through the financial figures, my good friend in the other place and Treasurer Daniel Mookhey clearly outlined the facts of the serious and adverse situation this State finds itself in because of that mob opposite. I have said a number of things and made comparisons, but Government members know that Coalition members could not run a bath. Why should the people of New South Wales pay for the economic incompetence of the Liberals? But what is even worse is that it affects the children. They misled the taxpayers of this State. They misled this Parliament on countless occasions. They ripped off communities during fires, floods, droughts and COVID with their pork-barrelling and grants, but misleading the children of New South Wales is a new low for the Liberals. They say, "We're going to give you these vouchers but, by the way, we're not going to pay for them." How does that work? What they did is what the Liberal Party does best. They will say anything before an election, and then they get elected and do nothing. That is exactly what they were planning to do.

Thankfully, we put a stop to that and we are now getting some facts into this story. But the facts are consistent with the other facts about the economic situation the people of New South Wales now find themselves in. In 2011, when the Liberals came to office, debt was $22.5 billion or $3,100 per person. The Liberals totally lost control of the budget. Debt is now projected to reach $187 billion or $22,000 per person by 2026. The cost of interest on that debt is said to be $7 billion per year. That is bigger than the total budget for the NSW Police Force and our TAFE institutes. Looking at that comparison, it is no wonder that those opposite are so sensitive about anything to do with the budget. I do not think anyone in this House would reject providing activities and encouraging our children to do everything they can to excel in sport and reach their full potential—except for members opposite. They went around to the children and made a promise, but they did not fund it.

It is absolutely no wonder that we have a budget deficit of more than $7 billion and a black hole that will leave us needing budget repair. Opposition members need to think about their approach to this. Why would they put themselves in the line of fire? They are just highlighting that they misled the people of New South Wales. In a new low for their mob, they even misled the children of New South Wales by saying, "We're going to fund these Active Kids vouchers but we're just not going to pay for them." The reality is we have opened the Treasury coffers and the money for our kids is not in there. In addition, the previous Government also left an enormous amount of debt—into the billions of dollars—that the people of New South Wales will have to pay off because of its mismanagement.

Mr GURMESH SINGH (Coffs Harbour) (17:12:11):

I am glad to be following the member for Campbelltown, who threw out a lot of words like "misled". Prior to the election, the now Premier, then Opposition leader, was asked a direct question about whether he was going to roll over—

Mr Matt Cross:

What did he say?

Mr GURMESH SINGH:

I will tell you what he said. He said, "We're going to roll them over in a similar way to the New South Wales Government." What have we seen? Nothing. We have seen no rollover. We have seen a broken promise, not even 100 days into this term. We are 80‑something days into their four-year reign and we see a broken promise. I echo the words of the member for Campbelltown in saying why did they mislead the kids? It is predictable; we have been hearing the same old lines for a couple of weeks now from the Labor Party attacking the finances of New South Wales.

I will correct some of the statements that were made over the past couple of weeks. The State final demand is at 3.75 per cent—the strongest economic growth of any State. Unemployment is at 3.2 per cent, which is the lowest rate of any State in the nation. We have half the ratio of debt to gross State product of Victoria. We are the only State to have two triple-A credit ratings from Moody's and Fitch and we have a pathway back to surplus in 2024‑25. That is what an economically sustainable and responsible government does. Our State's net debt is currently 10 per cent and is projected to stabilise at 14 per cent. Compare this with Victoria at 26.5 per cent. These are not new figures; they have been around for a long time. We know that these arguments are academic in nature, but we need to discuss the choices the Labor Government is making. They are choices against our kids and against our future.

TEMPORARY SPEAKER (Mr Alex Greenwich):

Government members will come to order. They will have their opportunity to contribute to the debate when it is their turn. The member for Coffs Harbour will be heard in as close to silence as possible.

Mr GURMESH SINGH:

Look at the Queensland Labor Government and Annastacia Palaszczuk. No wonder she is so popular. She is increasing her FairPlay vouchers from $150 to $300 by adding swimming. That is foresight from a Labor government—unlike the Labor Government here. We had nearly 15,000 Active Kids vouchers created last year in the Coffs Harbour electorate, with a 49:51 female to male split. The top sport that was undertaken for both male and female kids was swimming. In a coastal electorate it is important for children to learn how to swim because a lot of kids play by the water and go swimming. We have warm weather and a lot of swimming pools, so it is fortunate that we are teaching the next generation of kids how to swim. In girls' sport, gymnastics was number three, with 673 vouchers.

Our regional electorates are not like the city electorates where you can go to the next suburb and play in someone else's club. Our nearest big city is over two hours away. If we do not have clubs with enough people in them to make them viable, guess what? They will disappear. That means that a whole generation of girls and boys in Coffs Harbour will miss out. Gymnastics was actually number eight for boys while was number three for girls. Without these vouchers, they will miss out. Who knows where our next Olympic gold medallist might come from? They might come from Coffs Harbour. I ask another question. Is the Labor Party full of closet Maroons fans? Rugby league was third for the boys. How are we expected to ever start winning State of Origin games if we are gutting our rugby league juniors? Without juniors, you cannot have seniors. You cannot import them all from New Zealand like Queensland does.

The Creative Kids vouchers are probably the most overlooked vouchers, but I was proud to attend an event only a couple of weeks ago at the National Cartoon Gallery in Coffs Harbour where, for the cost of one voucher, kids as young as four and up to their early teens could learn to draw cartoons. That is important. Cartoons often cut right through in a way that thousands of words cannot, especially in the political world. Programs like that will disappear. They will disappear under the watch of the Minns Labor Government.

Mr NATHAN HAGARTY (Leppington) (17:17:20):

Over the past few weeks or so members opposite have been very vocal in this place about the Active Kids vouchers. They have been grandstanding on this matter, and they have been claiming that Labor does not care about New South Wales kids. It would be laughable if it was not so embarrassing. The facts speak for themselves. The fact is that the former Government never funded the Active Kids or Creative Kids vouchers beyond 30 June. That is simple fact. While the previous Government left the vouchers for dead, we have in fact saved the program. We have introduced a program that will make the vouchers sustainable. We know about providing relief to low- and middle-income families that are facing cost‑of‑living pressures. I have many of those families in my electorate of Leppington; I spoke to thousands of them during the campaign. They are reasonable people, and they are not fooled by the bluff and bluster of those opposite. That is why we are sitting on this side of the House and they are sitting on that side.

The new program will ensure that kids can play sport and stay healthy into the future in a more sustainable, fairer way. We understand that parents should be able to get their kids out and about and participate in the community. What we have not done is leave them in the lurch like those opposite. The Opposition left parents and kids in the lurch by not funding the Active Kids vouchers. It is disgraceful.

I am a very strong supporter of community sport. It is a major part of my life as both a community member and a father. My son plays for the fabulous Liverpool Olympic Football Club, which celebrated its fortieth anniversary on the weekend. I was in attendance, and it was a wonderful event. Also in attendance were other parents, coaches, players and members of the local association. They came up to me and said, "Nathan, what is going on with these Active Kids vouchers?"

TEMPORARY SPEAKER (Mr Alex Greenwich):

Order! Opposition members will come to order.

Mr NATHAN HAGARTY:

Because they are reasonable, sensible people, we had a measured discussion and I told them what was going to happen. In fact, they said, "That is a sensible and measured approach, and we look forward to it. We look forward to seeing the soccer clubs throughout Leppington and the south-west grow as a result of these changes." What they were disgusted by—what they were shocked by—was the state of the budget and why we had to do what we had to do.

Mr Matt Cross:

Tell us about cashbacks.

Mr NATHAN HAGARTY:

What I will tell you about is the $7 billion worth of unfunded programs that you left. First, there are the Active Kids vouchers. Then there are more than 1,000 unfunded public hospital nursing roles, 120 of which are in my local health district, the South Western Sydney Local Health District. We also have out-of-home care for vulnerable children—unfunded. We have emergency fire trail programs—unfunded. We have cybersecurity—unfunded. Speaking of cybersecurity, there was a big hack last year. Members might have been keeping an eye on the news. Medibank was hacked.

Mr Paul Scully:

Service NSW was hacked.

Mr NATHAN HAGARTY:

Service NSW was hacked, probably as a result of the lack of funding here. If one is on a board or follows these things, one of the biggest issues for directors is cybersecurity. They have been told by their peak body and by the Government, "You've got to invest in cybersecurity." It is one of the biggest issues. It puts all of us at risk. Our private data is out there if we do not protect it, and the previous Government left it unfunded. The reckless and irresponsible management of the former Government does not stop there. The State is $187.5 billion in debt. Rather than pay down the debt, the former Government came up with a hare-brained scheme called the debt recovery fund, where it would borrow more debt—$25.3 billion of debt—to pay off the debt. To me, that sounds like some kind of multi-level marketing scheme—some kind of Ponzi scheme. Bernie Madoff would blush.

Mr Paul Scully:

He's in jail for that.

Mr NATHAN HAGARTY:Time expired.

Yes. This is a kind of multi-level marketing scheme. Using debt to pay off debt is a big pyramid scheme. The previous Government was so into multi-level marketing, I am surprised that during the election campaign it did not come out with an election commitment to start selling vitamins and Tupperware via the Service NSW app. We have got bluster from members opposite; we have got a whole bunch of carry-on. But let us be honest here: The Government is funding this program into the future. []

Mr JORDAN LANE (Ryde) (17:22:32):

Like the member for Leppington, I am a new member. I came to this place full of enthusiasm and excitement, in particular because I was listening to Labor's rhetoric before the election. It was all about integrity and about having a bright, bold vision and focus for the future of this State. Yet here we are. In the short time that I have been here, my observation has been that there is a vision, no doubt—but a vision for the rear-view mirror. There is a wafer-thin legislative agenda. At best, I can talk to the repeal of choices for housing. I have seen the Government try to take away regional travel cards for apprentices and people who are studying at university. What we are now seeing is a direct and targeted attack on children right across the State. But it goes further than that. It is not just about the kids, as important as they are. It is about families, and it is also about the businesses that have been thriving, particularly post-COVID, because of the wonderful program that the former Liberal-Nationals Government implemented.

Mr Stephen Bali:

There's no businesses.

Mr JORDAN LANE:

I will take the interjection that there are no businesses. I will tell Government members about a local business in Ryde, Galaxy Sports Coaching, run by a great local resident in Meadowbank named Ryan Buckley. Ryan runs sports clinics for local kids. He has talked about his business experiencing something like a 50 per cent uptake as a consequence of all the local families coming out of COVID and looking for something to do. What better thing to do than to get involved in a great sport like soccer? In the electorate of Ryde, among women, it is the sport with the third highest participation. Among young men, it is the second biggest sport in the electorate. It is an extraordinary performer for the electorate, and it was being sustained in a significant way because of these wonderful programs.

Now, let us put this into context. Families could previously rely on two $100 vouchers a year. That meant that they could put a significant amount of funding towards the registration fees. It meant that they could take pressure off the family budget. It meant that kids who were in a lower socio-economic environment were able to participate and not be disadvantaged. In a sport like soccer, this is important.

Mr Matt Cross:

Wollongong families loved it.

Mr JORDAN LANE:

That is right; Wollongong families loved it. Families up in Cessnock loved it too. But what we have seen is not just a cut, but a deep slashing of this program. Families who used to be able to rely upon those two $100 Active Kids vouchers are now, at best, getting $100. But not just any family can get that; it is only those who receive Family Tax Benefit A. I would love to see the statistics for the number of families, in an electorate like Ryde, who can actually take advantage of this program. I would hazard that it is a pretty abysmal performance. I reckon that if I look across the aisle, it would be a pretty poor performance for the electorates of members opposite as well. It is more than just a cut to the value of the voucher; it is also a drastic slashing of the number of families who are even eligible.

I go back to my friend Ryan, because Ryan spoke about more than just what the vouchers meant to his business. He also spoke about what it meant for the quality of life for kids and families. I will quote him. He said, "Too many Australian children are at risk of poor quality of life, or premature death, due to unhealthy lifestyles." He shared a statistic from the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare that is quite concerning. A massive 70 per cent of children aged 2 to 17 fail to meet the recommended physical activity guidelines. Almost 75 per cent of children aged 2 to 17 exceeded the recommended amount of sedentary activity, that is, sitting or screen-based time. What better way to get people away from those poor activities than to have them enrolled in something like swimming or soccer?

Ryan said that the failure to address these concerns is linked to a multitude of damaging consequences, both now and later in life. He spoke about reduced academic attainment, increased risk of some forms of cancer, increased incidence of being overweight or obese, and mental health challenges—we know how significant that is for local communities. All of these things can be tied back to active participation in sport and other things like creativity.

I will come to the First Lap vouchers because I am conscious of the time—we are also cutting that, I see. Some 87 per cent of Australians live within 50 kilometres of a coastline. That is the vast majority of our constituents in this place. This is not just about having them involved and participating in sport; this is about teaching critical life skills. This is about life and death. This is not just about the bottom line for households. This is not just about the cost of living, as much as that is important. This is about the future and the lives of kids and families right across this State, and one cannot put a price on that.

Ms LYNDA VOLTZ (Auburn) (17:27:36):

I find it very easy to speak in this Chamber when Opposition members make my arguments for me. Two Opposition members have given us the statistics that say 70 per cent of children fail to meet basic participation needs. Members opposite ran a program for five years—five years!—and they are getting up in this Chamber and telling us exactly what we know: that the program is not meeting the targets that it is meant to achieve.

Mr Matt Cross:

Think of the children.

Ms LYNDA VOLTZ:

I would not start thinking of the children, if I were you. I would give that a big miss. I would give that a huge miss, because the children who are missing out are the children who have the poorest parents. The former Government's program has not worked for them. I am surprised that one member had the hide to get up and ask, "How will the member for Bankstown justify it?" Because, if one looks at the electorates that have the lowest uptake of the Active Kids program, one is looking at the electorates of Fairfield, Bankstown, Mount Druitt and Cabramatta. They are getting 40 per cent, 44 per cent and 45 per cent. They are getting under 50 per cent. The electorates that get the vouchers are Manly, with 69 per cent; Epping, with 69 per cent; Miranda, with 72 per cent; and Cronulla, with 72 per cent. The member for Ryde said, "I probably do not have many people on tax benefit A. I do not have anyone. It is going to cut out all of my people on tax benefit A."

We know that there is a huge uptake of Active Kids vouchers in wealthier electorates, but the kids we want to get into sport are those in the areas where the children have the least. That includes children in my electorate. I have given an example in the past where the principal of Birrong Boys High School has a student who lives with18 family members in a two-bedroom flat. Members opposite should think about the children and schools that they have left behind. They were building indoor sports centres at Ku-ring-gai High School and giving regional sports funding to North Sydney Olympic Pool while our kids were not picking up the Active Kids vouchers. They never once said to themselves, "Let me go back to AusPlay and the Australian Institute of Sport and look at why people do not get involved in sport."

People who speak a language other than English were highlighted. There are plenty of those kids in Fairfield, Bankstown, Auburn and Mount Druitt. There are plenty of families in those electorates that have more than three siblings, like the one that has 18 children living in a two-bedroom flat. Meanwhile, members opposite were giving money to North Sydney Olympic Pool and Ku-ring-gai High School. Our kids were getting active by walking up the stairs at Chester Hill Station, which was number four on the priority list to get a lift but still does not have one. Mums were dragging prams up stairs while members opposite left the children of Western Sydney behind and rolled funds into their own electorates. The member for Coffs Harbour told us how many sports grants he got in his electorate. I can tell you how many we did not get in our areas, where the children are the poorest and unemployment is the highest. They are the parents who need the help, but they did not get it from the former Government.

Members opposite say, "There was 69 per cent in Epping and 69 per cent in Manly." What they do not tell you is how much of that 69 per cent was participating before the vouchers. Members opposite did not get the AusPlay participation figures and say, "These were the figures in 2017 and here are the figures in 2022. By the way, there is no difference." They did not give us those figures, because the participation numbers are not what it is about. It is about who was shifted from not doing sport to doing sport. The only data that we have, which was a very small survey, did not support it, except for people who were poor and on tax benefit A. That is why the Government has done this. I have an amendment. I move:

That the motion be amended by omitting all words after "House" and inserting instead:

(1)Notes that under the former Liberal‑Nationals Government, from 1 July this year zero kids would have been eligible for Active Kids, Creative Kids or First Lap vouchers.

(2)Notes the $7 billion budget black hole left by the former Liberal‑Nationals Government requires tough decisions to be made.

(3)Notes the new Government has provided funding certainty in relation to its commitments on Active Kids, Creative Kids and First Lap.

Mr MARK COURE (Oatley) (17:32:43):

In reply: I thank the member for Campbelltown, the member for Coffs Harbour, the member for Leppington, the member for Ryde and the member for Auburn for their contributions. As a father of two young boys, we are soccer-crazy at home. I know how important these vouchers are to many families across my local community. Thousands of kids are active in sport for the very first time. In fact, the next Neymar Júnior, Messi or Ronaldo could come from the Oatley electorate. Since 2018 over 55,000 Active Kids vouchers have been created, with a take-up rate by families of over 70 per cent in my electorate. Sport is part of the fabric of our communities, and it is now under threat, thanks to members opposite.

Just this week I turned the first sod on a major upgrade of the netball courts and skatepark at Olds Park in my electorate, and one of the first questions I was asked on social media was, "How are my kids going to enjoy these new facilities if we cannot afford to register them to play sport?" That is the cost of Labor's broken promises to hardworking families in my electorate and across New South Wales. Kids will miss out on weekend sports, all because Labor does not know how to manage a budget. Some 750,000 families now face the prospect that they cannot send their kids to play sport because money is tight. During a cost-of-living crisis, the Government decided to cut one of the most widely used cost-of-living programs in the State. It is up to Labor to now explain to the parents, the kids and the grassroots sporting organisations across New South Wales why it cannot manage a budget.

In the past 12 months we had the member for The Entrance supporting the Active Kids vouchers. Where is he now? He is silent. The member for Wallsend supported Active Kids vouchers. Now there is silence. The member for Heffron supported Active Kids vouchers. Where is he now? There is silence. The member for Port Stephens supported Active Kids vouchers, but she does not anymore. The member for Gosford supported Active Kids vouchers on social media last year. She does not anymore. It goes on. The member for Coogee and the member for Swansea both also supported Active Kids vouchers. They are some of my favourites. They are silent now. Shame on those opposite.

Mr Gurmesh Singh:

Point of order: I ask that paragraph (2) of the amendment be ruled out of order.

TEMPORARY SPEAKER (Mr Alex Greenwich):

I will seek advice from the Clerk. On what basis is the member for Coffs Harbour seeking that it be ruled out of order?

Mr Gurmesh Singh:

Paragraphs (1) to (3) of the original motion relate exclusively to Active Kids and Creative Kids vouchers. Paragraphs (1) and (3) of the amendment have a tenuous link to both Active Kids and Creative Kids vouchers, but paragraph (2) of the amendment has no relation at all to the original motion.

TEMPORARY SPEAKER (Mr Alex Greenwich):

Taken holistically, the amendment is in order. We cannot pick it apart. I rule that the amendment is in order.

The member for Oatley has moved a motion, to which the member for Auburn has moved an amendment. The question is that the amendment be agreed to.

The House divided.

Ayes49

Noes37

Majority12

Amendment agreed to.

TEMPORARY SPEAKER (Mr Alex Greenwich):

The question is that the motion as amended be agreed to.

Division called for and Standing Order 185 applied.

The House divided.

Ayes51

Noes36

Majority15

Motion as amended agreed to.