A group of more than 30 academics have assessed how the major parties fare on work and family policies.
The scorecard evaluates Labor and Coalition policies against evidence-based recommendations developed by the roundtable earlier this year,many of which have not been addressed by either party.
Its analysis of family-related policies found Labor had pledged more action on issues facing families,particularly in areas such as job security,a high-quality childcare workforce,and gender pay parity. However,both parties fell short on the key question of paid parental leave.
Sydney University Associate Professor Elizabeth Hill,a co-convenor of the roundtable,said stronger,evidence-based work and care policies from both parties would enhance community wellbeing and boost economic productivity. “Labor’s policy commitments go further,” she said.
Both parties have addressed the key issue of childcare access and affordability. In March,the Coalition dropped the cap on the childcare subsidy,but the scorecard said the system still failed to offer enough care to children from disadvantaged families.
Labor would invest $5.4 billion to lift the maximum subsidy for childcare.
“Labor’s change to the childcare subsidy is more extensive than the Coalition’s,” said Hill. “Labor is committed to investing in an early years strategy,to really promote education and development,at the same time seeing[early childhood] as a key piece of economic reform. Both those things reflect the research evidence.”