An advocate for women and families said women are the big losers in this year’s federal budget. Billions is going towards infrastructure, wage subsidies, tax cuts and pension cash payments but it appears as though childcare was been forgotten.

Federal Opposition Leader Anthony Albanese is set to promise free childcare for low income earners in tomorrow’s budget reply speech.

Executive Director of The Parenthood Georgie Dent told Oliver Peterson despite the record spend (over $500 billion), only $240 million has been allocated to “address women’s economic security.”

“This budget does apply to all Australians,” said Ms Dent

“But it’s factually inaccurate to say that the identical measures have an identical impact on men and women.”

Ms Dent said this is because women work and earn less.

“The various tax changes aren’t going to deliver the same amount of money to women as they deliver to men.”

While there wasn’t an expectation for free childcare, Ms Dent said they were expecting the affordability of childcare to be addressed.

“Even before the COVID crisis hit, Australian families were spending record amounts of out of pocket money on care, to the point where it does limit when and how people work.

“This has been exacerbated by the coronavirus recession.”

Listen to the full interview: